Roatán is a small island off the north coast of Honduras. Its issues, such as poverty and low literacy, are compounded by its British heritage in what is a primarily Spanish-speaking country. Education suffers as a result of such linguistic variety.
Partners in Education-Roatán (PIER), an NGO, is committed to improving the lives of people and the island’s economic condition through excellent education.
PIER’s goals include:
- Encouraging education beyond the 6th grade
- Developing an educated local work force
- Training good quality educational staff
- Promoting island culture and bilingual learning in English and Spanish
- Ensuring the admission of all children to schools
PIER’s action plan of 2011-2012 included the following objectives:
- Improving literacy in Roatán by maintaining an effective library system, tutoring programs, and mobile book services
- Fostering a quality bilingual education system in Roatán by working actively with public schools by (a) helping English language teachers with instructional materials and (b) training Spanish-speaking teachers in spoken English and instruction
- Establishing a sustainable job training center to provide ESL-based adult basic education to prepare a quality work force
Cam O’Brien, the President of PIER, says that the improvement of the social and economic lives of Roatán citizens through quality education is the most sustainable and long-term goal of PIER.
Adult literacy programs, launched in February 2012, and education for all children, a part of PIER’s programs, will surely create a self-reliant Roatán work force.
Creative Commons Love: pierrotan at pierrotan.blogpost.com
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