Newsletter - June, 2015
| June, 2015 Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." Matt. 25:40 Published by the Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210. (717) 349-7033 |
What can you buy for $25 in the U. S. these days? A number of things. You and your spouse could eat out at a moderately-priced restaurant for that. Or you could splurge and buy a Starbucks Grande Caramel Frappacino each work day for a whole week. Or with that same $25, you can dramatically change a child’s entire life in Honduras. How? By buying him or her a school uniform. “How is that going to change someone’s life?” you may be wondering. Let me explain.
I’ve been traveling to Honduras for 15 years now on behalf of the Society. One of the things I learned right away from being in Honduras is that the single greatest factor that will determine whether children will live the rest of their lives in dire poverty is how much education they receive.
The public schools of Honduras provide free education through six grade to all children. To be sure, a sixth-grade education won’t qualify anyone for the top-paying jobs. But it does lift a child from the very bottom rung of the poverty scale. However, nearly one-fourth of Honduran children drop out of school before finishing sixth grade. Such children are usually illiterate as a result, and they are doomed to spend their lives as agricultural laborers, cleaning women, and open-market vendors. Not that there is anything wrong or dishonorable with those occupations. It’s just that they are usually very low-paying. 
The main reason so many children don’t complete primary school is that their parents need them to work and help support the family. Those situations are very difficult to overcome. However, on my last trip to Honduras I learned that there is another reason why many children don’t go to school: their parents can’t afford to buy them a school uniform.
Even though education in the public schools is free, the children must wear the prescribed uniform: (1) navy blue pants (boys) or skirt (girls) and (2) a white shirt or blouse. Children are not allowed in school unless they are wearing the proper uniform. The uniforms are sold in stores, and they cost about $25 per uniform. For the very poor, that’s a huge outlay. And so thousands of children end up not even completing sixth grade—simply because their parents can’t afford the cost of uniforms for them.
When I heard about this, I thought to myself, “I certainly am not going to be able to enjoy another meal in a restaurant unless I first provide a uniform for at least one Honduran student.” Perhaps many of you will feel the same way. If you would like to donate toward this, please mark on your check that it’s for “school uniforms.” We will not be giving the $25 to the parents of the children needing the uniforms. Instead, we will directly buy the uniforms for the children ourselves, so that the funds don’t end up being misused. When you donate toward a uniform, you end up blessing more than just the student who will be given the uniform. First, when the student outgrows the uniform, it will normally be passed down to a younger sibling. Second, the uniforms will be bought from local stores in Honduras, providing income to small business owners there. Third, one of the sisters in our loan program, Deysi Mayorga, is a seamstress. So we plan on hiring her to sew the skirts for the girls’ uniforms. This will throw a lot of work her way and help to support her and her family. In short, it’s amazing how much can be accomplished with just $25!
The Society of the Good Shepherd, P. O. Box 122, Amberson, PA 17210 • (717) 349-7033
Click on the following link if you would care to make a donation to the work in Honduras: Donations
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