We would like to introduce you to our newest house parents: Ruby and Henry!   Ruby and her sisters have had a long history with GH2K, starting 10 years ago in Jason’s 7th grade English and sciences class at Instituto El Rey.   More recently, Ruby has been one of our teachers in homeschooling our kids.

Joining Ruby and Henry are their kids: Cherli, Judi, and precious Baby Jason, along with two of Ruby’s younger siblings Grisel and Abi.   We’re so excited to have these new faces added to our GH2K family.   Grisel, Ruby’s second youngest sister, has been living with us since last March, and is very excited to be living with more of her family again. 
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Along with being house parents, Ruby is teaching our 2nd graders this year, and Henry works with our guys on various agriculture and construction projects.

Things are changing once again here at GiveHope2Kids. We've said goodbye to two more great volunteers,  rainy season is finally here, school is out for the year,  and our kids just keep getting bigger!

Everyone is so excited to have a little more freedom in their day, without school uniforms and strict schedules. We just celebrated  kindergarten graduation with our group of younger kids.  We are so proud of our little ones!

The older kids are enjoying more responsibility around the property.   They've been working on picking fruit, feeding the pigs, and other small agriculture projects.

However, they're most excited for our new egg-laying hens. They'll be in charge of collecting eggs for the property.   (Please check out our Gift Catalog and consider donating towards  these chickens.)

The younger kids around the property are spending more  and more time outside swimming,  playing soccer, or riding bikes.  

As this school year came to an end, we've said goodbye to some helpful volunteers.   Kaitlen was here for 2 years, teaching both our kids and in the community.   We want to thank  her for all of her hard work and the positive impact she made on the community.   She plans to continue serving in Honduras in the future and we certainly wish  her all the best!

Many of you will be asking, "Who is Mayra?," so let us tell you the story.

You see a couple  of weeks ago, we got  a call from Honduran social services and they asked if we could give Mayra, then 14,  a  temporary  home.   We went to meet her and decided that we would like to help her for this time.   She's been living  here since, and is most often found laughing with our other teenage girls.

After a couple  weeks with us, it was Mayra's 15th birthday.   This is the most important birthday in a girl's life, so we wanted to bless Mayra with a quinceanera party to celebrate.   We got her the necessary fabulous dress and very high heels and threw her a party!

Recently  our 6th graders had the chance to take the entrance exam for  Instituto El Rey.   This school is near and dear to our hearts, as it's where Give Hope 2 Kids got its footing, working in Honduras.   They provide a great, Christian education to 7th-12th graders, and it's definitely where we hope for our kids to be.

Instituto el Rey (IER) offers about 40 seats to the incoming​​ class each year.   That's only 40 spots for all of the Cangrejal River Valley where we live.   Talk about competitive!

​Currently, we have our six teenage girls attending IER.   But we are very excited to announce that starting in 2016, three more members of the GH2K family will be riding the  IER bus everyday!

And last, but not least, was Abi.   Abi is Ruby's youngest sister, and we have loved being a part of her life over the years.   When we first started helping this family of sisters, Abi, the youngest, was only two years old.   Now she's grown up into a lovely and intelligent young lady.

​We are very  proud of these three -- they've worked hard.   And of course, we want to say a special thank you to our teachers, especially Kati, who tutored these kids and made sure they were ready for their exam.

We are so excited to see how Carlos, Javier, and Abi continue to grow and mature at Instituto El Rey!    If you would like to support Carlos and Javier in this next stage of their life, please click the button below.​

We would like to introduce you to Carlitos  who has been part of our Give Hope 2 Kids family  for almost 4 years.  It's been  so much fun to see him grow up over the  years.

Carlitos  is  one  mischievious  little man! He loves to make people  smile and laugh.  He is  very  energetic and is constantly looking forward to his next game.  Carlitos loves to play soccer with the other boys.  He also likes riding his bike down the hill and climbing trees.  He simply loves to have fun!

Recently Carlitos had the opportunity to be one of the dancers  in the Independence Day parade.  He and his partner  performed traditional  Honduran dances  complete with authentic music and garb.  Carlitos did so well! He was very attentive to his dance partner and knew all of the dance moves.  We were very proud.  Look at that smile!

Of course, we have  opportunities to give towards anything from new  fridges  to new chickens. So please  look over our Gift Catalog and see which projects get you excited.

Thank you so much for all of your generosity.   GiveHope2Kids would not exist without the kind donations and support of our GH2K family. We are so grateful for you.

Cheers!

Josecito arrived at GH2K almost two years ago with his three older siblings.  This little guy is a 100% spunky, fun-loving  sweetheart.  

Beneath that cheeky smile is one of the biggest hearts you'll ever meet. Josecito wants to be everyone's friend  and is  constantly seeking out his next adventure.  We  often find Josecito  up in a tree,  digging in the dirt, or  racing across the property.  Josecito  is a Kindergartener this year and is  doing so well in school.  He enjoys learning and especially loves reading. Besides school, Josecito is showing a big love for music. He takes drumming class and singing class during the week and has been known to sing all day long at home too. We would love for you to sponsor Josecito. 

We would like you to meet Jared.   Jared came here with his sister  over three years ago. 

This  little boy is one  of the most respectful kids we care for.   He enjoys school and has been participating more and more in class.   Jared is always ready to help his teachers or classmates.   He also  helps with cleaning the dishes after  every meal.   Jared's favorite thing to do is play soccer!   And he is a great player too.   He recently got to be a cadet  in the Independence Day parade and  had so much fun  stoically marching alongside his classmates.   Read more about that fun day here.

Jared needs 7 sponsors.   If you are interested in making a difference in his life, please click the button below.

Here are a few pictures of the progress on the Trade School.     At this point, we've finished 95% of the structure of the school.     Now we will be doing wiring and plumbing work, as well as building work tables and desks.  

For next year we have carpentry, agriculture, and welding classes set up.     It looks like we'll be doing an extensive project with raising tilapia fish, while simultaneously teaching this in agriculture classes for several members of our community.      Please stay tuned for updates on this exciting new  area of the ministry.

At the start of  2015 we made a ground-breaking decision for the future of our kids in the  GiveHope2Kids family.     We became  homeschoolers.

Actually, our homeschooling story started  a little earlier than this.   Let's introduce you  to Daysi.     When Daysi first arrived at GH2K, she  was 11-years-old, but due to her life circumstances, she'd only had a chance to attend first grade in school.    We tutored her for two months, and she was ready to test into the 5th grade level at school.

Unfortunately for Daysi though, the educational system here had just set several rules that: a) made it impossible for students to advance  ahead in grades, and b) keeps older students from entering local junior highs.   Under these rules, Daysi would have graduated 6th grade at 16, with almost no chance of continuing on with her education.

So, we got creative.   We ended up working through an alternative learning program.  We've  successfully fast-tracked four of our kids now, to help them catch up on the school they missed earlier in life.  

In 2014, both Daysi and Carolina  worked very hard to complete 5th and 6th grade in one year and graduated  from elementary school.   What an accomplishment it was for them!

Now both girls are studying at  Instituto El Rey.  They are on track for finishing high school, and both have dreams  of going on to study in university.    (Both girls are in need of more  sponsorship, if you're interested in helping either of these girls succeed.)

You'll hear us talk a lot about education changing lives, and it could  sound a little trite, but for our ministry, it's the real deal.    By homeschooling our elementary students, we can take them from struggling and behind, to  competitive or even ahead.    

For the past  9 months, we've homeschooled our  K-6th graders four days a week, and they've attended our village school the fifth day.   We have seen so much positive growth in these kids during this year!   They recognize how much they're learning and are loving it.   So for 2016, we're venturing into full-time homeschooling.  

How will this play out?   We are now working with the department of education, so we can become an official homeschooling community and have our curriculum approved.    In the future, we hope to tie our homeschool program right in with the Trade School, so we can offer our kids even more opportunities to succeed in life.

We will still seek to bless our village school and its students, as this is one of our values.    As much as possible, we will continue teaching them computers and English,  help the school with renovation projects, and  provide them with educational resources.

This is a big undertaking.   Please pray that we would have wisdom as we invest in our kid's education.    When we consider the rough backgrounds that these kids came from, and then see where they are today, we are so encouraged for the future!