A birth of HOP (a big idea from a small Nicaraguan boy)

This is a beautiful lesson. It comes from a little boy. He was born in a poor Nicaraguan village and now, he is living in Upstate New York. Juancito, 8, is a second grader in Taconic Hills Elementary School.

One day, I was talking with his father about business in a cafeteria. We are Journalists. The boy wanted a Brownie and asked for money to his father, and I told him, with a accomplice sight, you know what?. You can make your own money. Why you don´t write the story about your first lost tooth?. You can sell the story to people. 

Then, he took a piece of paper and started writing about his club to help poor people. Later, when his father and I were in a meeting with another Nicaraguans friends, talking and talking about our support to a small school in Nicaragua, this little person started asking for support his idea to each person in the meeting. 

He made $58. The money is for poor children from Haiti and Nicaragua, the poorest countries in our continent called America. This is the writing he made in the cafeteria, and brought to our meeting:

"One day Juan Simon Sanchez and Jonathan Madsen had time off recess. 

We were talking when we weren´t supposed to, and I asked, Jonathan if he had a choice where would he go?

His answer was Florida. I said why not Nicaragua? He asked me if it is boring there. I said: No. People are just poor. I said what if we make up a club to help poor people?. We got up to tell Ms. Compe about our idea. 

She told us to sit down because our time wasn´t up. When our time was up, we told her. She said it was a good idea. 

We could not think of a name. I got on the bus still thinking of a name. When I got in the car with my mom I finally came up with an idea. It was HOP, because the money, shoes, clothes, and food. All will hop from here to there. 

Now I have a website, and I have other kids involved".

Some days later, thinking about this wonderful kid from my native country, Nicaragua, and thinking about myself as a Journalist, I had to ask him many questions through his father, in order to post the story in my blog. 

He said, HOP was created last November to help the poor; the school is supporting the project, and they are going to open an bank account for the money the club is receiving. The story was published in a local newspaper. This is the link: http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2010/05/04/news/doc4bdf8fc7211be829643006.txt