Santa Barbara Projects

The students are selected from those recommended by teachers and the community based on need and academic record. Ovan Castellanos is the program's administrator.

High school scholarships cost $425 per year, and Ovan purchases the required supplies for students.   Supplies are issued twice a year after Ovan receives the school marks for each student.   He also emails all sponsors once a year with an update on their students.

The cost of a university scholarship is $585 per year.   Most students need to live in San Pedro Sula to study, and for these students, the real cost is about $3,000 per year, and most work while studying.  Their sponsorship gives them a great leg up to buy the initial books and equipment to get started.

Ovan Castellanos receives part of his salary from the community of Santa Rita, where he teaches computer programming. A portion comes from HELP Honduras to administer the scholarship program and cover his wages for teaching computer classes on Saturdays for vocational students who are apprentices and not in school full time.

Over the past 10 years, HELP HONDURAS,   with funds donated from individual BC Rotarians, has provided funds to build 7 high schools in rural areas.  Each has 2 to 3 rooms, and desks were provided.

These same donors have  purchased computers for several locations but primarily in Santa Rita , a town in the mountains near Santa Barbara which, prior to their purchase, had no computers at all.  Students are all receiving computer training.

We also added a kindergarten and a classroom and small library space to an elementary school.

We worked with a co-operative to make their fish farm successful and sustainable.  We provided start up costs for fish fry and specialized food, and hired an expert to provide advice on changes needed for successful production of tilapia.   After only one growth cycle, this farm is already successful.  

This project taught students at Independicia School to build cement chicken coups with water and electricity, and raise and butcher poultry to market standards.  The project funded materials to build the coup, and initial feed for 100 chickens.   After only 42 days and  at 3 - 4 pounds,  all 100 chickens were butchered and sold at a sustainable profit. 

Our current school project in Santa Barbara is providing new equipment to a vocational training centre and to building a new carpentry school building for an existing vocational training school in the centre of Santa Barbara.