Empowering at-risk children in Honduras by supporting education and preventative healthcare, by educate

 
''In 2014/15 Antonia and I worked as volunteers teaching English in Honduras, which eventually led us to starting 'educate': an organisation that supports education in this small Central American country. We had both worked in rural villages in different parts of the country. I had taught English in 9 public schools and volunteered at an orphanage, whilst Antonia, in the orphanage where she worked, had been given full responsibility for the education of several groups of children of varying ages, some with severe disabilities and/or learning needs.

The experiences we gained throughout this year shaped us greatly. When we returned to Europe and both started university in the Netherlands, we realized we didn't wanted to lose the connections we had with these communities. Where we felt a responsibility to continue supporting education in Honduras. During long in-depth conversations about our time there, we always came to the conclusion that positive, sustainable and long-term change must stem from education. Consequently, we decided to base our NGO around a scholarship programme. We wanted to give motivated students the opportunity to attend school, or even university, whereby they would obtain vastly improved future prospects in the form of not only knowledge acquisition, but also job and career paths.

• Awarded our first scholarship to the incredibly driven and talented Stephanie Chevez! Stephanie is the daughter of two Honduran farmers but aspires to become a doctor. As the family has to make a living from selling cheese and milk from the 8 cows they own, they were unable to financially support Stephanie with her university studies. With educate.’s scholarship she is now on her way to becoming the first person in her family to go to university, and fulfilling her dream.
• Transferred our first installment to support the creation of a small animal therapy farm for children who have suffered severe traumas at the
  El Hogar Orphanage (the orphanage where I worked in 2014).
  They have just bought two donkeys - a mother and her baby- and built a donkey shelter on the orphanage premises!