Camilo Ríos has had a passion for soccer since he was 5 years old. In Colombia, his homeland, he played in the streets or in any fields he could find. He developed his skill to the point that he participated in a national tournament, although at a lower level, playing the position of midfielder.

“I like to hear stories from players who come from below, who are poor and get ahead,” says Ríos. His idols are Cristiano Ronaldo and Radamel Falcao.

Playing soccer is one of the fondest memories held by Ríos, a 17-year-old who arrived in the United States in February, crossing the border at 16 as an unaccompanied minor.

His dreams are to become an engineer and help his little brothers and his mother, who stayed in Colombia, but first he must get the equivalent of his high school diploma, the GED.

Since he needs everything from legal help to regularize his immigration status to a scholarship offer to fulfill his dream of becoming an industrial engineer, Ríos has been nominated for Wish Book, a program of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald that has been running for 41 years, helping the community through the generosity of South Florida donors, who make dreams come true for needy families during the holiday season.

Threats in Colombia

Even if the decision to come from Colombia to the United States — and then the journey — are extraordinarily tough, people like him have no other option.

“I fled from Colombia. My mom and I were threatened,” he says.

Ríos witnessed a gang crime in his city, Pereira, one of the cities that makes up the Colombian coffee belt, in the central Andes mountain range.

“We were standing there when a boy arrived on a motorcycle, took out his weapon and killed another person,” recalls Ríos.

Once in the United States, he was reunited with his father, whom he had not seen since he was a child.

What’s his wish for Christmas?

“Honestly, whatever they can help me with,” says Ríos, who lives alone with his father in a small apartment in Wynwood. The apartment’s rent consumes almost all the family’s income.

“He doesn’t have a job, only when he gets one for cleaning or painting,” says Ríos. His father, he says, is “my inspiration because he is a life’s warrior.”

The dream of being an engineer

Now Ríos is studying English and general high school subjects to earn his GED diploma, walking and riding the bus to school every weekday.

When asked how much he walks in the Miami sun to get to school, he laughs and says, “too much.” But that doesn’t hinder his goal of graduating.

“I would like to earn my degree, play soccer. Construction attracts me a lot,” says Ríos, speaking about what he has learned from his father.

As for soccer, in Wynwood he hasn’t found a place to play, but he does enjoy the murals in the neighborhood, he says.

In Miami he feels safe. “I’m not afraid of being robbed in the street.”

Ríos says that when he feels stressed, he likes to go to a park where he can look at the sea. There he thinks about his brothers and his mother, his friends in Colombia and his future.

“In Colombia I couldn’t find a job, but here I see myself moving forward, helping people,” says Ríos.

Grant a wish. Make a difference.

How to help: Wish Book is trying to help this family and hundreds of others in need this year. To donate, pay securely at MiamiHerald.com/wishbook.

“He’s very diligent, he’s doing very well in school, trying to improve his general foundation,” says Gemma Carrillo, an education specialist with the Miami-Dade Public Schools Police Department, which nominated Ríos for Wish Book.

Carrillo explains that Miami-Dade public schools have different programs so that young people like Ríos, who arrive too old to attend high school, can continue studying.

“He needs clothes, food, someone to help him to see if he can have an individual tutor,” says Carrillo, thinking of mentoring programs that have been successful on other occasions.

“He also needs support to find a scholarship, so he can dedicate himself to studying when he finishes his GED,” concludes Carrillo, describing Wish Book as her fairy godmother, for the help it has given students she has nominated on previous occasions.

How to help

To help this Wish Book nominee and the more than 100 other nominees who are in need this year:

▪ To donate, use the coupon found in the newspaper or pay securely online through www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook

▪ For more information, call 305-376-2906 or emailWishbook@MiamiHerald.com

▪ The most requested items are often laptops and tablets for school, furniture, and accessible vans

▪ Read all Wish Book stories on www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook