I served in the Peace Corps from 2004-2006 in the small village of El Boqueron, Honduras. El Boqueron is located at the edge of a cloud forest, and local community members make their livelihood primarily from subsistence and coffee farming. Some families live fairly well from small remittances sent by loved ones working in the US, but the majority live below the poverty line.

The people of El Boqueron left quite the impression on my heart, and during my time at Simmons I have continued to brainstorm ways to create economic opportunity within this small Honduran community. Born from the notion that opportunity begins with education, I created Educarnos.

In the hope of becoming a non-profit in the near future, the mission of Educarnos is to provide the children of Honduras with the opportunity to attend school. In Honduras, most villages have small elementary schools that are sponsored by the government, but to attend grades seven through twelve, or “colegio,” students living in rural communities must travel to larger towns.

In addition to the costs of transportation, students are required to pay for their own schoolbooks, uniforms as well other materials. While these costs are minimal, most families do not have the means to cover these expenses. The goal of EDUCARNOS is link children directly to donors that are interested in providing scholarships to cover these expenses.

This past December I launched EDUCARNOS with an initial fundraiser.  The fundraiser resulted in enough funds to sponsor three students from El Boqueron to attend the local colegio. The three students chosen for the scholarship: Elba Patricia Ponce Escobar, Maria Alejandra Jiminez, and Tanya Maria Doron, happily began classes at Colegio de San Jorge de Olancho in mid-February.

The teacher managing Educarnos in Honduras reported that the students are doing well and settled in to their classes. The school is incredibly grateful for the support provided by EDUCARNOS, as are the three families of the recipients.

 Due to the immense response I received during my EDUCARNOS fundraising efforts, I am moving forward to establish EDUCARNOS as a non-profit. With the help of current Peace Corps volunteers in the field as well as Returned volunteers and other supportive parties, the future goal of EDUCARNOS is to widen its reach to provide scholarships to children throughout the country of Honduras.