Build More Literate Communities in Rural Honduras

Increasing levels of learning in a remote rural region doesn’t come through short-term interventions. Knowledge doesn’t materialize with a shipment of new resources, and skills aren’t transmitted through one engaging class. Truly improving learning in a sustainable way happens when people feel a responsibility to ensure the education of their own communities.

In remote villages of the Cangrejal River Valley in northern Honduras, where educational resources are scarce and children have precious few opportunities to learn from literate adults, Un Mundo mobilizes volunteers to read storybooks, lead writing workshops, and gather entire communities together to celebrate literacy in our famous interactive drama Bibliobandido. But these activities aren’t only about stories. They are about encouraging local people to take an active role in the education of their neighbors.

Take 17-year-old Marcos, for example. For five years, he’s been volunteering his time for Un Mundo’s literacy programming, from playing the fierce police officer in Bibliobandido to reading fairy tales to a rapt audience of little ones. When he started, he explains, his primary motivation was for his own development — “I began with the objective and the vision to learn every day, to be someone better.” Through his experiences cultivating a love of reading and writing in villages of very low economic resources, though, it is clear that something else has begun to motivate him, something bigger than himself.

“Sometimes, when you go to the communities, you see the kids smile, and it’s something that really grabs your attention, something that you feel in your heart,” he admits. He talks about the progress that he’s seen children in his village make in their literacy skills, but he adds that he dreams of having a full-scale library in the community so that any child, any person can enter at any time to improve his or her reading skills. Not every 17-year-old thinks about the wellbeing of his community in his way. Marcos hasn’t only improved learning opportunities for children around him; he’s learned that he can make a difference in people’s lives, and he wants to strive to do so for the rest of his life.

Long after this year is over, after one project has ended and new ones have begun, what will persist in the Cangrejal River Valley are not necessarily the memories of one story or one literacy workshop but the ties between big-hearted volunteers like Marcos and the people he’s been able to serve.

In 2016, Un Mundo will be expanding literacy programming into four new remote communities, where we believe we will continue to foster this culture of education and spirit of reciprocity among hundreds more local people like Marcos. It’s because of your generosity that we’re able to pursue these goals; we could not be more grateful for your support. Please consider giving to the project again, or keep your eyes peeled for opportunities to contribute to Un Mundo on Giving Tuesday, December 1. If you’re not already part of our email list, sign up through our website or Facebook page. From Marcos, Un Mundo, and all the people of the Cangrejal Valley, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and have a rejuvenating Thanksgiving.