Oscar is 13 years old and is from Opatoro, La Paz, Honduras. He is the fourth of 10 children, in a family where life was full of hardship. Physically very small for his age, the effect of poverty and malnutrition is evident in his stunted growth. The family struggled to afford food and were only able to feed themselves with the limited amount of crop they could grow. Every day was a struggle to survive.
From a young age, Oscar was forced to work with his father, uncles, and grandfather in the fields, trying to help the family make a living. Oscar’s father was only able to earn 100 Lempiras (£3.50) a day, not nearly enough for the whole family to live on. In addition to all this, Oscar was unable to attend primary school for a year due to poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic, so he lost out on valuable learning time at school and fell behind.
Luckily for Oscar he met the Sisters of Mary late last year (2021) and was offered a place at their boys’ school in Amarateca.
When Oscar arrived at the school this year (2022), the first thing he felt was pride at being given the opportunity to study in what he calls “such a beautiful place”. He enjoys school and is eager to learn and grow.
In Amarateca Oscar is now surrounded by peers and new friends who have faced similar struggles. These new friends will be his support system at school and long after he graduates. In class, Oscar has skilled teachers who believe in him and are investing in his education to develop his skills, abilities and confidence, and the Sisters who care for his every need.
Before, Oscar had few hopes for the future and could only have expected to follow his parents into subsistence farming. Now, he has brand new ambitious dreams of becoming a Mechanical Engineer and, thanks to our donors, he has a real chance of realising them.