DreamRoot Turns Two!

Today marks the second-year anniversary of DreamRoot Leadership Institute! It has been a season of clearing a path, breaking new ground, and laying the foundation to collectively build upon.

We started with a vision of partnering with those who are standing in the gap for the vulnerable who are falling through the cracks in society. These unsung heroes are local leaders running humble social initiatives in underserved communities that are overrun by poverty, violence, and oppression.

A pillar of our guiding philosophy is a belief that people are transformed through relationships. By consistently showing up for others week after week, DreamRoot local leaders are saving lives, setting youth on a path toward success, and raising up new leaders who are transforming their own families and communities.

"People are transformed through relationships."

 

Through your support over these past two years, DreamRoot is partnering with 12 local leaders to oversee social initiatives for underprivileged individuals in 8 communities impacting over 900 students. These social initiatives include Jiu Jitsu programs, licensed psychiatry sessions, nutrition and physical therapy programs, English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, running a primary school, children’s’ arts and crafts sessions, and student-led distribution of care packages for whose households that have been negatively affected by Covid.

Our DreamRoot local leader cohort provides training, mentorship, resources, and networking for local leaders to be strengthened, grow, and continue to impact others. In partnership with local community members, we have renovated one training center and constructed two others in Brazil and constructed a resource center for students and their families in Les Cayes, Haiti.

Davi Elem, a leader who participates in the local leader cohort and oversees the kids' Jiu Jitsu social initiative at the DreamRoot / Sertao training center recently recorded the video below. He asked that we send it to each of you as a thank you.

A beautiful aspect of DreamRoot’s work is that we collaborate with each local leader to tailor programs to community needs while designing operations to be self-sustaining wherever possible.  This helps to ensure the longevity and expansion of their operations and impact while allowing DreamRoot to reallocate resources to launch and fortify other local leaders and social initiatives. All of which multiplies the transformation in the lives and communities being served today and for future generations.

Our focus is not simply on the construction of a building or program. It’s the establishment of safe spaces for vulnerable individuals in communities to enable them to heal, grow, and thrive into their own leadership calling.

In This New Season

These two years have been concentrated on laying our foundation. There is more work to be done and we are just getting started. In this next season, we will continue strengthening and further developing our community-based programs and leadership training cohorts informed by local needs and capabilities.

We are headed to Brazil in October to connect with local leaders and students to strengthen and encourage those who are leading these initiatives in such a tough environment. Additionally, we will meet with the local leaders and community members to hear their feedback, further understand their needs and dreams, and evaluate the social initiatives as we collaborate on program advancement.

Many thanks for your continued support and partnership in this vision.

WRITTEN BY

Amy Passos

Executive Director, DreamRoot Leadership Institute