Education Beyond 6th Grade: Dreams Can Come True

Wow, another busy, but very exciting year for the scholarship program.  I was just in Honduras in January and had the opportunity to see the impact the scholarship program is having in these remote communities.  Many awards and diplomas for academic excellence were displayed in students' homes as they had been celebrating graduations and end-of-year  school activities.  Many of the students in our program are academically gifted but economically disadvantaged. Without the scholarship program, they would likely be working in the fields and doing housekeeping jobs. It made me so happy to see their proud faces and celebrate their accomplishments.  

Each one of them has a story to tell, but in the midst of their daily struggles, they are willing to give their best in school. They appreciate your generosity and trust in them.  Your donation is not only providing school supplies and uniforms, but you are also giving them hope, motivation, leadership and responsibility. They all dream of obtaining a higher education and eventually holding professional jobs to support themselves and their families.  Thank you for believing in this program and helping make dreams come true. The students truly appreciate your generosity.

2024 Highlights and Accomplishments:

• Provided school supplies, uniforms, internet access, transportation, lunch, graduation and project fees to our students

• Helped 130 students from 5 remote communities

• Sponsored 3 academically gifted students to attend the university

• 20 students graduated from 5 different high schools in the area with degrees in business administration, information technology, electricity and community development

• Multiple scholarship students graduated at the top of their class

• Increased student participation in different competitions and extracurricular activities

• All donations go straight to Honduras with no U.S. overhead expenses.    

StS hosts 10-12 Medical Brigades in Honduras each year.  These are American medical professionals who come to the mountains of southern Intibuca to provide medical services.  We are always looking for Honduras who have mastered English, whom we can hire to be translators.  It is often hard to find enough translators.

During my recent trip to Honduras, I had the privelege of meeting with the High School principal and 8 students who have been in the StS Bilingual Education program for the past 10 years.  These students were selected because of their mastery of English.  As I sat there, I had an "AHA" moment.....I thought to myself "why can't these students become Translators?"

I asked the students what they thought of that, and I was pleased to hear that two of them had already spent time with a Medical Brigade, to see how it was.  In the photo above, you will meet Rosa and Luci.  They both have lots of interest in being translators.  But, as Rosa explained "We need to learn the English words for more of the medical terms."  I thought this was a very astute observation, and I suggested to them and the Principal that perhaps the English teacher who provides Enhanced English classes to the students after school hours, could put a focus on MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY.  

We are excited to enter into this new endeavor, and hope that by encouraging our own bilingual students to become translators, that we will have a group of "Home Grown" Translators.

If anyone knows of a curriculum or training program for translators, we would love to hear from you.