BRICKS TO BREAD PROJECTS
PLAN ESCALON SCHOOL – LA ENTRADA, COPAN, HONDURAS
THE COMMUNITY
This region of Honduras is primarily agricultural, and jobs are typically on coffee or livestock farms. Men have most jobs although some women will participate in coffee planting/harvesting. Most teen and adult females to care for the home and the children. The lack of employment opportunities for women is exacerbated by the lack of education. The average education of the adult community is at 4-6th grade level, and most of the community is illiterate. Attendance at school is only required until grade 6, although this is not enforced. Attending elementary school can require as much as a 4-hour round trip journey and the cost of school uniforms and supplies result in general apathy towards education. Parents instead send their children to work in the fields. The average annual income for a family of 4-6 with a working adult in the household is approximately $5,000 per year.
THE ORGANIZATION
Tree of Life Ministries (TOLM) Plan Escalon boarding school has an over 30+ year history of successfully providing educational and job skills training to at-risk youths in Copan, Honduras. Learning with a focus on faith, morals, and ethics, students are driven, committed, honest, and dedicated to improving their outcomes in life. By improving their futures, these young people are directly impacting the lives of their own families, communities, and, ultimately, their nation. TOLM provides specific job skills training for business entrepreneurship programs, giving them competitive advantages in the employment area.
LIVES CHANGED
As a “living classroom” on campus, Honduran students study to become bakers, pizza makers, and entrepreneurs to gain hands-on lessons in a real-time business. The TOLM Bakery & Pizzeria also provides life-changing employment and training to two single mothers.so , so they will have the ability to open their own businesses in their villages in the future.
