Bilingual kids in Plan Grande

I have a Honduran friend whom I met in my first years here, when I was trying to do campus ministry at the Catholic University of Honduras in Santa Rosa. Erlin Johnny really wanted to learn English and we talked a bit in English. I did kid him that, when we first talked, his accent made my ears bleed.

Through the years, when St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Ames was sending groups to visit, I invited him to speak with the students over a meal, as a way for them to meet someone their age as well as a chance for him to practice English.

His English improved over the years and, because of his intuition that learning English is a useful skill, not only for those who have the money to send kids to bilingual schools or language institutes, he began an institute to teach English at a price that was more affordable for lower middle class Hondurans. He also provides scholarships, now with the help of the local Rotary Club, for girls at a home for those without a home.

We have talked over the years and I find his vision appealing. I also once mentioned that a dream I have is that one day there would be a bilingual school for the poor, perhaps in a community in our parish. But I have not had the time or the expertise to do that.

However, I did float the idea of a bilingual class in Plan Grande. Finally, this has come to pass. Today, Sunday, April 28, he came for the first class for 18 kids from Plan Grande and the neighboring village of Candelaria. The class is not free, but is being offered at a reduced rate. Also, to facilitate this initial effort, a sort of pilot project, I asked St. Thomas Aquinas in Ames to help by subsidizing the cost of poorer students and, for the first year, providing funding for the books and for the transportation of the teachers from Santa Rosa.

So today, 18 kids showed up, most with their parents. I sat in on the class and noted their enthusiasm. It helps that Johnny’s teaching style is very participative, helping the kids learn English with songs, practice, and more.

I won’t be attending every week, but I am glad that this is starting. Maybe, one day, Plan Grande will be a bilingual village.

Here are a few photos.