At that learning age, students are shaping who they are and finding their path in the world sometimes living and dealing with very difficult circumstances, they want to belong; they want to feel worth it, the want to be heard, but also want to help and change their communities! For all of this they need skills and tools that will help them shape a new future. We all (females & Males) live with some type of fear we want to overcome. The fear sometimes never leaves, BUT there is always something or someone that will help us on the way to find the #Couargetobee that person we are building for ourselves.

The Courage to Bee project was launched officially in february 2020 when we went to the Dominican Republic to impact more than 200 hundred students with our first workshop “The Courage to bee me”.  The students will also receive through our project “ One Mochila at a time” backpacks and school supplies to go back to school.  We  will extend our projects in the future to more countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. 

As a single mother, bilingual educator, and entrepreneur living in Houston, Kerlin Sabogal didn’t have much money but felt called to start a nonprofit dedicated to serving underserved youth. When her son, Terry, realized his mother needed money to open a bank account for the organization, he generously offered $40 of the $80 he had saved from his allowance, becoming the first donor of The Courage to Bee, Inc.

A former journalist, Kerlin moved to the United States from Colombia in 2009, determined to learn English and build a career in education. The concept for The Courage to Bee, Inc. was inspired during her solo travels to impoverished countries, where she witnessed the challenges many children faced in accessing quality education.

The Courage to Bee, Inc. focuses on building a path to education for at-risk youth by providing free basic school supplies, essential life resources, access to technology, and skill-building workshops. In 2019, Kerlin visited the Dominican Republic, where she saw firsthand the need for educational support. In 2020, the organization launched its first pilot project in Houston, benefiting local students and those in the Dominican Republic. Since then, the nonprofit has reached over 3,600 students across four regions and is now preparing to launch its second pilot project in Honduras and a Sport program in Houston.

In addition to providing critical resources, The Courage to Bee offers a variety of programs designed to empower students holistically. Initiatives like Back to School Mochilas for Bees provide essentials such as uniforms, school supplies, shoes, and books to underserved students. The nonprofit also emphasizes leadership development through its partnership with Dreams Unleashed She Networks, where young girls engage in mentorship, social skills training, and entrepreneurial career modeling. Additionally, through a collaboration with Comcast, The Courage to Bee is bridging the digital divide within the Hispanic community by ensuring students have access to technology and digital literacy resources.