October 29, 2020
We may be working from home, but that hasn’t stopped ASJ (formerly known as AJS) from connecting with the communities where we work in Tegucigalpa! While both our staff and community members have felt the weight of this season – caring for sick family members, tending children, feeling isolated – our staff has gone above and beyond to stay in the lives of some 300 families.
Through a messaging app, our staff continue to hold weekly sessions with our youth clubs, offering emotional support, homework assistance, and conflict resolution lessons.
We also conduct periodic online surveys with community members on their access to food, health, and education, allowing us to identify how we can best support them and advocate for them.
Staying in such close contact with community members helped us clearly detect the challenges our dedicated youth club members face to remain in school. When we learned that parents were debating taking their children out of school so they could redirect money for mobile data to food, we supplied internet packages.
Throughout this journey, we’ve been humbled by the way community members are leading the work of justice. Community auditors who monitor local schools and health clinics are still gathering virtually for training – even many of our soon-to-graduate teenagers are getting involved!
Another encouraging example comes from a department in western Honduras that has shown incredible dedication in not leaving any child behind. As we work with this department, we admire how teachers give lessons on radio and TV, and even personally deliver workbooks to homes without internet access. When a corner store owner learned that five children living on a mountainside had no access to internet, she invited them to use her business' TV for their studies. At a time when many students are dropping out of school, this department’s commitment has brought 790 more students to class!
As the Honduran school year comes to an end in November, we are turning our attention to creatively imagining what a safe return to school could look like when classes start again in February. ASJ is collaborating with teacher unions, youth-focused non-profits, and a major university so that we can identify needed investments in infrastructure, materials, and training.
Together, we hope to contribute to an environment that helps families recover and hope in a more just future.
