Fundación Ficohsa was founded in 1998 with the mission to participate in the social and economic development of Honduras, by supporting the children with limited resources in obtaining their rightful education, thereby improving their quality of life and increasing their self-projection in favour of society. What makes the organisation unique is their integral and sustainable support to pre-school education of the countries where Fundación Ficohsa works in, trying to provide quality education to the thousands of girls and boys that attend the Ficohsa’s education centres across the region.
The organisation implements the programme “Educating Our Future” which comprehends a series of components aiming to increase the level of quality of education for children and youth. The components include:
- Building, rehabilitating and maintaining public Centres for Early Education;
- Building the capacities of teachers and volunteers;
- Establishing processes to evaluate the academic performance;
- Providing the education centres with pedagogical support;
- Integrating educational programmes such as Social and Financial Education (SFE);
- Providing food for the education centres throughout the year;
- Providing furniture, books, educational material, computers and other useful tools.
Our Partnership
Since 2014, Fundación Ficohsa has been implementing the AflaTot curriculum. The organisation decided partnering with Aflatoun International because of the methodology used in the programmes and the adaptability of the curricula, especially in pre-school education.
Fundación Ficohsa is mainly excited for the involvement of the parents or guardians, which motivates everyone to achieve the goals of the programme. Social and Financial Education is especially important for the community in Honduras because it will build a financial conscience in the society, which will allow for youth to become the agents of change for their future.
The Experience of Jesy Mavilia Maldonado Salinas
Jesy Mavilia Maldonado Salinas is a teacher at the Center for Early Education of the Republic of Honduras in the city of Villanueva, which is supported by Fundación Ficohsa since 2008. She currently teaches 44 children aged 4 to 5 years old.
When talking about her experience, she shared that the first time the Aflatoun character was presented to the education centre was in 2019. For the occasion, workers from the public sector of the community were involved, including the Firefighters and the National Police. Jesy explained to them the activities they would do and the impact that the Aflatoun programme could have on their community, even though they did not know anything about the organisation or the character.
On the day when the parade for the Aflatoun character was planned, it was raining and Jesy thought that no one would come to the event. However, the families did all was needed for the children to participate. For Jesy, it was a special moment to see the whole community reunited and cheering for the parade, and listening to the firefighters turning on their sirens. Afterwards, it was the firefighter who introduced the Aflatoun character to the children and told them its story.
When the pandemic hit Honduras in 2020, the education centre had to stop implementing the programme, and had to continue their classes online. In 2022, they were able to have classes in person again and the Aflatoun programme was a great success. When the Aflatoun character visited the school again, the children organised an exhibition of piggy banks made out of recycled material that they made with their parents. According to Jesy, the best outcome was that the activity brought parents and children closer. She said that this is what Aflatoun does, uniting families and giving them quality time together. In her opinion, Aflatoun is undoubtedly an ally in educating children and bringing families together.
Jesy shared that Aflatoun has changed some of her shy students. After the teachings, they have become confident, dreamers, believing that their future is in their hands and that they can take care of the planet while making the habit of saving and bettering their future.
