Category: Blog

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Working with the US Embassy to Enhance Education

By Richard E Buten – President, Board of Directors

StS and US Embassy in Honduras working together

StS and US Embassy in Honduras working together

The United States Embassy in Honduras and Shoulder to Shoulder, Inc., work with the Honduran Ministry of Education to bring digital learning to rural HondurasThe U.S. Embassy Honduras, Public Affairs Section provided $110,000 in funding to Shoulder to Shoulder, for the development and distribution of digital curriculum via the Kolibri platform to more than 1250 children.  This work supports the official Honduran textbooks and is being closely coordinated with the Honduran Ministry of Education who is assisting in the implementation.

This effort enhances educational opportunities of vulnerable youth in areas with low Internet connectivity.   This project brings digital textbooks, video lessons, and a library of digital library books right into student homes via the Kolibri Learning Platform.  With this, they can continue to learn during times when schools are closed due to COVID-19.  The U.S. Embassy has provided funding for the transcription of Honduran textbooks onto inexpensive Android tablets and their deployment to students in 30 public schools in Southern Honduras.

Kolibri is developed and maintained by Learning Equality.  It delivers a growing library of open educational resources designed for offline teaching and learning via open source software.  The software and content are entirely free.   It is centered around a learning platform with built-in educator support that can run on a local server device, e.g. laptop.  It is complemented by tools to organize these resources and others to the local curriculum.  In Honduras, Shoulder to Shoulder has implemented the complete set of textbooks needed for K-12 education plus a digital library of over 1000 books organized by grade level.

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Help Carmen Purchase Hens

Carmen is a 48 year old widow.  Her husband died 5 years ago.  She has two older children, who moved to other parts of Honduras to find work.  That leaves Carmen alone with her 7 year old daughter.

Carmen’s older children live far away and have families of their own.  Carmen did not want to depend upon them.  So, 3 years ago, she borrowed money from her family to purchase a small pig and a few hens.  When the pig grew large enough, she sold it, and with the proceeds, she purchased another 2 pigs.  The eggs from the hens were sold to her neighbors.

Shoulder to Shoulder provided a $250 micro-loan to Carmen.  With that, she purchased 25 hens.  StS buys eggs from Carmen each month, so we can give 20 children “an egg a day.”  Carmen would like to purchase more hens, so she can sell the eggs to a local market.

If Carmen could purchase more hens, she could sell more eggs.  This would be a great help to her and her daughter.

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Belinda’s Hens

Belinda is a 29 year old woman, with a husband and 3 daughters.  Her husband works as a laborer on a neighbor’s small plot of land.  For each day he works, he receives pay of $5.  But, the work is not steady…..there is only work for him about when the neighbor needs him. There are no other jobs available.

Belinda wanted to help the family, so she was excited when she heard about Shoulder to Shoulder’s “Hens Hatching Hope: Un Huevo Cada Dia” project.  StS provided Belinda with a $200 micro-loan, and she used the money to purchase 30 hens and build a wire enclosure to keep the hens contained.  With these hens, she provides 30 eggs per month to 20 children in the program.  Belinda is not selling eggs to anyone else.  Any eggs not purchased by StS (for the children enrolled in the program), are eaten by Belinda’s family.

Dear Donorfirst,

Belinda is a 29 year old woman, with a husband and 3 daughters.  Her husband works as a laborer on a neighbor’s small plot of land.  For each day he works, he receives pay of $5.  But, the work is not steady…..there is only work for him about when the neighbor needs him. There are no other jobs available.

Belinda wanted to help the family, so she was excited when she heard about Shoulder to Shoulder’s “Hens Hatching Hope: Un Huevo Cada Dia” project.  StS provided Belinda with a $200 micro-loan, and she used the money to purchase 30 hens and build a wire enclosure to keep the hens contained.  With these hens, she provides 30 eggs per month to 20 children in the program.  Belinda is not selling eggs to anyone else.  Any eggs not purchased by StS (for the children enrolled in the program), are eaten by Belinda’s family.
If Belinda could purchase more hens, she could sell more eggs.  This would be a great help to her family.
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