I believe every child on this planet is born with a song inside them; some have simply never been given the space, the safety, or the love to let it out. That is why I created I Have a Voice. What began in 2017 with one small choir in Morelia has already become a family of ten choirs across Mexico and Australia, with more than three hundred children who now stand taller, smile wider, and sing louder than they ever dreamed possible. But this is only the beginning. My heart sees thousands - no, tens of thousands - of children whose early lives have been marked by loss, abandonment, or hardship stepping into our circle and discovering that their voice is powerful, beautiful, and unquestionably theirs. I see new choirs blooming in cities and villages across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and beyond, each one a lighthouse of joy for children who have been told, in a thousand silent ways, that they do not matter.

I see a world where the ripples we create today become waves tomorrow. Every child who learns to sing with us carries confidence, discipline, and a sense of belonging back into their schools, their families, and their communities. Those ripples touch Teachers who believe again in possibility, Foster Parents who discover new patience, and Neighbours who begin to see the orphan next door as a future leader. One day soon, the young girl who arrived mute with fear will stand on a stage conducting her own choir of children who once felt exactly as she did. The boy who could not look anyone in the eye will travel the world sharing his story of healing through music. These children will grow up knowing they are loved beyond measure, and they will turn around and love others the same way. That is the exponential miracle I live for: every stone we throw into the sea of life today becomes a tide of kindness, respect, and inclusion that will lift entire generations.

This is my promise and my sacred work: as long as there is one child who has never heard their own voice celebrated, I will keep working. Together, with every new choir we open and every new heart we reach, we are creating a more loving, more joyful, and truly more human world - one courageous young voice at a time. Throughout this journey, I have never felt more alive, more unstoppable, or more certain that this dream will cover the earth.

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Martha Tellez
Founding Director, I Have a Voice Joyous Choir