In collaboration with local teachers, educate. worked to start a library, complete with school desks, at the Escuela Guadalupe Ulloa primary school in Trinidad, Honduras.
Trinidad is a rural town in the department of Santa Barbara, Honduras. With colourful houses surrounded by lush vegetation, Trinidad’s economy is almost entirely built on coffee production, with coffee fincas (farms) sprawling across the surrounding hills.
Trinidad has two public primary schools and two public secondary schools. The largest public primary school, Escuela Guadalupe Ulloa, has roughly 300 students. It is a simple school, with concrete classrooms built around a central open area where assemblies are held and where the students play football at break time. However, their resources are limited. In particular, there is a severe lack of books.
All over Honduras, even in large cities, it is extremely difficult to get books, due to a lack of bookshops and libraries. In Trinidad, there is not one public library or bookshop. This lack of access to books creates significant limitations for both teachers and students.
Books are more than just letters on a page. They are gateways to learning, imagination and growth, providing inspiration and empowerment to children of all ages and backgrounds. By providing books to Trinidad’s largest public elementary school, we provided these children with unprecedented access to information and creativity that could spark a love of new topics and learning in general. Additionally, access to books allows children to practice their literacy skills and teachers can integrate books into their lessons.
The Guadalupe Ulloa library was implemented in July 2018. Local carpenters built and painted the desks, and the International School of Panama organised a book drive to collect Spanish-language children literature.
There are two classes per grade (grades 1-6), and each class comes to the library once a week where they have structured time to read. Teachers also use the books in their classes, and every semester the students do a literacy project based on a book they have read. This library is having a huge impact!
educate. 