Genesis Garcia Baquedano, 8, lives with her older brother Anderson and their parents in Honduras. Her parents work hard to support their family. Genesis’ father is a painter who faces challenges finding consistent work. And her mother is a street vendor who spends many long hours away from home.

According to her teachers, Genesis is a collaborative and committed student who participates well in class. But she was struggling with reading, writing, and math, so her teachers recommended that Genesis attend a program that specializes in education intervention. Unfortunately, the program was outside the community where she lives. Genesis’ family could not afford to pay the transportation costs involved in getting her to the program or for her mother to take time away from her vending work to accompany Genesis.

Through God’s grace, Genesis and her family were able to join the Strong Communities Program facilitated by World Renew’s local partner, Association for a More Just Society (ASJ). ASJ staff looked into strategies to work with Genesis, and through the program, she began to attend pedagogical support sessions. She impressed her tutors with her “perseverance and captivating enthusiasm.” And now, Genesis’ teachers praise the program for the significant progress Genesis has been making at school.

Genesis’ mother also appreciates the impact the program has had on her daughter. She says Genesis is very motivated when doing her schoolwork and the improvements in her grades are a testimony to her hard work. She says, “I feel very happy that the program has reached the community. I wish that in my time there had been programs like this that help families be able to be better.”