Introduction
Background
Fifty years ago, the Peace Corps began their work in Honduras, taking an important step in alleviating the poor living conditions and endemic poverty suffered by most of the population. The Peace Corps has accomplished great things, yet much remains to be done. Despite half a century of hard work, Honduras continues to hold the unfortunate title of the second poorest country in the western hemisphere.
One of the primary reasons for the persistent poverty is an inadequate educational system. It is said that Honduras trails its Central American neighbors in education by 35 to 50 years.
An educated group of ethical leaders is the best and greatest hope for permanently lifting Honduras out of an endless cycle of poverty. While outside aid in many forms can help individual families or serve as a temporary fix, the best long term solution is to educate capable Hondurans to assume leadership roles.
The Call to Help
In response to the aforementioned needs, Art For Humanity has used the “grass roots” approach successfully since 2001 assisting countless Honduran families escape poverty. After ten years of effort, we have concluded that if Honduras is going to move away from being the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, it will require Hondurans leading the way.
The need for Honduran leadership is the genesis of The Leadership Center.
The goal for the center is to train new and current grassroots leaders at many levels of society. Much of that training is done by students at The Leadership College which makes up the core of The Leadership Center. The students at the college are teaching in villages throughout Honduras as well as to Honduran groups visiting campus. The Leadership Center is one way we are influencing current as well as future grassroots leaders through seminars and special classes while The Leadership College is our long term educational program for high school graduates. These will be the ones who can be the next generation of business and political leaders equipped with the knowledge to guide their country into a brighter future.
The Leadership Center is the first women’s college in Honduras and is a center for teaching ethical leadership to various grassroots groups as well as to current and future elected leaders. Graduates of the college will be educated leaders ready to be employed at all levels of government. Honduras can emerge as a country known for a strong and diverse economy, promoting peace, education, and health care.
A General Description Of The College
The Leadership Center is a three-year residential college offering a degree in Business Administration. The college is modeled after Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, where students unable to afford higher education attend without cost. At Berea College, students work in college-owned cottage industries to pay for their room and board. The Leadership College functions in a similar way.
Students will study at the Leadership Center for three years. The first six months will be intensive English classes to get the students up-to-speed so that when the first semester begins, the classes can be taught in English. After they finish three years of classroom study and field experience, students will be given the opportunity to serve as interns for one to three months in the United States or other countries. After completing their internships, students will gather back on campus for approximately one month to fine tune their plans for the future. In all, they will spend about three and a half years in our program. Graduates of The Leadership Center will be invited back to the campus for one week, twice a year to continue to evaluate and refine their career path.
The Plan
Students are accepted from poor families and attend without cost. Without outside assistance, their chance of a college education is almost non-existent. The future of Honduras lies within the poor who are the majority of the population because they know the plight of the impoverished as they have lived it every day without hope in the political process. It is these impoverished Hondurans that will attend The Leadership Center and be transformed into the new, well-educated ethical leaders who can bring about the needed changes for their country.
Classes began in February 2011 with faculty being volunteers from the United States along with some Honduran volunteers. Eventually, graduates will assume more of the teaching and management roles. Many Hondurans are currently involved in this mission in formative, supportive and organizational ways.
Students in The Leadership College are making a difference in their country long before they graduate. While studying, they take what they have learned to other Hondurans in villages throughout their country. Honduran groups are already forming to arrange teaching centers throughout the country where students can share the knowledge they have gained on campus. Therefore while they are students, they will also be teachers, consultants and mentors to their fellow countrymen. This will not only multiply and amplify the mission of Leadership Center, but will also give these students practical leadership experience. Our hope is that Peace Corps volunteers and charities from all over Honduras will invite our students to their villages to share ideas, insight and more with the locals involved in business and development projects.
Location
The campus is two hours outside of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Because the site is extremely rural and high in the mountains, it has two intrinsic benefits. One, unlike much of Honduras, the area is very safe. Secondly, it has very pleasant weather. The night temperatures range between 50 and 65 degrees while the day temperatures range between 65 and 85 degrees. The safe environment and the pleasant weather make it a very nice place for volunteers to come… if they are the type who can enjoy the wilderness atmosphere. It is a beautiful wilderness place with a scenic river, waterfalls, and mountain slopes on which to hike, bike, think, write, create and of course grow organic coffee.
For those wanting to volunteer in an urban or suburban situation, this is likely not the place for you but there are many other ways you can help this mission to succeed.
Current Needs
Initially, the college is in need of financial donations as well as other basic items such as clothing, toiletries and class supplies.
Once established, the college expects to be entirely funded by the organic coffee farm on which it is located. Farm income should begin in about 2012 and by about 2019 the farm should be in full production. At that point, the college expects to be totally self-supporting and thus non-dependent on outside funding. Until then, your support is needed and greatly appreciated.
If Honduras is going to make the substantial changes needed to move out of the desperate poverty it now experiences, it will require the active participation of Honduran citizens. Only educated ethical leaders can bring about the systemic changes needed to change the future in positive ways. Within ten years, the Leadership Center and Leadership College will equip a new generation of Hondurans capable of facilitating change and finally making education and ethical political leadership a priority in Honduras.
The success of these plans is completely dependent upon volunteers and financial support. Please consider volunteering and/or making a financial donation.
Support can be made by check or credit card. Please send checks to:
Art For Humanity, 635 S. 25th St. Arlington, VA 22202-2529
To use a credit card click here.
Art For Humanity is an IRS recognized 501c(3) charity and thus donations are eligible as charitable contributions.