Poor education in Honduras has been brought about by public schools being underfunded, understaffed, deficient infrastructure, rural disparities, and low completion rates. Public school classroom sizes often exceed 50 to 80 students, with multiple grades levels being taught within the same class. This leads to only 32% of students gaining the foundational education requirements. The remaining 68% repeat grades, or more often than not, are promoted without the basic fundamentals, all of which leads to high dropout rates. Due to failing grades and repetition, it takes the average Honduran student 9.4 years to complete the 6-year primary curriculum. Only 32% finish without repeating any grades.
In the U.S, public K-12 schools spend, on average, $17,619 per student per year, while Honduran primary 1-6 grades spend is $1,029 per student per year. Even with the disparity in the number of years children are expected to complete, the amount available per child helps understand the financial reality.
With 60% of the country living on less than $2 per day, there is not an incentive for families to send their children to school which continues a cycle of poverty. Many children are pulled out of school permanently to work at a young age to help support their families. Families who can afford to, opt to send their children to private schools for better opportunities. The Ministry of Education cites widespread illiteracy, with rates running as high as 80% in some regions. Financial illiteracy is common place in Honduras leaving young adults lacking basic life skills.
The Conditions
Our mission is to work in multiple facets to affect under privileged, at-risk youth, and young adults. We have two primary focus areas. One opportunity is in Pimiento, a rural town outside of the largest city in Honduras, San Pedro Sula. Carpenters Grace Ministries is partnering with a local Baptist church, Iglesia Bautista La Gran Comision, to establish the first pre-school and kindergarten within the community. The new school building will provide access to faith-based education to children early on, before they fall behind. The building will also have a workshop for older youth to be taught a trade. Other opportunities within this community are to offer tutoring programs, life skills training, assistance with school enrollment and logistics, and assistance with basic education for adults.
Our second primary focus is The Home of Refuge Orphanage, where our daughter lived for close to ten years. We have a heart for these forgotten children and want to offer them opportunities to better their life. This includes addressing an aging structure and maintenance of basic systems we take for granted, providing adequate nourishment to support healthy children, tutoring programs, hiring more staff for closer supervision and structure for the children, and assistance with higher education or trade school for the older children, as well as job placement.
Our future goal is to open a trade school offering classes that are not available locally but are in high demand. By partnering with INFOP, a Honduran government institute for professional training, we can offer certified training which would open the doors to more job opportunities for those forgotten and left behind. In all areas, our goal is to meet these needs with the love of Jesus and a heart to share God’s word with those we come in contact with.