On Friday, March 30, from 12-2 p.m. at Beinecke Student Activities Village, Hamilton in Honduras is collecting donations for the San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS) in Cofradía, Cortés, Honduras. Teachers at the SJBS serve more than 180 pre-K to 9th grade students and families in the Cofradía community, yet lack classroom budgets and textbooks. The school relies on the generosity of American donors for basic supplies. All donations of children's, young adult and beginning reader books in English, as well as reference materials, National Geographic magazines, index cards, scrap fabric, glitter, paint, paintbrushes, gluesticks, tape, scissors, construction paper, etc. will be greatly appreciated.
After traveling to San Jeronimo for the first time in 2006, Hamilton in Honduras is quickly becoming an annual spring break service tradition. This year, Lauren Hayden '07, Lauren Miklos '07, Diana Gaydusek '07, Jess Mariglio '07, Julie Young '07, Kenji Tabery '07, and Julia Daly '08 made the trip from March 18-25. In addition to acting as positive role models and bringing new perspectives to the students at the San Jeronimo Bilingual School, the seven Hamilton students started a school newspaper, planted a garden with the children, and even helped build a playground.
They also gained a firsthand perspective of the dismal state of education in Honduras. Due to poor funding and working conditions, public school teachers often strike for weeks at a time. This reality creates a dire need for alternative schools like the SJBS.
The Bilingual Education for Central America (BECA) was founded by Hamilton alumna Jaime Tackett Koppel '98. BECA supports San Jeronimo by recruiting and supporting volunteer teachers and providing scholarships for about one-third of the SJBS students. To donate to BECA, please visit www.becaschools.org.
-- by Mariam Ballout '10
