Volunteer with BECA - Bilingual Education for Central America in Honduras

Free and Low Cost Opportunities to Volunteer Abroad

VAOPS Home

Sort by Destination

Organization	BECA - Bilingual Education for Central America
website	http://www.becaschools.org/
Country	Honduras
Program Costs
Duration
Room & Board
Language Requirements

The idea for BECA was originally conceived in 2001, when several North Americans arrived in Cofradia, Honduras with the idea of helping to build a school that could serve as a model for inexpensive bilingual education in Central America. As a result of their experiences during that first school year and the many lessons they learned from their Honduran friends, they created BECA to not only provide a quality education for the students in the classrooms, but to provide a quality immersion experience for the volunteer teachers as well.

As with any multicultural collaboration, an investment from local partners is crucial for any project that hopes to achieve a sustainable structure. To that end, BECA was proud to announce that San Jeronimo Bilingual School (SJBS), in Cofradia, Cortes, Honduras, opened its doors in September 2004. Over 185 students, in grades Pre-K through ninth grade receive a quality bilingual education at SJBS from a teaching staff that includes Hondurans, North Americans and Europeans. The students' North American and European teachers simultaneously benefit from a cultural immersion that will equip them to improve the academic outcomes of Hispanic children in their own countries some day.

The school is able to cover its operating expenses (by using a sliding scale tuition program) because BECA takes responsibility for the costs associated with the volunteer teacher program. Although many of the families pay as little as $5 or $10 a month, this contribution (which covers Honduran teacher salaries and basic utilities) creates a strong commitment to the school’s mission. This commitment enables us to work more effectively with families on behalf of their children!