Carol in Honduras

Carlos

I would like you to meet Carlos. This young man will complete Grade 12 in a few months after overcoming what most of us would find insurmountable obstacles. He borrowed 50$ from me to finish eleventh grade and when coffee season arrived he paid back every cent. His father is paralyzed and his mother supports the family as best she can by working in the fields as seasonal labor. He needs about 250$ to complete his schooling…..for uniforms for his work experience in a hotel, money to do his volunteer experience locally, money for a compulsory field trip to SPS and also money for graduation expenses. We worked out the budget today. Half will be a “scholarship” and half a loan. He will start repaying me in December when he finishes school……during coffee picking season. He says he makes about 5-7$ a day depending on how much he picks. His dream is to go to university.

The chickens are alive and laying. I love the chickens!
I had a celebration for the 7th Grade class. These will be the first 5 people to finish a Grade level past Grade 6 in this community

I spent time with Maria, Luisa, Paula, Marvin and Samuel discussing their work . They wrote notes to thank me and those who funded this project for this opportunity.

All in all I am pleased with both the Chicken program and the 7th Grade program in El Chilar. There are some particular challenges with the chicken project and decisions to be made when this school year finishes in November.