I am Miguel, Co-founder and Director of ABC4Kids Foundation (who resides in Miami, Florida-United States). From a very early age, I discovered the power of helping others. As a young man, I was always active in my native Venezuela, collecting food, clothes, medications, and other basic needs for those less fortunate in my country. I had a passion for numbers and math, which led me to study a bachelor’s in administration, (Accounting and Finance). This knowledge gave me the tools to understand some of the issues that directly affect our society and create unfair bridges between people.
Later in life, I had the fortune to live in the vibrant city of New York, where I witnessed a painful reality of many people living on the streets. I knew I had to do something about it, so I volunteered my time collecting clothes and food for nonprofit causes that benefit this specific population.
Around 16 years ago, I moved to Miami and continued my journey of volunteering, supporting cases such as St. Jude for children with Cancer, migrant children abandoned at the border, foster homes for children under violence, and others. However, I felt like I needed to do more to help and reach more people through social assistance. When I met Yaro, the idea of helping others through a nonprofit platform became clearer than ever. At the beginning, it was very challenging to define our mission, vision, and goals.
We visited some communities and noticed that children were our target since they are the most vulnerable population, especially in third world countries like Nicaragua, Venezuela, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. We asked ourselves: how can we empower children to break the poverty cycle and hope for a better life? The answer was clear: through education. At that moment, our mission became clear.
So far, we have served more than five thousand primary school children, providing them with basic school supplies so they do not have to abandon school because their parents cannot afford it. We have also had some successful experiences helping individuals with personal scholarships, helping schools with infrastructure improvements, and more.
We never forget the commitment and integrity that working with children requires. We always respect culture, habits, and individual ways of doing things. Our goal is always to get things done, make a positive impact, and transform lives.
Please join us on the wonderful journey of helping children with education and building a legacy that will remain for those who need our help the most!

My name is Yaro, (who resides in Miami, Florida-United States), and I am one of the co-founders of the ABC4Kids Foundation. My journey in public service started a long time ago when, at the age of 17, I chose Social Sciences and Humanities as my major at the Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN), where I achieved my bachelor’s degree five years later. At the age of 18, I began volunteering in my native country, Nicaragua, at the Social Volunteer Program offered by the Jesuit University of Central America (UCA) in Managua. This program introduced me to the non-profit world, where I helped a variety of social causes such as abandoned children living in public assistance programs, the elderly population in need, single mothers living in poverty, children living in La Chureca (Managua’s dump), and others. At the age of 20, I started working for Covenant House International (Casa Alianza Nicaragua), where I was an educator for children living on the streets of Managua with drug addictions and under severe social violence. I had the privilege to travel to countries like Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico to share my experiences and help children under the same unfortunate circumstances. This was one of the greatest opportunities for me to see, feel, and understand the day-by-day injustices in a country with no hope and no opportunities for the less privileged population. I continued to support all kinds of causes throughout my life, volunteering and supporting programs and organizations.
I have always recognized that education is the key to opening windows and doors in life, it is the best way to break the poverty cycle, and indeed is the most rewarding way to improve the quality of life based on the opportunities that education brings to us. In 2010, a friend and I decided to do something to help children continue to receive education through the national curricula, especially in places where hope and opportunities are not common. We identified that in the majority of cases in countries like Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Venezuela, and others, children tend to abandon schools because school supplies are a big issue. In most of these countries, sometimes they have to choose between bringing a piece of bread to their mouth or having the resources to buy a pencil, and the decision is clear.
One day, 14 years ago, my friend Miguel and I developed an awesome idea to do something about it, and we asked ourselves how to help children in Nicaragua and other third-world countries not to abandon school just because their parents cannot afford to buy a pencil or a notebook. The answer was easy: helping them with basic school supplies such as pencils, notebooks, backpacks, erasers, rulers, colored pencils, and more through a non-profit profile. We also contemplated the idea of helping those schools with any infrastructural need or improvement. In most cases, there are not enough chairs, whiteboards, water dispensers, roofs, or other basic structural conditions. Since then, every single year, we have organized a huge event focused on small communities so we can provide them with all the basic needs for them to stay in school. We plan this event based on their specific needs, and we also create a festive environment where the children can forget, at least for a couple of hours, about their needs and smile, dance, play, and feel like children.
As you can see, my journey in public service and the non-profit world has been with me since very early, not as a job, but as a vocation of life that rewards my purpose of life day by day.