The Covid-19 pandemic has hit our communities hard. Many families in our community have lost their whole household incomes due to lockdown measures, with no government safety net to provide support. Food insecurity has become a growing problem across the country, and children are still out of school.
We have been working to support the educate. community across Honduras in a variety of ways.
Food package programme
Recognising an increasing problem of food insecurity and understanding the need for adequate nutrition for children’s development and learning, we have started a food package programme to support vulnerable families. The food packages we provide include enough to support a family for two weeks and include food and basic hygiene items.
It costs €8 to provide a food package for a family of 4, and you can donate directly here.
Learning resources for students
All schools in Honduras are currently closed, so our library projects (which are all based in schools) are also closed for the time being. However, some communities have been able to implement new book checkout systems for children to have books to read at home. The library projects that are still in the process of being set up (such as at the El Tigre school) have been put on hold for the moment and will resume once schools open up again.
We are also working to support teachers with at-home learning resources, some of which we outlined in a blog post here.
Besides that, some teachers and community leaders in rural areas have been organising extra-curricular learning activities to keep children engaged while schools remain closed. Fore example, in Las Lagunas students celebrated the Day of the Tree by planting 350 trees! Given the isolation of the community, this was able to be done safely.
Scholarship student support
The young people we support through our university scholarship programme have all been able to transition to online learning. Thanks to their scholarships, they all have a laptop and access to internet, and have therefore been able to continue their studies even though universities have closed. We have implemented greater support measures for our students, with bi-weekly check-ins to ensure that they have the support they need.
You can read about their experiences studying from home here.
Fundraising
In 2019, 60% of educate.’s funding came from fundraising activities. With ongoing lockdown restrictions preventing us from physically getting together for these usual events, this whole section of our funding has been temporarily on hold.
To make up for this, we have launched an emergency fundraising campaign and have been organising online events, with great success so far! We are incredibly grateful to our community for your ongoing and unwavering support.
