As part of our 10th year celebration, Safe Passage will be honoring 12 heroes who have played an important role in the organization's development, especially in the early years. We will tell their stories here, include them in the monthly e-newsletter and celebrate their accomplishments all year long. While sharing the stories of 12 individuals surely leaves us unable to recognize the significant contributions of many, we hope to inspire you with the stories we do share. By hearing about the Safe Passage heroes among us, we will all better appreciate the challenges that Hanley Denning and many others overcame to bring hope, education and opportunity to the children of the Guatemala City garbage dump.

January: Hanley Denning

"Few of us can do great things, but all of us can do small things with great love."

~Mother Teresa

Who better to begin the year with than Hanley Denning? Late founder of Safe Passage, Hanley had the vision, courage and perseverance that brings us ten years closer to ending the cycle of poverty for so many children and their families in Guatemala City. Read her story here.

January 18, 2009, marked the two-year anniversary of this inspiring woman's untimely death, but Hanley's spirit lives on in the hearts and minds of everyone who knows her story. We invite you to read, reflect upon and share Hanley's story with those you encounter in your daily life so that we may honor her memory and continue her noble work.

February: Bill and Joyce Peck

The Safe Passage Heroes of February are Bill and Joyce Peck of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who became the program's pioneer child sponsors in 1999. While on a trip to Guatemala to assist the disadvantaged Mam tribe of Mayan Indians, Bill and Joyce visited Safe Passage and became sponsors of a boy named Angel David. Their connection to Hanley, Angel David and Safe Passage grew over time as they continued to bring others to visit the program in Guatemala City.

Today, Safe Passage has more than 700 child sponsors and an international team of sponsorship staff. What Bill and Joyce began with Angel David in 1999 has grown into a central part of what makes Safe Passage so special: it provides us the chance to connect with, mentor and support a child in an ongoing and personal way. Now in their 80s, Bill and Joyce no longer travel to Guatemala annually, but their legacy certainly continues.

March: Josh Lozoff

The Safe Passage Hero of February is Josh Lozoff, a former long-term volunteer, current child sponsor, and perpetual master of illusion! Josh left a promising career in Hollywood and wandered through Latin America to figure out what should come next in his life. He found himself in Guatemala, where he met Safe Passage's founder, Hanley Denning and was soon put to work painting the program's original building - the little church!

Josh's experience at Camino Seguro led him to become a child sponsor and also to organize a fundraising event at home in North Carolina. What Josh began has now become the annual event for the NC Friends, and Josh continues to play a role in its planning each year. Josh is now a professional magician of extraordinary talent. This month, Josh returned to Guatemala to entertain the children of Safe Passage with his magic tricks at the inauguration of the Peace Garden. On the same trip, he wowed a different crowd at Antigua's Monoloco restaurant as part of a Safe Passage fundraiser. Learn more about Josh at his website, The Deep Magic of Joshua Lozoff.

April: Susan and Richard Schmaltz

In April, we honor Susan and Richard Schmaltz as our Safe Passage Heroes. Susan and Richard came to Guatemala in 2001 and spent the following eight years setting up some of the country's first child-centered, activity-based early childhood programs. They brought with them the holistic educational philosophy of "Planting Seeds," in connection with "Oneness" Canada. In 2005, they piloted this program at Safe Passage, and after a successful first year, Hanley recommended that the same model be implemented permanently at the Early Intervention Center, known as the Guarderia, when it opened in 2007.

Planting Seeds emphasizes a child's sense of self-worth and ability to form loving, supportive relationships. Put most simply, it prepares a child for life rather than work. It places great importance on the bond of trust between teacher and child and encourages children to explore, experiment, think, and understand without feeling judged. Even the physical environment reflects the Planting Seeds philosophy, as classrooms serve as spaces of beauty that encourage nurturing play.

Susan and Richard continue to play a major role as program advisors, training and evaluating our teachers, expertly consulting our administrators, and raising funds to ensure the longevity of the program. Thank you, Susan and Richard, for bringing to Safe Passage a model of learning that will enable our children to flourish, grow, and bring new hope for future generations.