Mario Montoya grew up in Nueva Esperanza alongside his nine brothers and sisters. He remembers his late father with admiration, telling us that while his father couldn't read or write, he provided for the education of all ten of his children through at least the second level of high school.

Mario lives by the advice his father gave him: to "give the best to our children, because they are the future. They belong to our community."

Mario, alongside other community leaders in Nueva Esperanza, is concerned because many of their youth become frustrated by the lack of local opportunity and start considering leaving the country by the age of 16 or 17. "Unfortunately, the leave– and that's something that affects us, because once they're gone, they don't contribute to the community," Mario explained.

But Mario and the commission have big dreams for their community. They are currently pursuing their UNIDOS project. After overcoming some challenges from the local government, the community commission has made progress, gathering materials and quickly raising and investing 40,000 lempira (over $1600 USD) of their own money toward the project.