Student voices speak louder than ours.

"Brock came home from Guanaja a changed young man. He came home appreciating life and his life more than ever. As he said, life is simple there but so good. He couldn't stop talking about how the community is so welcoming in Guanaja. And how grounded they were. The experience turned my skeptical son into one who believes in meditation, grounding, and journaling. He went to Arizona with his cross country team a few weeks after and even lead the team in a meditation exercise a few evenings. When we first applied for Fish for Change, we thought we were going there to fish, learn how to fish better, tie flies, and fly fish. He came home talking about humanity, life and just being grateful for the community. He loved the fishing too, but it was truly secondary to the experience. There are four words that come to mind over and over again when I think about this trip and how it affected Brock: Confidence, empathy, passion and curiosity."

"Will is not an emotionally vulnerable kid. He is easy breezy, keeps his cards close, and lets almost everything wash over him, never being too affected by much. This experience was beyond impactful for him. I've heard you say before that the kids come for the fishing, but leave with a brotherhood, and that was Will's experience. He has good friends and community here at home and wasn't looking for that, per se, from this experience. The way he talks about the boys on this trip is amazing. They have been texting incessantly since they left each other and had a group video call last night just to hang out together. They are making plans to ski in CO and fish together in TX. The fact that you and F4C lift boys up, provide opportunity for adventure and risk, allow space for them to be their truest selves, and celebrate them for who they are is unique and powerful. It's exactly what they need at this particular stage in their lives."

"Heather, I wanted to send a quick note of thanks for an absolutely incredible week. Eddie returned to us positively glowing and the glow still hasn't worn off. He had the most amazing week and seems to have made friends for life. Thank you so much for creating such a special experience for these boys. This stuff is life changing, hopefully community/world-changing, and they (and we) are so fortunate to have experienced it. All of your little touches, the gratitude circles, the community connections, all of the special moments in between, are so important and meaningful. And the fish: all I can say is thank you for making those permit so cooperative this week! Again, life changing for Eddie. So thanks to the entire team, including the wonderful guides, for providing this opportunity for Eddie, and thank you to you in particular for the magic of this program. We are grateful beyond words."

"We are SO incredibly grateful for this amazing opportunity Josip got to live out in Guanaja!!! Fish for Change really is only 9% about fishing. It is about infinitely more, through fishing. To see the joy and wonder pulsing through this kid, and to know the world is open to him in a way it wasn't before, these are gifts F4C has given us as parents, and we weren't even there! 'Thank you' is too small an expression for the gratitude we are feeling. I reckon the full impact of this experience is yet to be revealed. I think we'll be seeing ripples for years to come. Every single person Josip interacted with was excellent. I don't know what kind of magic this is, but there is something in the water with F4C that makes people into the very best versions of themselves: kind, competent, fun!"

"I just wanted to say thank you for the amazing experience you create that is F4C. I didn't fully appreciate how the week for Andrew really would be about cultures integrating in a truly immersive experience. He has learned so much because he was living alongside boys from other countries and was welcomed into the local community there. I believe that's how people learn to fully appreciate the beauty of diversity, and I'm so grateful he had this experience."

"Thank you so much for creating such an amazing experience for the boys. Rowan is so happy and hasn't stopped talking and sharing pictures since he got home. He's also exhausted! We were all excited for Rowan to take this trip and the group and Guanaja lived up to every single expectation. Rowan is absolutely coming back next year. I'm sure there is still so much more for him to tell us, but for now we're just happy he's back and is totally fulfilled. What an awesome experience."

"Brady came home beaming with a happy glow and smile. He wanted to tell me about every person on the trip and was impacted in such a positive way. People make the experience and F4C/Guanaja is special because of this. Of course Brady went on to describe the places, adventures, and fishing trips. However, he kept coming back to the kids in the group, the guides, the people of Guanaja, and your staff at F4C. Thank you for such an incredible week and so many wonderful experiences for our son Brady."

"You are doing great stuff here and it has been fun watching it evolve. Jack had a great time in Mexico. He was a little bummed about not getting a permit but catching a tarpon on fly was cool. This is year 3 for Jack now. When I first agreed to send Jack off when he was 14, I was really thinking of it more as a fishing opportunity for him than anything else, and don't get me wrong, that is a HUGE part of it for him. But as a Dad, which is my most important job, I feel blessed that your organization has provided him the opportunity to see other parts of the world, given him the perspective of how other people in the world live, and instilled in him a love of the environment and an understanding that taking action makes a difference. His time with Fish for Change has truly been an important part of his childhood and his development as a man. I am grateful."

"Where to even begin, it's been 3 days since I left a place so amazing I thought it was a dream. My week in Guanaja is something I will remember forever, not only for the fishing but for the people I met, the love the community showed me and the overall effect this program and place had on me. A week I thought I would spend out on a boat fishing turned into a week of simply living. Something I said on the last night was I finally felt like I just lived. I mean this, I now understand what life is supposed to feel like. Fish for Change pushed me to go out of my comfort zone and be vulnerable. Through doing this it allowed me to have the best week of my life. Looking back at my time there is not one thing I would change. This is because we did it all, we built life long relationships with the community, fished our hearts out, learned so much my brain hurts, and LIVED LIFE."

"I didn't really know what to expect. I knew there was going to be fishing, but I didn't know that most of the time off the water was the time I really enjoyed the most. I had the best week of my life with people I've never met before and now are friends forever. This magical experience changed me so much because it showed me how kind people really are. Mangrove Bight is the nicest community I've ever been in and will be coming back as soon as possible."

"There are no words to explain the feeling of my week at Fish for Change. As Heather says, the days feel like weeks and week feels like a day. The connections that were built in such a short time will impact my life forever. I arrived at Mangrove Bight and within 24 hours, I had a new family. That family didn't just include the other students and leaders, but the guides, the guide's children, and the families across the town. This trip was my first time salt water fishing and I was a little bit nervous about the transition. The first day on the water, Kevin spent hours helping me learn how to double haul. His eagerness, excitement, and passion for my success and experience was demonstrated by every single guide and friend I came across that week."

"I don't think I would have ever imagined that a week in Guanaja would change my life so much. Less than 24 hours in, we were all fast friends laughing and joking with each other in the kitchen over cheerios. But in a blink of an eye, we were all sitting on the dock in Northeast Bight, shedding tears of happiness and sadness all at once, cherishing every moment that was soon coming to an end. From waking up early and eating breakfast together before fishing to staying up late to play dominoes or even a dance party, everything added to the experience. It's hard to put into words how much love that I have for a place. Which is absolutely crazy, considering I was there for only a week."

"Guanaja is home away from home. Everyone in Mangrove Bight is a family to me, and I look forward to coming back year after year. The love and joy that they have is very contagious, its almost impossible to be in a mad mood there. From fishing the beach in the early morning to playing soccer in the canchita at night, it really is a different experience. Each day is fulfilled with laughter, smiles, and pure joy. Jumping off the docks with fishing guides, cutting sugar cane with Killaway, and crab hunting with all the local kids."

"On the very first day of Tarpon fishing I was so excited and scared at the same time. Out of my 8 years of fly fishing I have never felt a feeling like I did standing on the bow casting at these tarpon. When I got a tarpon to eat my fly the feeling is indescribable. The whole situation was only about 5 seconds long but was the best feeling ever. Once the fly came flying out of the tarpons mouth everyone went crazy. The best part about fish for change is the constant positive attitude from everyone. I was met with high fives from everywhere."

"I had the opportunity to participate in the alumni week Guanaja program as the only new student. When I first arrived and watched my peers interact with the people of Guanaja, I immediately recognized what makes the relationship between Fish for Change and Guanaja so special. As students arrived, they embraced the children of the island as their brothers and sisters. They were welcomed into the guides homes for meals and to catch up on the events of the last year. Before I knew it, I was welcomed into this family and began forming meaningful relationships despite being an unfamiliar face to all. All are welcome in Guanaja and no one leaves without a new lens through which they can experience the world."

"This is Berto saying thank you again so much for letting me go on the trip, it seriously was so amazing. Already I think it has made me so much more comfortable talking to strangers and making friends! Just yesterday I was hanging out with Ansley and we wanted to go frisbee golfing, but we didn't have any frisbees. So we just went up and asked this group of like 30 year olds if we could join them, and they ended up being some of the nicest people we've talked to. We golfed like 12 holes with them and they ended up giving Ansley a disk! Besides the point that Guanaja has already begun to change my LIFE."

"What can I say, to truly sum it up? Guanaja is a pearl in the rough. You meet lifelong family you didn't even know about, enrich yourself with endless knowledge and stories that will make your American friends go 'wow'! There are many beautiful islands in the world but the uniqueness of the fishery, people, and memories are unlike any other. Those bonefish and permit, and the guides who are patient and wise with me will have my respect forever. I always cry with happiness when I visit, and mourn when I must go. Till we meet again, pompa jack."

"On the island everyone was living in the moment, taking advantage of each present moment and task at hand. People in Guanaja live day by day and because of this are happier because they don't worry about the past or the future. We all can adopt this nature. There was an amazing feeling of inclusion and acceptance from our Fish for Change group as well as all the locals which added so much joy in every interaction. It was inspiring to be around people who found passion and satisfaction with the little things. Whether that be spotting a single bonefish, or getting an exhilarating follow from a permit, even without success we could still be stoked about what just happened. Lastly, I feel that I grew the most by understanding the extreme importance of gratitude and appreciation."

"Instead of being quiet I want to be loud. Instead of being small I want to be big and take up space in my surroundings. Instead of stepping back I want to step up."

"This is my first time traveling without my parents, and I have to do everything on my own, so I think I improved a lot in making decisions."