Category: Education

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2022: Continued Success

By Mariela Rodriguez – Communications Coordinator

Student at Reading Competition

Student at Reading Competition

Dear Donor,We are in awe of how quickly another school year has come to a close and with it a reflection of many successes in our team’s work. Alongside teachers, the Intibuca Education department and local mayors, we have accomplished so much and cannot wait for what 2023 will bring.

At the Education Department level, we expanded our Reading Contest Program for the first time to all 17 municipalities. A competition event took place where 100 schools and 7,000 students participated. Students entered written essays and the final contestants presented an oral summary of one book at the event. A live Kolibri evaluation was also projected during the event to demonstrate the platform’s potential, intriguing non-Kolibri teachers present. There was even a commitment from the Department Director to continue the Reading Contest Program yearly.

We have had success in meeting with 16 of the 17 municipal mayors of Intibuca to seek their commitment in providing an IT support for their Kolibri schools for the coming year. Moreover, another mayor has purchased TVs for their Kolibri schools. And another sent tablets, gifted from multiple non-profits, to be loaded with Kolibri by Shoulder to Shoulder FOR A PROFIT. After several years focusing on content development we are proud of our on-the-ground team’s potential to bring in funds and help itself out. We look forward to finding even more ways to create sustainability.

Finally, we are filled with hope for 2023 as we have received funding once more from the U.S. Embassy,  $30,000, to support our team’s work. Our partnership with the U.S. Embassy has been ongoing for several years now and we hope to continue being recognized for the work we do in our communities and the impact it is having year after year.

Look for more reports in the coming year of what our team is up to and how we are continuing to bring change and innovation to our children’s education.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year from Shoulder to Shoulder!

 
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Alexis 5 years post-FIRST Global

Dear Donor,

Our Robotics team just returned to Honduras from Geneva, Switzerland This was our 6th year participating in the FIRSTGlobal international challenge. Meet Alexis – a member of our 2017 team, who is now a mentor, and even accompanied our students to Geneva.

Alexis is currently completing his undergraduate degree in computer science  engineering. He began volunteering full-time with our students in 2020. Alexis challenged himself to grow and learn so that he could help the team. He learned coding; he began planning and leading team meetings; and he even taught himself English with YouTube and books. Alexis recounts, “I very much had in mind that learning English was a necessity since the 2017 challenge… and to increase my probabilities of professional success I tasked myself to learn.” Alexis is now reading, talking and writing in English – he has even written a CREE blog on www.robot.hn all on his own.
We congratulate and celebrate young minds like Alexis – and like so many other bright folks we encounter in Intibucá. That’s why we ask that for Giving Tuesday (November 29th) you remember to support STEM education in Intibucá.

Alexis recounts how STEM education has impacted him, “[it] and my participation in 2017 was transcendental in my deciding what to study,” and also, “in all the positive ways and especially that it was during my early youth because from that point on I acquired so many experiences that will serve me in my professional life, soon to begin.”

We cannot wait for our alumni mentor to graduate in 2023 and we await all that he will contribute to the STEM field and to his community.
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Our Team is Back From Geneva

After two days of travelling back to Honduras and recovering from jetlag, our FIRST Global team is basking in the great competition that they underwent in Geneva. As many of our students have never even travelled outside of our department, the new environment, the stress, and the excitement put our students’ focus to the test – and even our mentors’. Even so, their motivation to excel ignited their minds. 

When our robot experienced some hiccups, the team quickly used their skills to modify “Richard” and continue fighting on the playing field. Our mentors Alan, Alexis, Henglyns, Nora and Minsis all were there remind our students that while winning is our objective, there is so much learning and growing that happens along the way.

Our team received, once more, the FIRST Global award in safety, given to teams that exemplify safety standards on the field and in their pits. And secured spot #6 in America and #2 in Central America! 

A donation to our program means you continue to believe in our students, STEM education, their potential and how far it can make them fly! 

We are grateful to all the support from our Shoulder to Shoulder team, from donors – both US and Honduran, and from local Honduran government.

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