Students With Sponsors

Everyone describes Dulce María as a sweet girl, just as her name would indicate (dulce means sweet in Spanish). She is a bright, artistic girl, and Mayatan's creatove offerings like dance exhibitions, music classes, and art leave her bright eyes dancing with joy and anticipation. Dulce has a brother and a sister who are much older. Her mother is a homemaker and her father works for Hondutel, a telephone company, but he is on verge of retirement. Both parents make it a priority to provide their daughter with the best education they can, but her father's job status makes that difficult. Dulce was lucky to find a partial sponsor in December of 2010, a great Christmas present for her, but we're hoping to round out her support this year.

Dulce Maria is one of the brightest, most eager kindergartners we have, which is no surprise given the house she grows up in. Her education is so important to her parents that they spend half of their income to send Dulce to Mayatan. Her Dad is a cashier at a bank, and whatever he and his wife pay towards their daughter's education is a true economic sacrifice. Because the family was paying half their income to keep Dulce in school and because Dulce showed so much promise, Mayatan was going to raise her scholarship to full tuition. Then a terrific sponsor from the United States came along and invested in Dulce's future. Thank you!

Elsa Berenice is not only one of the top-performing students at Mayatan, she is one of the top citizens. She is a nice, outgoing girl who lures you into conversation with her dry sense of humor in which she pretends to be very serious but may be concealing a joke.  She also has top English skills. Because of her good scholarship and citizenship, she claimed the honored position of Honduran flag-bearer and led the Independence Day parade last year. Elsa has two older brothers who also attend Mayatan; one is in 8th grade and the other is an 11th grader in our new high school. The family farms in Santa Rita and sacrifices a lot to provide their children with an English education. Elsa found a sponsor for the 2011-12 school year this fall!

Sofia came to Mayatan mid-year during 2010-2011. She registered in the public schools as a first grader, but we started her at Pre-K to see let her adjust to Mayatan and beginning English skills. She is a sweet girl with parents who are highly enthusiastic about her receiving a bilingual education. Her father runs occasional tours for Hacienda San Lucas, a hotel, and her mother is a domestic. We all have high hopes for Sofia. Even though she had a slightly late start this year, she is off to a great start with her education.

Check out Fernanda Sophia's full story in this video, not to mention an online campaign to support her scholarship.

In November 2011, we found support for Gabriela's scholarship thanks to a generous grant from the Honduran government for students of indigenous backgrounds. It will be extended until 2013.

Gabriela is very bright and a good student, generally scoring in the top five of her class. She likes to draw, does her work, and gets along well with the other kids, though she is quiet. Gabriela comes from a poor family with many brothers and sisters. Some neighbors who used to work at Mayatan introduced Gabriela to the school and helped her apply for the scholarship. Her mother stays at home, occasionally helping in a bakery. Gabriela is the type of student who will make her family proud and for whom bilingual education will provide tremendous opportunities.

In November 2011, we found support for Jose Adelso's scholarship thanks to a generous grant from the Honduran government for students of indigenous backgrounds.

Jose lives in El Carrizal, a small aldea in the hills 3 miles above Copán. His grandmother walks him down the hill to school every day. When he was younger, she would sit and wait for him until school was out. Given the care that his grandmother puts into his education, it is no surprise that he is such a thoughtful student. He’s conscientious about his studies and especially his books, which he carefully protects from weather, wear, and termite damage. In fact, he loves books so much that he wanted to have a Library Week t-shirt but didn’t have the money. Undeterred, he carved wooden tops himself and sold them to raise the balance. Jose has a sponsor that covers part of his costs: books, registration, fees, and a part of his tuition. He needs support for meals and the rest of his tuition from someone who cares about students the way he cares about books.

Mayatan was lucky enough to receive its first ever grant in the 2011-12 school year from the Honduran government to support indigenous student scholarships. This grant will be renewed in 2012-13. It covers tuition for the La Pintada children during that time. Additional donations will cover extra costs like meals and uniforms and be credited forward in the students' accounts.

Several years ago, Mayatan committed to educate four children from the indigenous village of La Pintada that Peace Corps volunteers introduced to the school. Even if the La Pintada children don't get sponsors, the school supports them with full tuition, uniforms, fees, transportation, and food. Both the children and Mayatan have been lucky to receive great students from caring families with few resources. They help each other by going through the ranks of Mayatan together.

The children make great sacrifices just to get here; because no buses can reach La Pintada, they leave home at 5 a.m. and walk 45 minutes to just to catch the bus. All of their parents are very supportive of their children’s educations. They have no money, but they participate in every school activity despite the distance, and they use dictionaries to translate their children’s assignments so they can help.

It is quite expensive for Mayatan to educate children from La Pintada, and just as their community pools its resources to help them, we pool donations to the children. The annual cost is $10,000 for the group, or $2500 a child. We pool together resources every year to help sponsor these children.

Milton Daniel comes from a large, poor family. His mother doesn’t read or write, but she is proud that her son can. Milton doesn’t have electricity at home, so he sometimes struggles to do homework at night. He was hit by a moto walking to school in the dark one day, but we’re thankful that he is fine.

Sara Yaquelin’s father started a program to teach Chorti, the indigenous language of the La Pintada community which is at risk of dying out. For Sara and some of her classmates, then, English is a third language, and she is becoming tri-lingual, which will be an immense help to her community.

Harlyn Elizeth’s mother earns money by making corn husk dolls, flowers, and textiles to sell at La Pintada and in Copán. She got her start through a government program to teach crafts to people from the aldeas, and her handicrafts are popular tourist purchases.

Kensy Elizabeth’s mother got her start running a small restaurant in La Pintada through a microloan program that stimulates indigenous businesses with small cash advances. Her mother’s chicken and fish are particularly well-known.

Lourdes was lucky enough in 2010-2011 to attract donations to cover the entire cost of her education for this year. She will still be seeking sponsorship for 2011-12, however. Lourdes’s teachers describe her as a really sweet girl with charmingly adult mannerisms. She is quick-minded, and she worked hard to improve at math by staying late for tutoring. Mayatan raised Lourdes’s need so that her family could afford to send her brother, Jose Luis, to the high school. Not that Lourdes doesn't deserve a scholarship: she is tremendously bright and outgoing, and she always appears on the honor roll. Her parents run a very small hotel in Copán, Hotel Don Moises, and she has two younger brothers.

Marilin is a quiet, attentive student and a quick learner. Her original award was for a half scholarship, but her top-notch academics and financial situation have convinced us to raise the amount. Marilin lives with her single mom, and she is lucky enough to have part of her tuition covered by a local business. Even with this scholarship, however, she required help to pay for books and registration, and we were looking for a generous sponsor to help with the rest. We found that sponsor in  2011, and we're excited indeed. Marilin has no further need for sponsorship thanks to this help.

Marlon is a very intelligent and creative student. He comes from a large household in one of the poorest areas of Copán that includes his grandfather, three older brothers, and two younger brothers. Being part of a large, exuberant family has made Marlon someone who is eager to help others. Although he is one of the bigger students in class, he can be shy in a large group; nevertheless, he is more than willing to express himself one on one or in small groups. He loves to play soccer and is good goalie. Marlon’s mother is the sole breadwinner in the family, but she has just had a baby and is not working now, which makes this a particularly important time for him to find outside support. Because the family cannot pay, he needs a completa scholarship, which includes books, fees, and meals. Marlon has a great sponsor who covers tuition and many fees, but he has other needs as well.

In November 2011, we found support for Marlon's scholarship thanks to a generous grant from the Honduran government for students of indigenous backgrounds. It will be extended until 2013. Any extra donations will cover Marlon's costs like uniforms and meals or be credited forward to future years.

Vanessa is funny and confident in addition to being an above average student with great English skills. She spent several months in the United States during one period, and her English was so good that, when she went to school, she was placed in an English-speaking rather than a bilingual classroom. Vanessa’s up-tempo personality always lets her find the humor in a situation, and it keeps her dancing too. (A current favorite is Justin Bieber, although that will pass!) She has two brothers, Renecito and Miguel, who also attend Mayatan. Her father works for the Hotel Marina Copán, which contributes to part of her tuition. She found a generous sponsor of the 2011-2012 school year, so she can join her brothers in receiving a world-class education.