LCN grew from the vision of just three friends: Edward Guzman, Angela Serna and Paola Saavedra. Sharing Latin American backgrounds, they each felt the drive to enrich the UK’s Latin American community and support its youth. By pooling their experience, expertise and connections (not to mention putting in serious working hours), that’s exactly what they did. Here’s their story…
Angela Serna and Edward Guzman got to know each other at a Latin event in the late 2010s. They bonded over shared Latin American roots and Angela’s struggles moving to the UK from Bolivia at age 10. That conversation was pivotal. It ignited an idea which had taken root in Edward’s mind: a project devoted to supporting vulnerable Latin American youth. He outlined the idea to Angela, and she was eager to get involved. They jumped to work, pouring their unique skills in law and technology to lay the crucial foundations for what would become LCN.
There was a missing link, though. The project was missing someone who could make it competitively viable through marketing, networking, and events expertise. That’s where Angela’s friend Paola came to the rescue.
Through Angela, Edward and Paola became fast friends, and the three settled on the idea of forming a registered charity. Meeting regularly at the pub ‘The Shakespeare’ by Victoria Station (LCN’s early unofficial HQ), they built LCN piece by piece, every three friends bringing a different skill set to the table. It wasn’t always easy, but their shared passion for seeing the Latin American youth of tomorrow thrive has helped LCN grow from a wild dream between friends into a functioning, successful charity!