Back-to-school time is here! Children once again fill the halls and classrooms at our school in Honduras, Academia La Providencia (ALP). There’s a buzz in the air and laughter in the lunchroom that we’ve missed over the summer months.
Kids and parents know that good teachers can make or break the school experience. And for children facing poverty, it’s even more crucial – caring, quality educators can impart knowledge as well as wisdom, leading children to become adults with an education and skills to earn a dignified income in a career that used to be only a childhood dream.
Today, meet one of the awesome educators making a difference in children’s lives at ALP: Ms. Vania Hernandez.
As a first-grade teacher, Vania knows the importance of early education. This year, she’s teaching Spanish, physical education, civics and social studies.
“These subjects have great impact,” she says. “They are competencies the labor world demands from professionals; what better than to train them from an early age?”
Vania’s beginning her second year at ALP, but it’s a place she’s dreamed of working since beginning her teaching career seven years ago.
“I heard comments and recommendations from parents about ALP,” Vania says. “A friend told me, ‘the service is really amazing, the attention to the children, the work environment.’ I know that the place where we work is our second home, and that we need to feel good there.”
Vania’s love for the school is twice as meaningful, as both an educator and a mom.
“When you love what you do, you don’t see it as a job but as a joy. I am very grateful to God for allowing me to be here, because as I said, working here was something I longed for and now I am here. I hope to be here for many years, not only me but also my son who is in 2nd grade. As a mother, I am satisfied to know that my son is in a place where he feels loved, cared for and happy. In the end, that is the most important thing.”
Teachers like Vania are compassionately training the next generation of learners and leaders, many of whom can only attend school through scholarship to ALP. You can partner with us in empowering children and youth through education by supporting on Global Giving: click here!