By Natalia Anariba | educate. Director
Dear friends,
Warm regards from educate.!
I am delighted to write to you and share some special updates about our work and impact over the past few months. In this report, you'll find a few snapshots of the inspiring activities taking place at our Youth Center and across the rural communities we serve.
Today, our scholarship programme supports 46 students from rural communities in and around Trinidad. Of these, 40 are enrolled in secondary school and 6 are pursuing university studies. While these scholarships make it possible for young people to access formal education—often as the first members of their families to progress beyond primary school—their impact extends far beyond the classroom.
Our scholarship recipients actively participate in weekly programmes that strengthen their leadership, life skills, confidence, and emotional well-being, helping them become agents of change within their communities.
Youth-Led Community Journalism in Joven Comunica
Our youth communications programme, Joven Comunica, continues to equip young people with the skills and tools needed to lead projects focused on digital communication and audiovisual production.
In recent months, participants have conducted interviews with fellow scholarship recipients, documenting the inspiring stories and experiences within our community. They have also launched their own TikTok account (follow them @JovenComunica.educate) and begun creating content for the programme, including a video showcasing all four of educate.'s core programmes.
Joven Comunica is led by Josué, a university scholarship recipient currently studying for a bachelor's degree in marketing.
"I am very grateful to be part of this organisation that gives us so many opportunities," he says. "This year I want to give it my all and not give up, because educate. has given me this opportunity and I want to make the most of it."
Through Joven Comunica, young people are not only developing practical communication skills but also learning how to tell stories, amplify community voices, and become confident leaders.
UniDeportes: Football for Change
Our sports programme, UniDeportes, creates safe and inclusive spaces where young leaders promote gender equity and break down the barriers that many rural children and young people face in accessing education, sport, and opportunities for personal development.
Today, UniDeportes is our largest programme. In 2025, it reached more than 1,000 children and young people across rural communities in Santa Bárbara, Honduras, with more than half of participants being girls and young women.
Through weekly sports leadership sessions at our Youth Center, participants use football as a tool to develop confidence, teamwork, communication, and leadership skills. The programme also includes monthly youth-led community sports days in rural villages, bringing girls and boys together through activities that foster social connection and personal growth.
In addition, through local partnerships, we support community football teams and organise a rural inter-school tournament, creating opportunities for young people to learn, lead, and thrive both on and off the field.
Gender Justice and Healthy Masculinities Workshops
Over the past few months, our young people have also participated in a series of workshops focused on gender justice and healthy masculinities.
During our latest training sessions, participants explored how traditional gender stereotypes can affect emotional well-being, relationships, and personal development. Together, they reflected on issues such as emotional suppression and the pressure many young men can feel to be sole providers, while discussing healthier and more equitable alternatives.
One of our youth facilitators, Elvin, transformed many of these reflections into an inspiring blog post that we recently published on our website, titled "Rethinking What It Means to Be a Man: A Young Man's Perspective from Rural Honduras."
In it, he writes: "For the first time, I was in an environment made up only of men, openly talking about our emotions, experiences, and challenges. I realised that expressing what we feel does not make us weak - it makes us human."
As conversations around identity, emotions, gender, and personal struggles become more open, young people are building confidence, empathy, and stronger connections with those around them.
Thanks to your support, young people across our communities continue to learn, create, lead, and build futures filled with greater opportunities. Every scholarship, workshop, leadership programme, and learning space represents an investment in the potential of a new generation of rural leaders.
Thank you for believing in them and for being part of this transformation.
With gratitude,
Natalia Anariba
Director, educate.
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By Natalia Anariba | educate. Director
By Natalia Anariba | educate. Director
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