Girls Leadership Project
A model educational program to promote the role of women and girls in Honduran society
Shoulder to Shoulder developed a plan to help teachers in the rural schools surrounding Santa Lucia develop life skills that will result in improved self-esteem in girls ages 10-14. First, Shoulder to Shoulder presented a series of practical, innovative and model Training of Trainers (TOT) sessions that promoted the economic and social leadership of poor women and girls in the surrounding poorest communities. We choose to focus the training on Honduran teachers who would then teach and empower Honduran girls to apply their primary school education knowledge to the development of small-scale, home-based businesses that will meet community needs and promote self-esteem in girls. We choose the most isolated communities in western Intibuca, Honduras most accessible only by footpath. In these communities girls are seldom educated beyond the third grade and virtually never beyond the sixth grade. The reasons are related to complex sociological and cultural factors that are readily apparent but rarely challenged.
The second part of the project was to develop clubs that were required to be lead by girls, guided by teachers whose purpose was to develop entrepreneurial projects. This process of developing these clubs and initiating the projects resulted in remarkable changes in the self-esteem of the girls. The projects varied from starting community stores, growing vegetables to embroidery. Due to the intensive training of mentors (teachers) the objectives of developing girls as leaders were accomplished. We verified our findings by holding structured focus groups in each community and recording our findings. Over 50 girls participated and almost all have expressed a desire to continue their education beyond the sixth grade. This finding in itself is remarkable.
The teachers and communities involved in this project are as follows: Leoncitos, Magdalena, La Montana, Llanitos, Los Horcones, Palacios, San Francisco, Santa Lucia.
Results
After the initial seminar (Yo Puedo), Honduran Program Directors met with each school and reinforced the basic concepts of the program with the teachers and the elected officers (all girls) of each school. They continued to provide ongoing one-on-one consultation to the teachers and girls as they developed small-scale, culturally appropriate businesses. Businesses included community stores, embroidery, tourist items such as painting, piñatas and gardens. The teachers indicated that the girls were genuinely in charge of the program and successfully planned their projects. This included tasks such as making budgets, calculating profits, marketing and recruitment of volunteer labor. This included recruitment of boys to volunteer.
Final comments by the girls and their teachers
Schools are extremely interested in continued support from Shoulder to Shoulder. Each school indicated that the continued interest and involvement from Jacque Coello and the US volunteers adds significance to the program and further motivates the girls. They are looking more for personal involvement and moral support as opposed to financial help. (Santa Lucia, Los Llanitos, Palacios, San Francisco).
Schools are doing well financially. The programs are profitable, and the girls are reinvesting their earnings to continue the program. Palacios has used the profit to paint their school, and La Montana purchased a sewing machine with their earnings to do more work themselves.
Managing money and making money is the girls’ favorite part of the program.
At first boys were upset about the program, but over time, they gradually supported the project.
On the success of the project …
Cereth, La Montana: …(our embroidery) “sold because we practiced a lot and put our skills to work. We learned how to keep track of a business, to be proud of our work, and it makes us feel better about ourselves.”
Teacher, Santa Lucia: “There is a girl in the community who does not attend school and is deaf/mute. The girls in the project have taught her how to make pinatas. She now makes them at her home and gives them to the girls to sell in the store. Because of this program, she has learned a new skill.”
Josue, Principal, Palacios: “An added benefit of the project is that there is more communication between the community and the school since many townspeople use the store.”
On noticeable changes in girls participating in the project …
Teachers, La Montana: “Mercedes is very intelligent. Getting her involved in this project has helped her to use her intelligence and gain confidence in her abilities.” She has become a good leader, learning how to work with the group to get everyone involved.
Rene Orellana, Maestro, Santa Lucia: Before getting involved in this project, Damaris (the secretary) was quiet and shy and never participated in anything. Now she talks and laughs and is much more involved in classes and school activities.
Maestros, Palacios: All the girls are more outgoing and spontaneous in the classroom and in their social interactions outside the classroom since the start of the program. All the girls are less shy now than they were prior to the project. They have showed increased interest in their classes, especially math.
On what they’ve learned …
Kelly and Doris, Santa Lucia: now that they have some experience in making and selling pinatas, they are starting to “decide which kinds of pinatas sell the best - the bigger ones, the prettier ones. We are going to make and sell more of those.”
Alba, San Francisco: Being “more collaborative” was a change that occurred as a result of the project. It “showed that they had more capabilities than they thought.” Also that it made all their grades better. They plan to use the project profits to “keep the project alive.”
What you can do to help
Many of the girls involved in the project have started to dream. They dream about a future different than their parents. They dream of education and a happy, healthy life. Now, few from their remote villages ever go to school beyond the sixth grade. To do so, they must go to Santa Lucia to school where they must be able to buy uniforms, school supplies and pay for school fees plus occasional field trips. Although these costs total no more than $300 per year, it is far beyond the reach of most of these girls considering their family incomes of less than $500/year in most cases.
For only $350 per year you can support a girl and her dreams. Donate to the girls leadership program today!
