Help Us Raise $200,000 For The Kids This Spring!
About the Education and Empowerment FundProject SummaryThousands of children in Honduras do not have access to an adequate education. In Villa Soleada alone, nearly 100 children lack the academic and financial ability to stay in school. Without an education, these children may never have the opportunities to break the cycle of poverty.
The SHH Education and Empowerment Fund aims to provide Honduran children with the support they need to enroll and succeed in school. The approach will be holistic, long-term and relevant to the particular needs of each child. We will provide material support (textbooks, school fees, transportation, school supplies, etc) supplemental activities (tutoring, life skills training, mentoring, etc) and work with their families and communities to ensure they have a healthy home environment.
The truth is, there is no easy or single way to help children stay in school in places of abject poverty. Simply building more classrooms or schools has proven to be insufficient in many parts of the developing world. Each child comes from a different circumstance, meaning that the type of aid must be flexible enough to fit the needs of a particular child or community. But despite the odds, our goal is to see through as many success stories as possible, one child at a time.
- Can the money I raise go to a specific child?
Due to issues of fairness, no. The money raised will go to a general pool for the SHH Education Fund. SHH will decide where best to spend the funds.
- Will the Education and Empowerment Fund only benefit children from Villa Soleada?
Although our primary focus is to benefit the children of Villa Soleada, the SHH Education and Empowerment Fund may also help people in other parts of Honduras.
- How is investing in income-generating activities related to education?
A family's financial stability greatly affects the education of a child. Parents can buy nutritious food and pay for school fees and supplies on their own, allowing us to help other children.
- What potential programs do we foresee at the Learning Center?
The Learning Center will have a variety of programs such as re-enforcement classes, tutoring, mentoring, English classes, computer classes, life skills workshops, sports, health workshops, early childhood education programs, etc.
- How does SHH plan on financing the learning center and the Empowerment and Education Fund beyond this initial funding?
The SHH Business Center in Villa Soleada will generate a constant flow of revenue to help sustain both the Empowerment and Education Fund as well as the children's home.
About the SHH Business CenterProject Summary:The Business Center will generate unrestricted revenue for SHH through a variety of income-generating businesses at Villa Soleada. The revenue can be used to fund the Learning Center, general operations for SHH and other programs as needed. The three initial projects will include, but not limited to a bed and breakfast, thrift store and souvenir shop. We will hire masons from Villa Soleada to build the center and cut costs by utilizing labor provided by service trip volunteers. The Business Center will be run by the volunteer coordinator and other SHH staff members.
Bed & BreakfastThe main component of the Business Center will be a humble bed and breakfast (B&B) that will have room to house 32 volunteers. The building, with four dorm rooms, dining area and one large common area, will be located in the far side of Villa Soleada behind the Learning Center. Many nonprofits have opened similar ventures to see much success (Our Little Roses guest house, Missionary Hotel in Roatan, Hope Orphanage Volunteer House, Hogar Emmanuel volunteer house, etc). The B&B will be open to host SHH service trip participants throughout the year in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere with WiFi. The B&B will not have air conditioning but will have hot water in the showers. Eventually, we may open a restaurant there and hire local mothers to prepare food. But initially, food can be catered from local restaurants in the center of El Progreso. Taking into account the costs for staff, security, electricity, maintenance and other expenditures, the projected annual profit from such a project is over $29,000.
Thrift StoreThe Business Center will have a thrift store that will be managed by local volunteers. Service trip participants who come to Villa Soleada often bring suitcases full of donations. The thrift store will store and sell items not needed for our immediate projects, mainly clothes, soccer equipment and shoes. By asking for a small monetary contribution or time volunteering for SHH in exchange for the items, we prevent giving free handouts to local Hondurans. Service trip participants can help organize their donations and locals can volunteer to run the register in exchange for store items, thereby cutting operating costs to nearly zero. Taking into account the costs for staff, security, electricity, maintenance and other expenditures, the projected annual profit is roughly $2,000 to $5,000.
Souvenir ShopThe Business Center will have a souvenir shop that can sell Honduran gifts and items made by our project beneficiaries (eco-clutches, Christmas cards, jewelry, wood carvings, etc). The souvenir shop will require very little space and contain several glass shelves to show case the items. The shop can also sell snacks and other items to hungry volunteers. We are still working to predict projected revenues and expenditures.
Leveraging Local VolunteersIn exchange for the opportunities that SHH will provide, we will ask the children and their families to volunteer a small amount of time at the business center to further lower costs. For example, we may ask a high school scholarship recipient to do their homework at the thrift store while attending customers. We may ask their parents to help us clean the bed & breakfast area. This goes with our philosophy of never giving out free handouts.
Future ProjectsOther projects that SHH may experiment with at the Business Center include a restaurant, bookstore, coffee shop, etc.
About the Children's HomeProject Summary:The SHH Children's Home will provide orphaned and abandoned children with a loving home and an excellent education. The Children's Home will be built in Villa Soleada where the kids will already have access to the learning center, soccer field and local schools. Each child will live in a group home with eight to eleven other children and a housemother in a family-like environment. Local and international child care experts, social workers and engineers have been helping us with the planning.
$50,000 will allow SHH to cover its start-up cost such as building the first home, fencing around the perimeters, a business center and guard tower. The Children's Home will initially start with one home for ten children and gradually increase its capacity every year. The Children's Home will provide comprehensive and individualized services in care giving, health, sports and education.
The children will attend either private or public schools in the area, and receive intensive reinforcement during their breaks and after school. The program will strive to help each child attend college or achieve some form of higher education. The ultimate goal of this project is to help these children break the cycle of poverty and achieve their most ambitious dreams.
- What exactly is a Children's Home?
"Children's group home" or "home" means any public or private establishment other than a foster home that provides board, lodging, care and treatment services on a 24-hour basis to 12 or fewer children in a homelike, community-based setting. Other common names for such centers include "group homes," "orphanages," "residential care facilities," "children's villages," "charter homes," etc.
- What is the exact definition of an orphan and of a social orphan?
UNICEF defines an orphan as a child 0-17 whose mother or father (or both) are deceased. The term "social orphan" is used to describe a child whose parents might be alive but are no longer fulfilling any of their parental duties due to drug addictions, illnesses, abusive behavior, or neglect.
- How will SHH finance the yearly operational costs of the project?
SHH will develop a child sponsorship program so that people can donate to the project on a monthly basis. Different income-generating activities will provide a constant source of revenue to help make the project financially self-sustainable.
- Will the project accept both boys and girls? If so, what age groups?
Yes, although every home will house children from only the same sex. We will accept children up to the age of ten, unless unforeseen circumstances arise. The children will come directly from IHNFA (Honduran Institute for the Welfare of Children and Families) or a local judge.
- Who will work as staff members at the Children's Home?
SHH will strive to make the project as locally run as possible. Almost all of the staff members will be Hondurans with expertise in their respective fields. International volunteers may help the staff members with the daily operation of the project.
- Who is designing and building the facilities at the Children's Home?
A team of Honduran and US construction experts are designing the project together to ensure quality and appropriateness to local conditions. Local construction workers from Villa Soleada and international volunteers will be working together to construct the buildings.
- How do the families at Villa Soleada feel about the project?
The families showed their unanimous support for the project during a village-wide meeting and have offered to volunteer their time during the construction of the facility. In fact, many of them visited the IHNFA orphanage on Christmas day with SHH to provide food for the children there. The Children's Home may also provide opportunities for employment for the community.
- When will the project start to operate?
SHH will begin to operate the project when we finish all necessary preparation work. This may include the construction of the first phase of the project, hiring and training of staff members, filing of all necessary paper work, and most importantly, securing ongoing funding for the project. The projected opening date is sometime in early to mid-2011.
- How will the Children's Home be integrated into the Villa Soleada community?
Instead of isolating the project from the community, the kids at the Children's Home will use the same soccer field, playground, Learning Center and attend local schools as those in the neighborhood. This will encourage the children to integrate with the community and foster a sense of belonging.
- Does SHH need to file paperwork or receive permission from the Honduran government before opening a children's home?
Yes. SHH is in the final stages of working with an attorney from Tegucigalpa to ensure all paperwork has been finished before opening the children's home.
- How many children total do we anticipate on caring for?
The plot for the children's home is big enough to have 5 to 10 houses, each with 8 to 12 children.
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