GIRLS PROGRAM PROYECTOS EL HOGA

1. GIRLS PROGRAM • PROYECTOS EL HOGA

2. Seventh Grade CHILDREN REPORT 2014 GIRLS PROGRAM PROYECTOS EL HOGAR

3. Belki Lizeth Perlas Rodríguez Belki is an excellent student. She is very applied in her academic assignments. Her GPA is 85%. She is part of the folk dance group in her school and she is teaching it to her classmates. She is a very good speaker and she is getting a excellent recognition by her teachers because of her good speech and presentation skills. Belki is natural leader. She is a good role model at school and also in the house. Truly, she is absolutely great. Sometimes she feels sad because her mom it is not visiting her, however as I said in my speech last year for graduation, that I wanted to say thanks to the responsible mother and also for the not responsible mother, because through their absence, we can be an important part in their life and inspire them to achieve their dream and goals..

4. REINA ISABEL GAMEZ SEVILLA Reina has improved greatly on her behavior. She is a very good chef and always likes to help others and truly developed perseverance. She has put into practice all she learned at EH, and during weekend she is helping making breads and cakes. She is working hard at the school. Her GPA is 78%. Her best grades are in computer and civic education.

5. SELENIA MILAGRO ALMENDARES Seleniais so intelligent. Her average is 90% and she in on the honor roll. She is the leader of the folk dance group in her school. Also because she was in the pastry shop at EH last year, she is putting into practice all her talent and during weekend she makes breads and cakes for all of them. She supports the other girls in seventh grade. Selenia is truly a miracle of God. She is good in everything. This is what only God can do- her mom has severe mental illness and has a mental capacity of a four year old girl, yet Selenia is absolutely brilliant. When Science has no explanation, it is only because a miracle can do that. It is a blessing for us to have Selenia with us.

6. SISI ANAHÍ RODRÍGUEZ OCHOA Sisihas a great personality, is very active and she likes to help others. Her average is 85%. She is a very good student. Her favorite class is Civic Education and Spanish, but in general she is good in all her classes. Sisi is very responsible, sincere and gets along well with others. Sisi is very polite, friendly and funny. One of the interesting things about Sisi is that she likes to play with dolls. She is an adorable girl.. Her mom is not responsible , she never visits or calls her, but she is happy and she has opened her heart to us and accepted us as a real family. She is part of the pastry shop in Santa Lucia where they prepare bread and cake for themselves. She is so cute.

7. Eighth Grade CHILDREN REPORT 2014 GIRLS PROGRAM PROYECTOS EL HOGAR

8. ANA RAQUEL VARELA FUNEZ Ana is intelligent, responsible and she has leadership abilities and team work too. Her average at school is 89%. She is good in general. During the first quarter she was in the honor roll. She likes to cook. She is empathetic, friendly and funny. She put into practice everything she learned at EH in the pastry shop and during weekends they make breads and cakes. She is a very sweet and beautiful girl.

9. ELIBE ANGELLI CASTILLO PÉREZ Elibeis intelligent and responsible; she has improved her team working abilities as well as her behavior. Her average is 88%. She works very hard at school and never needs anyone to tell her to do her homework. She is very friendly. Also during weekend she enjoys making breads and cakes.

10. IRIS ARACELY MUÑOZ MUÑOZ Iris wants to attain a Bachelor in Business Administration. She is very intelligent and she is always willing to help others. She is very organized. She has improved her personal relationship with God. Her abilities to work in teams has improved a lot as well. Her average is 92%. She was on the honor roll during the first and second quarter. She is very applied in their assignments. Iris is absolutely admirable. I remember when she came into EH almost five years ago and she came with a very sad background: she had to take care of and be a mom to her two younger brothers because her mom left her and her father was alcoholic and she could not go to school. She is a miracle of God, and is attaining her dreams and goals.

11. LISBETH CELENIA GONZÁLEZ FUNEZ She puts a lot of effort into her work and duties. She likes to help others. She is very good at drawing. She has improved her behavior, her team working abilities as well as her personal relationship with God. Her average is 81%. Her favorite class are Social Studies and Art. She has grown a lot. She is very friendly and mature. Lisbeth also likes to participate in Drama and Speech. She is a very good public speaker.

12. MARTHA IRENE SEVILLA GONZÁLEZ Martha is kind and responsible and always tries to help others. She is a very good support for teachers and children. She is amazing! She is very positive and sweet. I still maintain my hope that Martha will be a leader in her community of Montana de la Flor; to defend the rights of children, fight for them and rescue them from abuse by parents and change her community. I believe that EH is like a seedbed, that will give good fruit in order to transform our society. I believe that Martha will be an instrument of God to say “Enough! No more abuse for the children in Montana de la Flor!”. Her story inspires me- and don’t let me forget to let you know her average 87%.

13. SOILA ALEJANDRA MARTÍNEZ LÓPEZ Soliais friendly and so responsible in everything that she does. She likes to help others. She has improved her relationship with the other girls as well as being more organized. Her average is 86%. Her favorite classes are Art, Social Studies and Computers. During the weekends she likes to make breads and cakes. Also, I trust that Soila will be part of the transformation of her community in Montana de la Flor in order to defend the rights of children.

14. In February 2002, I presented to the Executive Director, Richard Kunz and to EHMI board the proposal for the creation of the house for girls. It will be responding to the needs of many girls in Honduras. Every time when I made a home visit I would find four girls to every boy, and it was sad that EH could not offer the same opportunities to the girls. Also, the creation of the girl’s school was responding to the sponsors about why EH did not have girls. In the beginning it seemed like a crazy idea because we were going to have boys and girls in the same campus. But after many discussions, suggestions, research meetings, and many concerns, in 2006 we started this marvelous program with 6 small girls. I remember the first months were not easy, everything had to change. Simple things like not having clothes for girls, or who was going to be first in line to eat? Boys or girls? We decided the same rules would apply to everyone equally otherwise we will have preference with the girls. On the other hand this created jealousies between girls and boys… Currently, we have 28 girls in HAYE and 10 at the transition house. During the eight years of experience working with boys and girls, we have found large differences and similarities between them, such as their backgrounds and sad stories due to them coming from dysfunctional homes. But the biggest similarities are their love, courage, desire, patience and hope for a better future. It is admirable to see their transformation; not only physical changes, but also their thought processes, vision for life, goals, desire to change their community, families and of course their country.

15. The best example is the girls that come from La Montaña de la Flor where there is no respect for child rights. Also, there the children are having children because they lack education and the children don’t have an opportunity to be children. Before they came to EH, they did not right from wrong. But now, they know exactly what is wrong and what is good, and most importantly they know that they have the right to be respected, protected and the right to go to the school. They know that they are valued people. My hope and desire from the bottom of my heart is that those children, especially the ones from La Montaña will in the early future be agents of change to their families and communities, and at the end the change will be shown in the whole country. Finally, I believe El Hogar is like a seed nursery, where we plant, we water, and take care of them, and in the future they will give good fruit that will be extended everywhere. Claudia Castro