VIVA NOLA February 2019

PORTAL LATIN AMERICA
D O I N G
YO U R PART .
L ocal in itiative to build a
sch ool in H on dur as
by Memo Perez L ara
Miriam Brown is a renowned
accountant in New Orleans. A proud
Honduran who has had professional
success thanks to her effort and
dedication. Miriam is not indifferent to
the problems faced by Honduras and
Central America, in general. There is a
serious humanitarian crisis, with
minors in extreme poverty, with little
chance of getting ahead based on
education. Miriam, like several
Hondurans based in the U.S., has
decided to make a difference, and give
back with resources to their Honduran
brothers, so that they have a light of
hope, and can access a decent
education, in this case, through a
school. We spoke with her to find out
about her initiative.
VN- How w as t he idea of a school in
Honduras born?
MB- I saw a report on Facebook about
these children, receiving class without
desks, on the floor, with a building
consisting of 4 posts and walls of black
plastic bags. I asked myself...What do
they do when it rains? So, I contacted
Dariela Raquel Villalobos, a teacher at
the Pueblo Nuevo school, and that's
how it all began.
VN- How w as it decided w here t o
build it ?
MB- The community of Pueblo Nuevo,
in Comayagua, had already bought the
land, and they were trying to do
something with their own resources,
after having requested financial help
from the Department of Education,
and not receiving any answers.
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VN- What does it m ean for you t o
lead t his project ?
MB- It is very gratifying for me to be
able to do something for these
children. Along with my friends Walter
Andrés López, Germán Zelaya and
Jose Sierra we realized that the only
way to carry out the work was by
requesting donations. The original
plan was to build 3 classrooms, but we
lacked funds. We are proud that 35
children will begin their school year in
a new concrete building consisting of
two classrooms. The company
Recacel, from San Pedro Sula, donated
6 computers, Internet and a virtual
library for children to do their
homework and research.
VN- How has t he sponsorship for
t he project been resolved?
MB- We opened a Gofundme account
in August 2018 and were lucky that a
good number of people responded
and cooperated to purchase
materials. Labor is being provided by
the community itself.
VN- When and how is t he
inaugurat ion planned?
MB- Work is still underway. The school
year begins in February in Honduras,
so we are wrapping up just before
classes begin.
VN- What has been t he response
t hat t he Honduran com m unit y of
New Orleans has had for t he
project ?
MB- Honestly, I expected more
Hondurans to see how important it is
to educate the youth in Honduras, and
to join the work. But we
wholeheartedly thank all those who
contributed. I was surprised that
several people, without any
connection to Honduras, also
cooperated. There are good people in
the world.
VN- Do you t hink t hat t he
Honduran com m unit y of New
Orleans should be m ore support ive
of t heir count rym en back hom e?
MB- Definitely. We must work on
creating more awareness and making
education and health issues a priority
in Honduras. If all Hondurans in the
U.S. put our grain of sand, we could
achieve much in our country. I admire
our brothers in Costa Rica, because
education is the first thing for them.
Hopefully, the same can be achieved
in Honduras. United we can!
VN- Is t here any ot her project at t he
underw ay?
MB- Yes. We are talking about coming
together in New Orleans and creating
an organization to continue the task of
supporting education. There is a lot to
do in Honduras.
VN- A final m essage from you
MB- A million thanks to all the people
who donated for this project. Without
them, it would not have been possible.
Let's continue working for the
common good. May God multiply it!
Thank you!