Brenda Lemus, Yo'o Guatemala

CNN Heroes 2023

In 2011, in memory of her father, who was killed during Guatemala’s civil war, Brenda Lemus helped start a library in Purulhá, the small town where he was born and raised. She noticed that the children in the rural community were living in extreme poverty, with poor education, and plagued by malnutrition. So, she began turning the library into a community center where students could receive free school supplies, books, and food for themselves and their families. Since then, her nonprofit, Yo’o Guatemala, has supported more than 2,000 children through its education, literacy, health, and community building programs.

Read about Brenda on CNN.com.

Watch CNN Hero Brenda Lemus’s video here.