Hope for Honduran Children Learning Club

Our goal is to solve the problem of poor or no education for rural children. The existing education is severely substandard with a lack of schools, books, and supplies. Many teachers have only a high school education. Throughout Honduras, over 1,000,000 children have no access to education beyond 6th grade. 

Our solution is to provide underserved children with personal learning tablets on which we have downloaded classwork videos in Spanish. No longer will students be solely dependent on one, over-burdened, under skilled teacher who simultaneously oversees six classes in a 1 or 2 room school.

Our solution provides children with an education that they can continue for many years. Education is fundamental to ending their cycle of poverty and building a future for themselves and families. It is a critical tool in building human capital and endowing the country’s workforce with the necessary skills to compete in a globalized economy.

We aim to solve the acute lack of education for rural children, thereby enhancing their lives and eventually, the productivity of the country. Throughout the mountains of Honduras, over a million children are left with no education and only 30% of ALL Honduran children attend high school. "Free" education stops with sixth grade and secondary education is rarely available.  The education is extremely substandard with a lack of schools, books, supplies, and curriculum. Many teachers have only a high school education and frequently all six grades are taught simultaneously in a one or two room school. Due to a lack of schools, unqualified teachers, and fees for enrollment, uniforms, and transportation, etc. at least 51% of rural children do not complete 6th grade. These children lack all hope and motivation for a better future. Without the benefit of a good education, they have no possible escape from their cycle of deplorable poverty and ultimately Honduras is unable to compete in the globalized economy. The UN reports that Honduras has the worst educational system in Central America. We must solve the problem of substandard education, eliminate illiteracy, and ultimately improve access to secondary school and the university.

Our solution is to bring quality education to rural children by providing each student with their own electronic tablet (Learn Kernel) on which the Hope for Honduran Children Foundation (H4HC) has downloaded grade appropriate class material (math, Spanish, science, English, etc.).The Learn Kernel is a new, simple and affordable audio-visual device made specifically for distribution in rural areas where the vulnerable population has no access to the internet and receives little to no education.  Learn Kernel  works by transferring encrypted video files on to Learn Kernel tablets via USB. New class content is provided by H4HC each month or as needed. Students are encouraged to share the tablets at home with their families and review the lessons until the material is fully comprehended. The process will also help inspire and motivate the teachers who monitor quizzes before new content is downloaded. We are confident that this program will be a game changer for the education of underserved children of Honduras and in the long term, other parts of the world.

Over 5 million people live in remote mountain villages in Honduras with no jobs, no internet, no paved roads, no running water, no electricity and no hope for a better future. Most adults are unemployed. There is very little access to health care and only a substandard education available through sixth grade. The statistics are shocking: 

• Two in ten rural Hondurans are illiterate
• 63% of the Honduran labor force has only a primary education and if employed, they are severely underpaid 
• 81% of the Honduran labor force is concentrated in the agriculture or manufacturing sectors.
• 27% of Honduran youth neither study nor work, and 39% only work but do not study. 

We began our pilot program in the San Juan del Rancho School for 100 students and 6 teachers. We engaged via zoom with the  school’s administration and teachers to introduce the concept, discuss functionality and ask their input. Teachers provided a list of the government required content to be included. H4HC carefully researched academic videos in the Spanish language for grade levels  5 – 9 in math, Spanish language, science and English. Additional grades and subject matter will be added in 2022.  Karen Godt and the Honduran Director of our foundation are in weekly, often daily, contact with the teachers and administration of the San Juan del Rancho School.

“In addition to being a core element in human capital, the educational landscape forms a basis for the composition of the country’s labor force. For one, as the young population enters the funnel of education, they enter the labor force with weak training, both in level and quality of education attained. In turn, adults participate in the labor market with limited knowledge and skills. Therefore, the labor force lacks the skills needed to access high-quality jobs and reduce inequality. Moreover, with few science and technology degrees, the labor force is unfit to compete in the global economy and promote innovation.”  Per publication of Manuel Orozco and Marcela Valdivia - www.thedialogue.org

Hope for Honduran Children (H4HC) has witnessed in the students of its Residential Program how lives are dramatically transformed by education. We have many student success stories but we are faced with the formidable challenge of doing a lot more. The Learning Club is our solution.

• It will provide rural children with an easy access to education
• It will provide a quality education that is fun and exciting
• It can be shared with the student's entire family and friends 
• It will serve to stimulate curiosity 
• Students will no longer be dependent solely on one untrained teacher 
• It will open a whole new world of knowledge to the rural population  living in isolation
• It will encourage continued learning
• Eventually these students will become employable, find jobs and have a positive impact on their families, villages and ultimately the economy of Honduras.

We serve rural children who suffer from a lack of education. There are few schools, shockingly untrained teachers, and little educational materials. Our solution provides students with personal tablets on which grade appropriate lessons in math, Spanish, science etc have been downloaded. Students enjoy guided independent work, a more global view of the world, and many team projects. Students are encouraged to share the tablets with family and friends and review the videos until the material is completely comprehended. Our solution facilitates instruction by the teacher who advises content, and monitors both tests and updates as the student progresses academically.

In 2021 we launched The Learning Club pilot program for 100 students in grades 5 through 9 in the rural village of San Juan del Rancho. In addition to their need, we chose this school because they demonstrated great interest and excitement in the project.  In addition to our Honduran Director, the school principal and 6 teachers are extremely involved with each step of the program and are in communication with Hope For Honduran Children (H4HC) on a weekly, often daily, basis. These same teachers will be part of our 2022 team and assist in introducing the simplicity and proven success of the Learning Club to additional village schools.

In Honduras, the same story repeats itself year after year.  Over 70% of the rural population live in extreme poverty, isolation, and fear.  They have few public services, rampant unemployment, and the worst education system in Central America. Our solution is innovative in what we are doing and the technology that we are using. The Learning Club provides an innovative method of education that enables the rural population easy access to a good learning environment which ultimately will empower them to escape their impoverished living conditions.

The Learn Kernel tablets are a key component in providing this innovative approach to educating vulnerable children and adults.  There is no internet access in impoverished rural villages but with these tablets, no internet is needed. H4HC follows the curriculum mandated by the Honduran government and provides exciting classroom videos that will further enhance a student’s knowledge and capabilities. The program is administered, mentored and monitored by the teacher. Students are encouraged to share the lessons at home with their families and are no longer solely dependent on one teacher, simultaneously teaching six grades  in a single room with very limited supplies. 

In most developing countries there is a critical deficit in educational resources and little promise of change. With the Learning Club, rural populations can finally receive the quality education needed to enhance and sustain a well-developed economy. Our hope is that the Learn Kernel will eventually expand globally, teaching critical medical information, entrepreneurship, agricultural technology and facilitating government communications. 

Ours is an immensely replicable and scalable solution for impoverished communities. However, we believe to achieve scale it is important to begin slowly and carefully so as to build trust and prove the ease and success of the Learning Club program. 

2021          The Learning Club pilot program is impacting 100 students plus their families and 6 teachers

2022          an additional 350 students and teachers

2023          an additional 500 students

2024          an additional 750 

2025          an additional 1000 students

In total we intend to provide education to at least 2700 students/families (at a cost of $31.65 per student/household) over the course of 5 years after which we predict enormous scale.

Covid continues in Honduras and rural schools remain closed. Without cell or internet reception, remote learning is impossible. H4HC measures the Learning Clubs progress with weekly conversations with the teachers.  Before beginning the pilot, students were tested to determine the academic baseline. Teachers later met with their students and distributed the tablets with clear and careful instructions.  Assignments and tests are used to monitor each students progress and expectations must be met. We also monitor the time spent on the Learn Kernel tablet, how many family members use it, and the ease, problems and functionality of the LK device. The opinions of teachers and students are critical. They are challenged to succeed and understand that success will be rewarded.

Learn Kernel was created so that all people, women, men and children could receive the same access to information, improve their knowledge and ultimately develop a more sustainable society.

Learn Kernel collects data metrics regarding tablet functionality, client metrics, regional function and demographics. We use the metrics listed as indicators on the UN sustainable development goals for 2030. LK is created to fit well within the UN sustainability goals and you may see our page dedicated to it on our website www.learnkernel.com/goals . Some of the indicators that we align with are  reduced inequality, no poverty, gender equality, quality education and more.

Learn Kernel has worked with educational and agricultural systems. It can also work in medical systems to provide information such as sanitation, entrepreneurship and governmental information for dissemination.

1 fulltime staff at Hope for Honduran Children (H4HC) in USA

1 part-time at H4HC USA   

1 full time staff in Honduras   

8 fulltime staff at Potter Technology

7  San Juan del Rancho teachers 

 After 17 years in Honduras, working and building countless relationships, we clearly understand the culture and needs of the people. Due to the shocking  poverty, lack of accountability, and absence of infrastructure the needs are almost endless.

We work to transform the lives of the underserved rural population. In  addition to working with our student residential homes, in 2015 we created the Feed A Village program through which we nurture the mind, body and spirit of the population in six remote villages.  We use our knowledge, energy and resources to instill the desire and provide the tools for underserved youth to become self-sufficient, caring, and responsible adults. We visit the villages five times annually with our Honduran director, a group of Honduran students from our residential program, and a team of 20+ volunteers. We have become one cohesive and passionate family with each community. Our residential program has 24 students who were “rescued” from these or similar villages. We understand the needs of the villages - our resident students have lived it.  During our visits we listen carefully to the village leaders, asses the needs of the community, and deliver food, supplies, and medical care. Volunteers introduce new ideas, teach classes, shares their specific skills, and spend time mentoring the children. Most speak Spanish. Hope for Honduran Children has a successful track record of developing and sustaining innovative programs focused on education. We are confident that we are well-positioned to deliver the Learning Club solution for rural children. 

We regard ourselves as ambassadors of diversity, equality and inclusion.We strive to create a caring environment in which everyone feels valued and respected, both those on our volunteer teams and all the people serve throughout Honduras. We are role models and mentors and many of our staff and assistants are from underserved areas. We teach classes and mentor students on issues of equality, inclusion and gender based violence. We work with residents of the local center for the blind. The Hope for Honduran Children Foundation is an equal opportunity employer, supporter of impoverished Honduran families, and recruiter of service volunteers. We make hiring, support and humanitarian excursion decisions without regard to race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or gender identity. We practice this policy in our decisions related to hiring, internships, participation and volunteering for any and all of our programs. We serve males, females and those who identify differently. We serve members of the LGBTQ community. We serve families of indigenous tribes such as the Lenca, Maya, and Chorti. We serve all religions as well as non-believers. We have zero tolerance for discriminatory behavior of any kind or in any situation related to our programs. This policy applies to the work we do in Honduras and to the groups of volunteers who work and travel with us.  

Our goal is to make the Learning Club program available for underserved children in Honduras and ultimately, world wide. Our foundation would benefit greatly from a network of experts helping us enhance the impact and scale of the Learning Club. The expertise that our foundation brings to the table is our 17 year history working and building relationships with the underserved population of Honduras. The developers of the learning tablets bring their technological expertise to the table. We need MIT to bring further expertise to the table. We need your assistance with the “bigger picture” and how to achieve it. We need your experts to partner with us as a "think tank", opening us to broader and more innovative ideas about development, strategy, and resources. We need  media exposure to help strengthen scale. We need to build partnerships with corporations, individuals, NGOs and other organizations who can help us find resources and investors. Both our foundation and the Learning Club would benefit enormously from a relationship with  MIT. 

We need the help of MIT to strengthen the Learning Club and make the impact of our foundation and the Learning Club more significant. We would benefit enormously from a network of expert partners helping us provide life-changing impact with great scale. We need mentoring and coaching on just how to achieve our goals.  Our "How To" list covers many areas including: 

How to develop a network of experts

How to market ourselves and secure media exposure

How to develop partnerships with corporations and other organizations 

How to develop a strategy for product distribution

How to develop and secure enhanced academic content

How to find investors and secure additional funding

How to achieve scale

We recognize the incredible opportunity MIT is offering and are very anxious to have our solution selected and become a team member.  We need your expertise in so many ways and would welcome, at your discretion,  any assistance and partners you deem appropriate. Again, our expertise lies in serving the pr of Honduras, yours is much different and broader.  We need your help.

Life in the mountains of Honduras is extremely difficult but much more so for girls and women who are only valued for sex, cleaning and cooking.  Without the possibility of a secondary education teenage pregnancy is extremely common.  By the time a girl is in her late twenties she often has 4-5 children and the father, who is unable to support the family, has lost interest and leaves the village.  We are making a concerted effort to eradicate the Latino "macho" mentality. We are the role models and often teach classes in equality, reproduction, gender based violence, micro enterprise development, and much more.  We believe we need to provide the inspiration, motivation and education to girls and women that will give them the confidence and tools to build a better life. The Learning Club is just the right vehicle.  We can begin by planting the seeds with video lessons that school children can review frequently and share with their families. Lessons about equality, leadership, rights, etc. will soon be incorporated by H4HC. We are already witnessing a change in the villages we have been serving and now want to broaden our lessons for women and girls. It would be amazing to be a recipient of the Innovation for Women Prize, as it would definitely help us reach girls and women throughout Honduras who are completely trapped in poverty, fear and isolation.