The “Little Books of Hope” series served as the inspiration behind the Rally Schools for a Sustainable Future, later renamed the Continental Rally. Featuring Esperanza and Ojopelao’s friends as the main characters, these books aimed to cultivate leadership in sustainability and disaster risk reduction among future generations.

Raising an Interamerican Heritage* from scratch!

The inspiring story of the Vive con Esperanza Foundation has its roots in the character of Esperanza, a brave dove who stars in the Little Books of Hope Series. Created by psychologist Fernando García García and narrated by Rocío Galvis Guerrero for their children, this series aims to prepare children from an early age for the challenges of the world that awaits them.

The narrative begins with the sad loss of Esperanza, after humans destroyed the forest where she and her family lived with their friends: Ojopelao, the hummingbird; Saggy, the tile; Silvio, the owl; Lilo, the parakeet; Carla, the parrot; and Omar, the canary. Although her parents, Pepe and Maye, give her up for dead, her friends embark on a brave search and discover with astonishment that Esperanza has arrived in the city and can communicate with humans.

This group of birds sees in this ability an opportunity to teach children the wisdom of nature, encouraging them to become leaders who promote harmonious coexistence with the environment, face adversity, and take responsibility for repairing the damage caused. Esperanza decides to impart lessons of resilience to them, involving them in an exciting race against time and for life, which they call the Rally.

The story of Esperanza and her friends came to light at the XXV International Book Fair of Bogotá in 2012, and from there the project of the Schools Rally for Sustainable Future is born, which will later be called: The Continental Rally.
First photo taken of the Rally action, initially developed in colombian schools. In the picture, participating boys and girls in “My Garden of Hope” action, dressed as Esperanza and Ojopelao at the Los Araujos Megacollege in Montería, Colombia 2012, who were planting vegetables inside recycled notebooks.
 

Schools with Sustainable Future Rally starts!

On March 15, 2013, Liz Thompson, a prominent leader of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, praised the Schools Rally project as an interesting and valuable initiative. This led the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to become the first jury and support its dissemination starting the following year.

Subsequently, UNESCO, the Organization of American States, and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction joined as jurors, consolidating the Continental Rally as a significant international event.

With the participation of 439 schools in 2014, the Continental Rally began to stand out for the remarkable contribution of schools and the commitment of various supporting organizations.
In the photo, the Marcus Garvey Gallery in the OAS Main Building in Washington DC, USA. where best digital works from participants of Continental Rally will be held on 28th April, 2025.