Education at public schools in Honduras is for free. Nevertheless, it is difficult for many children from poorer areas to attend classes adequately. Many families cannot afford school materials and uniforms for their children. The money is not even enough for a pencil.
Imagine sitting in the classroom and absorbing everything just by listening, and that for several hours a day. Impossible!
These children have no possibility to take notes, let alone study for exams at home. They rarely get any help at home, because the parents also had poor school education and cannot help the children at all.
The poor school education also means that people cannot find well-paid work and have to feed a family with little money.
There is education for adults. But this costs money and those who need it cannot afford it.
Life in poverty is hard and the thought of joining drug crime to possibly earn some more money for the family is obvious.
A never-ending vicious circle.
This is exactly where the education centre in Santa Rose de Copán comes in.
The centre offers training opportunities and courses for adults, which are free of charge for everyone. Everything is financed by donations.
You can become a carpenter, welder, nurse or tailor. There are also painting, pottery and computer courses. After completing the training and courses, the graduates are awarded a nationally recognised diploma, which will make it much easier for them to start their professional lives.
The computer rooms may also be used by neighbouring schools so that the children have access to the internet.
And for those who cannot afford to travel to Santa Rosa, the foundation has its own bus that picks up people in the surrounding villages and drives them to the educational centre.
Oh yes, and there is also a plantation. Coffee, bananas, plantains, yuca (manioc), pumpkin and corn are grown.
The foundation gives so many people hope and the opportunity to finally break free from this hamster wheel of poverty.