The Byron Buzz

The Byron District believes in developing good people as much as good readers, mathematicians and scientists! I’m grateful to work in a district and live in a community where values such as selflessness, respect, integrity, and kindness are taught, supported, and encouraged by its students and staff. So when an opportunity to partner with my church and go to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to provide training to teachers in a local school I was happy and excited to go.

Tegucigalpa is a city in central Honduras home to about 2 million people. Due to corruption, poor infrastructure and lack of resources life and school there are unfortunately far different and more challenging than in Byron. Access to clean water, nutritious food, good-paying jobs, basic healthcare and a quality education is not a reality for everyone. The national government does provide public education to its students but unfortunately, it is neither efficient nor effective. Classes are provided to Kindergarten through 5th grade students half the day and sixth through 12 grade students the other half. When a teacher is ill or doesn’t show up, class is canceled which happens often. Only a small percentage of students can afford to attend university after high school and therefore without proper training their ability and access to good-paying jobs.

In Honduras, if parents and oftentimes children do not work, they do not eat. Parents are then forced to decide between working and providing or leaving their children alone and susceptible to gangs and other organized crime. This is where the organization I partnered with, Nueva Esperanza, plays a vital part. It stands for New Hope. The purpose of this ministry is to provide a safe, nurturing space for about 200 students to come and receive support so parents can work without worrying about what may happen to their children. The ministry provides basic cares like toothbrushing, meals, and basic healthcare along with enhancing the learning provided through public school with a school program itself. During the half-day elementary-age students attend class, they participate in English, Science, Mathematics, and Honduran history classes. Secondary students receive tutoring and support with their traditional classes but also begin receiving training in the trades like construction, mechanics, plumbing, and electrical.

Our entire family traveled to Nueva Esperanza last July to work and support the children at the school. The school directors, knowing I was an educator invited me to come back to provide specific training to their teacher team. The teachers at this school are not formally trained and are craving any information, support and guidance they can receive. I recently returned after spending a few days with their teachers providing training and encouragement. Schools in Honduras are on break during most of December and January and it provided a good opportunity for me to encourage, interact and support them. Since last fall we’ve been collaborating on training topics. Interestingly, teachers there are experiencing similar challenges as we do here but maybe on a different scale. The focus of the training was on trauma and how to support students who are struggling with executive functioning skills and their social, emotional health and well-being. The challenges are big, but, after spending a lot of time with these incredible people, I’m really encouraged that the love and support they’re providing these children will make a difference and a positive impact.

The teacher tutors and school at Nueva Esperanza have far too many needs to accomplish in one trip so the hope is that this kind of support and training continues. Let me know if you are interested in learning more about https://hopeinhonduras.org/

Go Bears!

Abe Rodemeyer, Byron Intermediate School Principal