Educate 1,800 impoverished children in Honduras

August 2023 Project Update

By Nicola Lawson. UK Manager & Trustee

Thanks to your support, 1462 of the poorest boys and girls in Honduras now have a place of safety at school with the Sisters of Mary. They can enjoy regular meals, full time care and the education that will transform their lives in our schools in Amarateca and Tegucigalpa in Honduras.

Learning and Growing

Coming into our care is a joyful but emotional time for the newest children and now that they have settled in, the past few months have been a busy time for the boys and girls at our Sisters of Mary schools. With your funds we have been able to provide additional teaching to help the youngest children to catch up with the learning lost during the pandemic and with the good nutrition and loving care of the sisters, the children are growing fast and thriving.

In May, the children were thrilled to welcome their families to the school for visiting day and to share their progress with their loved ones.

Then, thanks to you, every child at the schools enjoyed a wonderful birthday celebration on 15^th August - such a milestone moment for every child but particularly poignant for the children at our schools who have known so little kindness in their young lives.

Work, rest and play

The children study hard at school but it is equally important for them to learn to enjoy the freedoms of childhood and the importance of play for relaxation, fitness and mental health. Outside of the classroom, as our children grow in confidence they learn to play and are keen to compete at local, regional and national level at a variety of hobbies and sports. June and July in particular saw lots of sporting achievements for the children in Honduras- our girls’ football team and basketball team in Tegucigalpa were thrilled to be crowned national champions. The boys’ basketball team from Amarateca came second in the men’s national basketball championships and in July teams from the school took first place in Football, Basketball and Volleyball. The children were thrilled with their success and we hope you are so proud of the difference you are making to their outlook and lives.

Vocational training ready for work

The focus of our work is ensuring that when the children finish school they have the skills and qualifications to find employment. Academic education is a priority for the children to master but so too is the vocational training. Thanks to your funding, the children are able to study and learn skills relevant to local employers. In Tegucigalpa this includes culinary arts and computing and for the boys in Amarateca subjects include automotive mechanics, industrial electronics, welding and computer hardware servicing. 

Thanks to the dedication of the Sisters in building relationships with local employers, the children enjoy a period of on the job training with local organisations to support their future employment. After graduation they use their skills and this experience to find stable, well paid work with local companies. They are in demand by employers because they are regarded as fast, efficient and reliable and so employment rates for our children are high. Toyota is one of these employers and many of our Amarateca graduates have found a permanent role in this organisation.

Regular employment allows our children to become self-sufficient and in turn to provide for their family and members of their community - it changes so many lives.

You can learn more about the stories of our children in Honduras here and read our August update with the Sisters of Mary programmes in Honduras including an interview with some of the boys from Amarateca here.

None of this life-saving work would be possible without your generosity.

Thank you for transforming the lives of the poorest children in Honduras.

• global_giving_report__Honduras_August_23.pdf (PDF)