COFRADIA
3 homicides in the first week and a half we were here. One of our volunteers heard the gunshots around the corner and assumed she was hearing more fireworks. The next night, she found out about the incident “through casual dinner conversation.”
(Volunteer hearsay and local newspaper readings.)
HONDURAS
Country with the highest murder rate in the world 2008-2009.
(http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-highest-murder-rates.html)
60% of the Honduran population is considered poor.
40% of the Honduran population lives in extreme poverty.
There were about 1,650 identified cases of HIV in 1990.
There are presently about 27,000 known cases of HIV in Honduras.
(4 above facts taken from the San Pedro newspaper: La Prensa for our Spanish article discussion group.)
Public schools only meet about 100 days per year because of teacher strikes.
(Training discussion, mentioned by Julie.)
Students are only required to attend school through 6th grade. While few are able continue pursuing their education, most begin working to help support their families, play in the streets unsupervised, or fall victim to gang activity.
(B.E.C.A.)
CENTRAL AMERICA
There is an enormous problem with gang violence, due to past mass deportation from the United States, Los Angeles in particular. Because members grew up in the U.S., they have no family in their countries of origin. Without family, a Spanish language base, and cooperating governments, gang activity continues to increase, as members continue to rely on each other and their own language signs.
(Peer discussion about a UTube video not yet presented.)
BILINGUAL EDUCATION FOR CENTRAL AMERICA
We are here in order to give our students the knowledge and skills to help improve their own community/futures, by providing comprehensive bilingual education through 9th grade. One of our graduates continued his education at St. Andrews High School in Delaware. He returned to Cofradia to visit family and to speak with us before returning to the U.S. on a full college scholarship!
Please see BECASCHOOLS.ORG if you are interested in further supporting us in any way. You can sponsor my resource activities directly through the current classroom sponsorship campaign: http://www.becaschools.org/classroomsponsors/index.html. This is an amazing pocket of opportunity for our children and for us, as volunteers. We are all very protective and supportive of each other.
In 8 years of B.E.C.A.’s presence in CofradÃa, there have been no volunteer deaths, or injury due to violence. There have only apparently been 2 muggings across the span (shared in one of my initial interviews). We follow very strict safety guidelines and live in a community of supporters.
We can all use any help we can get to expand the schools and the program into as many parts of Central America as possible. At the very least, THANK YOU, for sharing in this blog and for being aware of what is happening here! Anyone who would like is more than welcome to come see with your own eyes, as well! We are very welcoming and appreciative of extra help and visitors!
