ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Local children at the Albuquerque Museum got cameras to keep and used them to capture their hopes and dreams.

Saranam teamed up with Pictures of Hope for the event at the Albuquerque Museum. KOB 4 was there as children shared what they want in life and got a surprise.

“My dream is to be a farmer, go to college, a crazy cat lady, a crazy dog lady,” Janise said.

Linda Solomon said the children focused on goals like college and having a home.

“I don’t think there could be anything more special than having children share their dreams,” Linda Solomon said. “Their dreams are so unselfish, they’re not hoping for iPads or things like that, they’re hoping to go to college, to have a home.”

Janise said dreaming helps children plan for the future.

“You can’t really know what you’re going to do if you don’t have like a dream to do it,” Janise said.

“We surprise them with cameras they get to keep,” Solomon said.

Solomon said parents sometimes learn something new when children describe their goals.

“So often parents say to me, ‘I didn’t know my child was dreaming for this in life, I had no idea,’” Solomon said. “We care about their dreams, we care they can achieve these dreams.”

The children will return to the Albuquerque Museum on May 29 for an exhibition. Their pictures will be printed on greeting cards and proceeds will go back to Saranam.

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Thousands of people will be making their annual pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo in northern New Mexico and Tomé Hill near Los Lunas Friday morning. The walks are in honor of Good Friday, with many people walking dozens of miles to complete their journey.

Each year many make the trek to the northern New Mexico church or Tomé Hill on Good Friday. Some start their journey in Santa Fe, others walk from as far as Albuquerque. The church in northern New Mexico has been a place of worship since the early 1800’s, bringing thousands from across the state for the chapel, shrine and grounds healing powers. The church is considered to be a sacred site and many believe it holds healing properties. Walkers also take the pilgrimage to Tomé Hill. At the top of the hill are three crosses and a shrine where people pray after making the journey.

Officials remind drivers to expect delays and stay alert on the road.

On average, more than once a week, there is a shooting near a school in New Mexico, and nearly half the time, someone is killed.

According to data obtained by the Get the Facts Data Team, there have been 833 shootings adjacent to New Mexico’s schools in the past ten years, resulting in 526 people killed.

“When you first told me the numbers, I thought I heard you wrong,” said Darren White, former Bernalillo County sheriff and public safety director. “I was shocked that there are so many shootings close proximity to our schools,”

White said that numerous state laws make penalties harsher for crimes occurring near schools, including firearm possession and drug dealing.

“We put laws in place years ago because we recognize that schools should be sanctuaries, right?” White said.

La Mesa Elementary in Albuquerque’s International District leads the list. In the past ten years, there have been 24 shootings within 500 yards of this school, resulting in 20 deaths. However, this school is not alone in being close to gunfire.

A map from the data team shows that statewide, Missouri Avenue and Valley View Elementary Schools in Roswell had 11 and 8 shootings, respectively, while Las Montanas Charter and Lynn Middle Schools in Las Cruces both had 8 and 8 respectively.

“If it’s being reported that it’s over 800 in this period of time, how many more are taking place that haven’t been reported that we didn’t know about?” White asked. “And so I would argue, like in many of our crime stats, that number is even higher. And, uh … It’s chilling, it really is.”

These shooting have either occurred at or close to the shools.

For instance, 16-year-old Andrew Burson was killed right next to the football field at West Mesa High School.

Another incident involved a shooting right outside Sandia High School and Christ Lutheran School, which led to both institutions being locked down in the middle of the day.