Searching for Hope

When Hope feels lost,
Faith helps us take one more step.

A wise person

Each harvest season, Nonito leaves his mountain village and walks for three days to the sugar cane fields, hoping to earn money to help his family. Along the way, he often stays with a kind elderly couple who welcome travelers into their small nipa hut. Though they have little, they share what they have — shelter, kindness, and the companionship of their three loyal dogs named Faith, Hope, and Charity.

As the years pass, Nonito discovers that life in the village is changing. Families are leaving for the city, hardship touches the people he cares about, and the names Faith, Hope, and Charity begin to carry a deeper meaning.

Searching for Hope is a gentle, beautifully illustrated story about kindness, poverty, family responsibility, migration, child labor, and the quiet strength people need when life becomes difficult. It can be used by parents and teachers to begin meaningful conversations with young readers about compassion, resilience, and the meaning of faith, hope, and charity.

Resources for Searching for Hope

Searching for Hope is a gentle illustrated story about kindness, family responsibility, poverty, migration, child labor, and the meaning of faith, hope, and charity. The story can be used at home or in the classroom to begin thoughtful conversations with children about hardship, compassion, and the importance of caring for others.

For Parents

Searching for Hope follows Nonito, a boy who walks from his mountain village to the sugar cane fields to earn money for his family. Along the way, he meets a kind elderly couple who welcome travelers into their home. Their three dogs — Faith, Hope, and Charity — become symbols of the love, courage, and strength people need during difficult times. 

This story may help families talk gently about why some children work, why families sometimes move to cities, and how kindness can make a difference in the lives of people who are struggling.

Family discussion questions

  1. Why did Nonito go to the sugar cane fields?
  2. Why do you think the old couple helped travelers even though they had very little?
  3. What do the names Faith, Hope, and Charity mean?
  4. Why do you think Charity followed the children to the city?
  5. What does it mean to “keep searching for Hope”?
  6. Who helps you when life feels difficult?
  7. What is one kind thing your family can do for someone else this week?

For Classroom Teachers

This book can be used for reading comprehension, values education, social studies, language arts, or classroom discussions about community and compassion.

Reading comprehension questions

  1. Where does Nonito go during the harvest season?
  2. Why does he leave his village?
  3. Who helps Nonito during his journeys?
  4. What are the names of the three dogs?
  5. Why do some families leave the mountain village?
  6. What happens to the old couple’s home?
  7. Where does Nonito find the old couple after the storm?
  8. What does the old man mean when he says, “As long as we have Faith, we will keep searching for Hope”? 

Vocabulary list

  • harvest season
  • sugar cane
  • mountain village
  • traveler
  • shelter
  • loyal
  • elderly
  • charity
  • faith
  • hope
  • migration
  • poverty
  • responsibility
  • resilience
  • compassion

Writing prompts

  1. Write about a time someone showed kindness to you.
  2. Write a letter from Nonito to his family after one of his journeys.
  3. Imagine you are one of the children in the city. What would Charity mean to you?
  4. Explain what Faith, Hope, and Charity mean in your own life.
  5. Write a new ending to the story.

Simple printable worksheet idea

Name: ______________________
Date: ______________________

After Reading Searching for Hope

  1. Who is the main character?
  2. Why does Nonito go to the sugar cane fields?
  3. Who are Faith, Hope, and Charity?
  4. What problem happens in the old couple’s village?
  5. What is one lesson from the story?
  6. Draw your favorite scene from the story below.

For ESL/EFL Teachers

Searching for Hope can work well in ESL/EFL classes because the story uses clear language, repeated themes, emotional meaning, and visual support. The illustrations can help students understand the story even when some vocabulary is new.

Pre-reading vocabulary

Before reading, introduce these words with pictures, gestures, or simple examples:

  • village
  • field
  • harvest
  • traveler
  • shelter
  • storm
  • city
  • street
  • lost
  • hope
  • faith
  • charity
  • family
  • kindness

Pre-reading questions

  1. Have you ever helped your family?
  2. Have you ever taken a long journey?
  3. What does “hope” mean?
  4. What kind of people help travelers?
  5. What can people do when someone is lost?

Sentence frames

For lower-level students:

  • Nonito goes to __________.
  • He wants to help his __________.
  • The old couple has three dogs named __________, __________, and __________.
  • Charity goes to the city because __________.
  • Hope is important because __________.

For intermediate students:

  • I think Charity followed the children because __________.
  • The old couple is kind because __________.
  • The story teaches us that __________.
  • Faith means __________, Hope means __________, and Charity means __________.
  • If I were Nonito, I would __________.

For higher-level students:

  • The dogs’ names are symbolic because __________.
  • The story shows poverty by __________.
  • Migration is important in the story because __________.
  • The ending suggests that hope can be __________.
  • This story can help readers understand __________.

Classroom activities

  • Picture walk: Students look at the illustrations first and predict the story.
  • Vocabulary matching: Match words such as harvest, shelter, storm, and charity with simple definitions.
  • Character chart: Students write what Nonito, the old couple, and the dogs do in the story.
  • Discussion circle: Students share examples of faith, hope, and charity in real life.
  • Retelling activity: Students retell the story using five pictures or five key words.
  • Pair work: One student asks comprehension questions; the other answers using sentence frames.
For Older Students

Older students can think more deeply about the symbolism in the story. Faith, Hope, and Charity are not only dog names. They also represent important human values. The story asks readers to think about what people hold onto when life becomes difficult.

Symbolism questions

  1. Why do you think the author chose the names Faith, Hope, and Charity?
  2. What does Charity represent when she follows the children to the city?
  3. Why is it important that Hope is missing near the end of the story?
  4. What does the old man mean when he says they still have Faith?
  5. Can someone lose hope but still have faith?
  6. How are poverty and hope connected in the story?
  7. Which is most important in the story: Faith, Hope, or Charity? Explain your answer.
  8. What does the final picture suggest about Hope?
For Creative Response

Students can respond to the story through drawing, writing, drama, or discussion.

Creative activities

  1. Draw your favorite scene from the story.
  2. Rewrite the ending from Nonito’s point of view.
  3. Write a diary entry from the old woman after Hope disappears.
  4. Write the story from Hope’s point of view.
  5. Create a fourth dog with a symbolic name, such as Courage, Peace, Mercy, or Joy. Explain why you chose that name.
  6. Make a poster showing the meaning of Faith, Hope, and Charity.
  7. Create a short comic strip retelling the story.
  8. Write a prayer, poem, or reflection about hope.
  9. Imagine Charity in the city. Who does she help?
  10. Write a letter to Nonito telling him what you learned from his story.

Famous Quotes about Faith, Hope and Charity

  • “Faith is not simply a patience that passively suffers until the storm is past. Rather, it is a spirit that bears things – with resignations, yes, but above all, with blazing, serene hope.” – Corazon Aquino
  • “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu
  • “Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.” – Helen Keller
  • “In charity, there is no excess.” – Francis Bacon
  • “The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  • “Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.” – George Iles
  • “As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled.” – Victor Hugo
  • “Charity should begin at home, but should not stay there.” – Phillips Brooks
  • “A ship should not ride on a single anchor, nor life on a single hope.” – Epictetus 

Thank you for reading Searching for Hope. May this story help young readers think deeply, care for others, and keep searching for hope when the road seems dark and difficult.