The Market Children Program
Every year of Schooling improves a child's life chances.
We are changing lives for generations to come.
This program is based in Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, with a population of over 1 million. Over 60% of the population live in poverty and many work casually in the public markets or eke out a living on the local landfill. They cannot afford the cost of sending their children to school. As the children become teenagers, many drift into gangs or join dangerous caravans to become illegal migrants to the US.
The Rotarians of Tegucigalpa, together with your help, are breaking the circle of poverty by educating these children under the Tegucigalpa Market Children Program. In recent years, we have sponsored approximately 450 students annually and we are making a big difference in their lives.
School is free in Honduras, including the public University, and yet many people cannot afford the cost of uniforms, shoes and school supplies. Your donations provide the supplies and support need to go to school and the support to be successful.
The rates to sponsor a child for 2026
- Primary School Student Kindergarten to Grade 6 $350
- Secondary Student to grade 7 – 12 $525
- University Student $655
If you have sponsored a student before, this is an important update for you.
After years of individual student sponsorships, we're making a difficult but necessary change. Our volunteers can no longer sustain the administration of individual student sponsorships with personalized certificates and photos. You can now sponsor students at a specific education level - primary, secondary or university - or make a general donation to support all the kids. You will receive a certificate of sponsorship with a group photo and you will still be able to dedicate your donation. Nothing else changes and the students will receive the same support they always have. We know some of you will be disappointed - we are too! Your support has always been the heart of this program and we're deeply grateful for your understanding and continued support as we make these changes.
Our goal this year is to sponsor 400 children. That means all the kids in the program now will be able to return in 2026, and we can replace any who graduated or have left at the end of 2025. It will also leave room for a few new kids. We hope we count on you to help reach our goal.
You can help us by making your donation before December 31st so program administrators can commit to students and their families before the start of the new school year. Thank you!
We have changed the cycle of poverty
for these young people and their families!
These students are all the first in their families to go to college. They have graduated from University and are working as engineers, accountants and healthcare professionals.
We met them on our 2024 Inspection Tour and they expressed their gratitude to the program and their sponsors.
The Students are Grateful!
Every year when we visit we are welcomed with banners and thank you songs. We always come home with a bag full of mail with thank you letters like this.
The program is administered by Alternatives Y Oportunidades (AYO) – a Honduran NGO controlled by Rotarians from 4 Rotary Clubs in Tegucigalpa. Their philosophy is to look after the whole family. Every parent who has a child in the program is obligated to take courses in parenting, preventive health, nutrition, family planning and family violence.
You can follow them on their Facebook page to keep abreast of their activities.
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Kids belong to youth clubs that give them a sense of belonging to a larger community. The program opens their eyes to new possibilities. Youth leaders teach the Rotary 4 Way Test and provide pier tutoring to kids struggling in school. The pass rates of our sponsored students is 98%.
HELP Honduras has an agency agreement with AYO which outlines the responsibilities of both partners in all programs. Each year, (except during the pandemic) a group of our Directors and volunteers traveled to Honduras, to review the past year’s activities, photograph the children, and plan for the future. Travelers are responsible for their own expenses and all donated funds go to the program.
AyO Staff meeting with the
HELP Honduras Inspection Team
Sponsor a student
Change a family's life!