In November 2007, OYE received 155 applications for only 50 places in the Scholarship Program. Our selection committee interviewed 80 potential scholarship candidates in December and on January 17th we completed our last home visit.
The 50 students who were selected to participate in the program deserve to be celebrated. Thus, on Saturday, January 26, 2008, OYE staff, the grand recipients, friends, and family members gathered at a local restaurant in El Progreso to recognize their accomplishments.
- Over half (62%) are young women
- Twelve are attending various universities in the El Progreso area
- Thirty-eight are middle and high school students
- They range in ages 11 to 31
- A large percentage of the students come from single parent households
- Four students were raised in a local orphanage, COPPROME
- All of the students are enthusiastic about their studies and making a difference in their community
I'll be writing back every week to tell you what it is like to be part of the OYE Scholarship Program. So check back frequently and feel free to share your thoughts and comments.
5 comments:
Hey Erin,
As someone from the States, some of us might wonder why you need a scholarship program for middle school kids. Can't they just go to public school?
And why are there more girl recipients than boys? Is that the same ratio of applicants?
And what is a home visit?
Hi Mrs. Coutts,
Thanks so much for your questions!
65% of our students do go to public schools; however, the cost for a family to send a child to any school is extremely high. When I say "cost" I am referring to both direct costs, or money the family has to spend sending a child to school, and indirect costs, the money that is not being earned for the family because the child is studying rather than working.
So what exactly are these direct costs? All schools in Honduras, whether public, private, or religious, require uniforms; thus, to attend school, students must be able to purchase the school shirt and skirt/pants. Though the government is supposed to hand out vouchers for students to take public transportation (actually old school buses from the States littered with confederate flags or Goshen County Public Schools plastered on the side), this money rarely reaches the students, so there is no free transportation for students to get to school. Then there are the school supplies; some of our students have told me about having to borrow books from wealthier kids so that they are able to do their homework. Lastly, many schools also require students to pay a registration fee to reserve their place in the school because there is not enough space for all of the students who want to attend.
We did have a few more applications from girls than boys, but the truth is that the girls were generally stronger applicants. Their grades were better, their essays were better, and their interviews were better.
A "home visit" was what we did because we wanted to talk to the parents of potential scholarship recipients to make sure they would be supportive of their children attending the OYE meetings.
I hope this answered your questions!
Thanks for reading!
Hi!!!!!
i'm one of the girls who won the scholarship
i'm so glad to have the opportunity
i hope never lost because i did a promise to Justin Otero who help me to get it
Oye thanks so much
i know that i molesto cada dia pero los quiero mucho en especial a la pelona bella
a mi cachetoncita, y a chelsea que no puedo pronunciar su appellido es tan dificil
lo unico que solo pienso en esa reunion que hacen cada jueves que no me gusta ir
pero es parte del trato con la familia OYE
BUENO
HASTA LUEGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
GRACIASSSSSSSS POR TODOOOOOOOOOOO
bueno la razon porque no me gusta ir a la reunion es porque don, el gran se;or luis pregunta demasiado y a una artista como yo necesito consultar con mi abogado para dar entrevistas porque la gente famosa como yo es muy complicado
ustedes entienden eso de ser famoso no
jajajjajajajajjja son bromas
oye
love
la fan numero 1 de oye
yapa
Wow, quite an interesting collection of exchanges going on in this blog :-)
simply wanted to drop some OYE love and kudo you with props on the pictures. They`re beautiful.
-otero
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