Roots Of Hope
Alex
Salamanca
Director Of Talent Development
Mission
To empower youth in Cuba to be the authors of their own future.
Category
Disability
Additional Information
Roots of Hope was founded in 2003 by a group of college students. It began with an interest in Cuba, an interest in getting to know our roots, our counterparts on the island and our history. It started with a conference between Georgetown and Harvard’s Cuban-American student groups entitled Raices de Esperanza (Roots of Hope). Since then it has grown into a movement of young people, from all over the world, working to help our counterparts on the island by providing resources, information and solidarity.
Our vision
From the beginning, we envisioned a day when Cuban youth are empowered with the necessary skills and opportunities to make a successful future for themselves and their families in Cuba. A day where Cuban youth can freely say, think, feel, or do what they want, and not what they are told – without repression. We trust the day will come when Cuban youth on and off the island can be reunited.
How we work
Our programs and initiatives are shaped by our five core values:
Hope
Compassion
Humility
Dignity
Smart Passion
We work to inspire Cuban youth with hope that one day soon they will be free to participate in open exchanges about their ideas, dreams, and realities. We work to promote awareness of Cuban issues, fostering compassion and a greater understanding of what day-to-day life is like for young people in Cuba. We work to create new bridges and innovative ways to connect with those in Cuba, with the humility to understand that we don’t have all the answers but together we are stronger then we are apart. We work to empower youth in Cuba with a strong sense ofdignity, encouraging them to develop their own abilities and pursue their wildest dreams with confidence. After all it is not a Cuban issue but a human issue. And we work to spark, what we have termed, smart-passion. The belief that by really listening to one another, seeing where we each are coming from and being open to all views and experiences we can find common ground no matter our differences.