Info de mi escuela
Escuela Mayatan, Copan Ruinas, Copan, Honduras
Something very special is happening on
the hillside just outside the town of
Copán Ruinas… We invite you to get involved
and help to change a child’s future. You can help students
from some of the country’s poorest communities get a great
education and find a path out of poverty.
• Mayatan is a bilingual school set in the Western Highlands of Honduras.
• We aim to provide students from all walks of life with the highest standard of education, in both English and Spanish, while enabling our students to become active, responsible and informed participants in their local and wider communities.
• The school is a non-profit organization, receiving no financial assistance from the government, but abiding by all Honduran laws and regulations.
• We offer PreKinder to 9th Grade.
We are proud to offer the best schooling in the area, and for those families who can afford to pay, our school fees are around $120 a month. Our school is not just for the elite however, and we open our doors to children regardless of economic background, religion or ethnicity.
Mayatan School - making a difference!
Of our 300 students, around 50% receive some form of financial assistance.
• Ten percent come from outlying Maya Chorti villages, whose indigenous communities are believed to be the descendants of the original Maya people. These families are usually subsistence farmers with very little land ownership or capital.
• Another ten percent of our students are from poor families in and around the town of Copan.
We operate a full scholarship program enabling these children to attend Mayatan. Many of the families need assistance with the cost of shoes and uniform as well as tuition costs and books. We also make sure that those who need it receive at least one good meal a day. Often there is no food in the house for breakfast.
• We also offer partial assistance to children from families who can contribute in some way to their child’s education, but can not afford the full school fees. These families may own small shops or restaurants or work in the local tourist industry. You might call them the ‘emerging middle class’.
By assisting in this way our student body is made up of children from right across the financial spectrum, not just the very rich and the very poor. We hope this balance contributes to the special atmosphere at Mayatan School.
It’s easy to change a child’s life;
Sponsorship opens the doors to those normally excluded from a high quality
education. Sponsorship levels range from $300 to $2000 per year depending on
the needs of the child. See our ‘Sponsorship FAQ Sheet’ for more details.
We are also very happy to accept one-off donations towards our food and
uniform fund. Thank you
Sponsoring a student at Mayatan is a rewarding and enriching experience. Sponsors receive school newsletters, photographs and reports and the children write thank you letters and can send email and schoolwork. Some sponsors have even visited their student here in Copán. The minimum time commitment for sponsoring a specific child is one year, although many students have the same sponsor throughout their schooling. Please take a moment to consider if you can change the life of a needy child and their family. Thank you. If you are would like more details about sponsoring a child, please contact: Sarah Griffiths - Director of Development, Mayatan Foundation director@mayatanfoundation.org
More Mayatan Facts…
• Staff - We have a healthy mix of Honduran teachers and experienced volunteer teachers from other parts of the world. Please check our website www.mayatanfoundation.org for information about teacher recruitment.
• Mayatan Foundation - The school and scholarship program are governed by ‘Mayatan Foundation’; a registered tax-exempt, non-profit, charity organization in Honduras. The school was founded in 1991 by a local mother who, along with four other parents now makes up the foundation Board of Directors. The school and foundation have no religious affiliation. The school relies on fees and donations to continue its work.
• Making a donation - US Tax-Payers - Financial donations to Mayatan School are tax deductible. Simply send your contribution to ‘HOPE FOR TOMORROW, Inc’ who will send you a tax-receipt and forward the full amount to Mayatan School. ‘HOPE FOR TOMORROW, Inc’ is a 501(c)3 organization in the US set up by a former principal of Mayatan School ‘Mr. Frank Hopkins’. Checks should be made payable to ‘HOPE FOR TOMORROW, Inc.’
Please write ‘Mayatan’ on the memo. The address for the organization is:
HOPE FOR TOMORROW, Inc.
c/o Frank W. Hopkins, 4 Brady Loop
Andover MA 01810-3224 Tel: 978-470-0702
hopetomorrow@comcast.net www.hope-for-tomorrow.org
• Making a donation - from outside the US - Simply mail a dollar check made out to ‘Mayatan School’ to; Mayatan School, Copan Ruinas, Honduras, Central America.
• Other donations - If you can help by donating (and shipping) books, science lab equipment, computers, musical instruments or sport equipment, or would like to make a contribution to our school-building construction fund, please get in touch and we will send you the details of our current ‘needs’. Thank you.
Mayatan School - Making a difference!
We welcome your advice and suggestions and would be happy to add you to our school newsletter mailing list. Please let us know if you would like any additional information. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
