My name is Juan Daniel Paredes. I am fifteen years old. I was born in Bogota, Colombia, a country located in South America, about which I only can share great things. Surely you've heard about this beautiful country from Shakira, Carlos Vives , Juanes... or maybe from Sofia Vergara, Rodolfo Llinas and surely Literature Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Nowadays, my country is at a very important moment because we are crossing through a peace process aimed at ending years of violence that have shown us globally as a difficult and dangerous country. Very soon this will change, and young Colombians like me have to be prepared to lead the new country that is being built. I want to focus my life on social welfare... to help who is next to me. From this point was born my dream, the dream of visiting Camp Rising Sun, to which I was elected after passing interviews. My happiness was great.

I am sure that my experience at Camp Rising Sun will last for the rest of my life.
I dream to share with others of my same age but from different cultures: What our traditions, food, clothes, music are, etc. But above all, I dream to learn more from those people who, after attending the camp with me will become my companions and friends. I am a teenager who since his childhood has searched to live different experiences that other people of my same age live, so I'm sure the experience in the summer camp will help to support me in making my professional and personal way. All the things I can learn during the summer camp, I will use for the rest of my life, and in any situation both professional and personal, the Louis August Jonas Foundation will be my flag that I’m going to  show and to support anywhere. To you who are reading my story, I invite you to help me to gather the necessary funds to pay for travel tickets. I'll be eternally grateful.

A diverse group of 120 gifted, highly motivated young people from 25 countries participate in Camp Rising Sun: four weeks carefully designed to promote personal growth, leadership skills, service ethics, and intercultural understanding. Through experiential learning, campers try new things, plan projects, and teach and follow their peers. By taking leadership roles, each camper learns what it means to be accountable to others and true to their own leadership styles.
Selection is highly competitive and based on intellect, character, humanity, leadership potential, and individuality.

Every student selected is awarded a full scholarship to attend Camp Rising Sun located in Rhinebeck, NY, 90 miles north of New York City. Their scholarship, however, does not cover travel costs. We are committed to having campers from all over the world attend our unique program. In order for many of them to travel to New York, we ask that you consider donating to help fund their flights.