Increasing your odds of further success by 4600%!

One of the most staggering things we learned while in Honduras is the typical % of those finishing high school that go on to further their education at any additional level. The national average is in the 1% range, that's right, only about 1 out of every 100 students finishing high school in Honduras goes onto another level of schooling. Contrast that with the students that finish school at Plan Escalon who go onto further their education at a rate of approximately 47%, that's a 4600% increase in odds! It's no wonder the young teenagers we were fortunate to interact with stated they are privileged to be at the ministry and view it as their only opportunity to break their life cycle of doom and despair. It should also be noted these aren't students "choosing" so much to come to this ministry because they are good students looking to get a further leg up like we might expect here in the US at a private school. These are orphaned, abandoned, 1 of 13 sleeping on a dirt floor, kind of kids and they are far surpassing their counterparts across the country. Truly amazing what a loving, Christ centered, environment does for these desperate souls.

We had the opportunity to travel into the mountains with several of the students to do a ministry outreach to one of the 47 community churches Plan Escalon has planted in the past 15 years around the scattered hills and mountainside of this part of Honduras. After putting our trucks in 4 wheel drive and crawling up the mountain at about 10 mph due to the terrain (i was exhausted just riding along after all of the bumping around), we finally reached a village of about 50 people or so. Why in the world there was a village of people up there working the land and living in such isolation, I have no idea. They were mainly living off the land, only had a few horses for transportation, and lived in conditions that are nearly unfathomable. Despite these apparent obstacles, the children and adults alike were happy to see us and we had a wonderful time doing outreach with them, praying with them, and distributing clothes and supplies. Their faith was/is strong due to Plan Escalon's persistent work with their village "leader" and pastor over time.

If all goes as planned I will be blessed with the opportunity to return in March to work with their faculty on implementing sound technology strategies into their curriculum. It's hard to imagine improving their educational success more than what has been done already, but they are just scratching the surface on using technology to remediate and provide individualized instruction to their student population of 550'sh students. I love it when my work passions and knowledge intersect directly with God and His workings amongst his children. Needless to say I am extremely excited about the possibilities!

Below is a slideshow of the day spent distributing wheel chairs to many in need and spending time at this remote mountain village. Enjoy!