When Mountainstar Chief of Staff, Rachel Sivaperagas took the microphone at Dare to Dream, she started with words from one of our founding board members, Chris Lazzara, “Children have no rights and no money. They cannot advocate for themselves. They cannot write a check. They cannot vote. They cannot walk into a room like this one and ask for help. That is our job. That is our responsibility.”
Chris could not join us in person, but his conviction was felt throughout the crowd. When Chris learned about Reaching the Unreached, he did not simply send a check and move on. He helped build our nonprofit, and inspired those around him to put their heart in our mission too.
“Reaching the Unreached isn’t a line item. It’s a conviction,” Rachel told the crowd. “These children are counting on adults to decide that they matter. I refuse to be an adult who looks away.”
Two years ago, Rachel explained that she personally started sponsoring two boys through RTU. Joshua and Joel, “I thought I was doing something generous. I thought I was reaching down and pulling someone up. I thought the gift was flowing in one direction, from me to them. I have never been more wrong about anything in my life.”
Joshua and Joel are two joyful, affectionate boys who love soccer. In the midst of hardship, they find in a ball, a match, and shared moments a way to smile, play, and feel free. For them, soccer is not just a game. It is a refuge, a space where they can forget their worries for a moment and simply be children again.
They live with their three sisters and their parents, in a home full of love, but also marked by a very painful situation. Their mom, Viki, faces an illness that has changed the whole family’s life. She recently learned that her brain tumor has advanced considerably and can no longer be operated on. It is a difficult reality to accept, especially for a mother who thinks every day about the well-being of her five children.
Despite fear, exhaustion, and uncertainty, Viki keeps fighting for her family. Her love drives her to find strength where often it seems none remains, and to shield her children from a reality too harsh for them. Each day becomes a new battle, but also an opportunity to hold them, be with them, and remind them they are not alone.
Joshua and Joel, with their smiles, their joy, and their innocence, show the strength that can live in a child’s heart. They don’t always fully understand what is happening. They feel the worries of their home, and still they keep the ability to play, dream, and find happiness in the simplest things. Their laughter is a light for their family, and proof that even in the hardest moments, hope can stay alive.
What the boys gave back to her has no price, and a perspective that she never gained inside a boardroom. Sponsoring Joel and Joshua gave Rachel a front-row seat to what facing impossible odds really looks like. As Rachel shared, RTU serves as a reminder that resilience is not a leadership concept. The trait lives in children who wake up every morning in circumstances none of us would choose, and they persevere. They still reach for better, and they still have hope.
Rachel explained that every update she receives on Joshua and Joel, leaves her feeling less like a sponsor and more like a witness to something sacred. Rachel said a child discovering that someone out there believes in them makes all the difference in their lives, and that the children being helped through Reaching the Unreached are worth reaching.
“They didn’t need me to save them,” Rachel said. “They needed someone to show up. There is a profound difference between the two and RTU showed me that difference. I promise you, just like Joshua and Joel did for me, they will give you back far more than you ever gave them.”
Follow this link to support Reaching the Unreached. If you would like to sponsor a child in our upcoming mission, please email [email protected].
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