A Decade Educating Kids with Disabilities-Honduras

Dear friends and family,

Last year, when we Un Mundo board members began kicking around ideas for a fundraising campaign, we'll admit that we were a little nervous. We knew that some of you hadn't heard from the organization for a while, and we wondered whether our small projects in Honduras would be able to fit onto your list of giving priorities. Nevertheless, we all felt a deep obligation to getting much-needed funds to Un Mundo and the thousands of rural villagers who benefit from our programs, and we knew that our Special Needs Program, in particular, was in dire need of resources. So, we decided to give it a shot.

We scarcely have words to express how grateful, how touched, how absolutely blown away we were by your generous response. We had doubts that we'd reach our goal of $10,000, and you helped us to raise more than $15,000, including almost $10,000 here on GlobalGiving. You moved all of us to tears and brought us more joy over the holiday season than we ever imagined. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! We can't say it enough.

Of course, as grateful as we are, the people who are most moved by your generous donations are the children with special needs, their families, and the volunteers who support them in Honduras. We have heard reports of their bright smiles and renewed confidence this year — knowing that Un Mundo will be able to continue providing these children with educational, health, and social supports means the world to them.

You may enjoy reading this latest update from the field, from our Executive Director, Denis:

"In 2020, after the successful fundraising campaign through letters and GlobalGiving, we have made progress in conducting psycho-pedagogical evaluations with each boy and girl in the ASEC program, to better understand each one's current situation, and develop an Individualized Educational Plan that allows us to measure the progress of each child at the end of the year. Additionally, we have identified 13 children with more severe disabilities, to be able to provide them access to medical evaluations and exams by a pediatric neurologist.

We're also developing a personalized plan of care with each child, in each school, through our Special Needs Volunteers, who design educational tools that teachers can apply in the classroom, to facilitate each child's learning. This allows us not only to improve the learning of children with special needs, but also all children who share classrooms with them.

Without a doubt, and based on listening to the comments and testimonies of our direct beneficiaries and other key stakeholders, this program will continue to change the lives of people with special needs, a population that has historically been marginalized and excluded."

Our ability to continue offering these life-changing services is thanks to you. And, with growing health concerns worldwide, Un Mundo's work will only be more important in 2020. Together, little by little, we can enable all Honduran children with special needs to reach their full potential.

With sincere gratitude, 

Tim, Elly, Elias, Amanda, Brian, & Elliott

Un Mundo Board of Directors