By N Lawson | UK Manager & Trustee
Our Honduran School Programmes – December 2023 Update
Thanks to your generous support, 1452 of the poorest children in Honduras continue to benefit from three regular meals a day, full time care and an accredited education in our schools in Amarateca and Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Thanks to you, their difficult early lives of poverty are being transformed.
Families in the most deprived regions of Honduras are struggling to overcome the economic effects of the pandemic and the damaging impact of extreme weather events caused by climate change which devastate their poor rural livelihoods. So, over the Autumn months, the Sisters of Mary have redoubled their community visits to reach out to these most disadvantaged families and to offer help to the poorest youngsters. Your support has made this lifesaving work possible and this coming January the Sisters will welcome approx 350 new students who will join us for the first time. They will have the chance of fulltime care, education and a brighter, poverty free future thanks to you and we look forward to updating you on their progress.
Working hard
The children already in our care at school have spent the last few months studying hard. Their chance at school is precious to them. They know our donors have sacrificed to support them and they are diligent students, grateful for the chance and ambitious to succeed. As well as competing in their extra-curricular activities, sports and hobbies, the girls and boys love to go the extra mile in their academic studies by competing, not just regionally but nationally and internationally and we are so proud of their achievements
The Girls’ soccer team from Tegucigalpa finished in first place in their local competition on 10th November and on 16th November little Elias in Amarateca won the second place, Silver medal in the country’s national mathematics Olympiad - photos attached.
Keeping up contact with families
Whilst the children are in our care it is important that they maintain close contact with their families which they do by regular calls and letters. The children have a long holiday each year but also enjoy regular family visiting days at the schools. These visiting days are a cause for great celebration, a chance to catch up with loved ones and for the children to share their progress with family. Everyone is invited for a day at the school which includes a picnic and presentations by the children. Thousands of family members attend including mums and dads, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and sometimes even pets! Attached are photos from this September’s visiting day at Tegucigalpa (Girls school).
Protecting the planet
Ensuring our education programmes are effectively run and kind to the planet is also vital to our work. Our children help us to ensure your funds go twice as far in their care by a policy of no waste, reusing and recycling everything at the school. We utilise green energy to power many of the facilities at the schools and the Sisters and children grow much of their own food. This practice helps the sisters to supplement the food budget, allows the children to learn and understand essential agriculture skills and ensures the schools are sustainable for the future. The Autumn months saw a particularly bumper crop of fruit for the green fingered boys in Amarateca!
Focus on the future
The children at our schools have been busy throughout the autumn with a focus for the final year students on preparing for future employment. This is central to our mission, to ensure our children leave school practically equipped for local jobs, so they can become employed, independent and help their families. Since August, the children have been busy with their vocational courses and the oldest students have participated in On the Job Training (OJT).Our students will use this real-life experience along with their vocational and academic skills in order to excel in their life after school.
Christmas
We can’t forget Christmas of course!. Every year our children are excited by the prospect of a small treat at Christmas and this year was no different. Many of our children have never experienced the luxury of a Christmas celebration at home and so we want to make it special for them. Your generosity means that alongside their studies these children can experience a little of what so many children are able to take for granted and Christmas 2023 was a joyous celebration of their new found childhood.
Thank you so much for your kindness and support for our poorest boys and girls in Honduras.
Happy New Year!
N Lawson, UK Manager & Trustee
31 December 2023
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