Building Hope

Between three different sessions: morning, afternoon and weekend, more than 1000 students attend classes at Nuevo Paraíso High School. With so many students, there was a need to expand their clinic. Parents and leaders of the school partnered with SELF to develop a plan to increase the clinic into a space with twice the capacity. In February 2019, with students, volunteers, and collaborators we inaugurated the expanded Nuevo Paraíso High School Clinic.

The Nuevo Paraíso High School is a Polyvalent technical institute with training in skills such as welding, sewing, cooking, electricity and agriculture. Many of the technical education areas of the school are in disrepair and not serving the hundreds of students that teachers are working hard to educate and train. These 3 next projects of the Building Hope program include repairs of metal shop windows and the home economics counter tops, as well as construction of a perimeter fence for the school.

A large overarching problem in Honduras is poor governance. Many projects and responsibilities are left to local government, including village councils that often have little education and resources. SELF seeks to improve community independence and empowerment, not only by providing leadership education, but also by constructing spaces for this local leadership to evolve: community centers.