Educating for Inclusion: Transforming Mindsets
Our social education program reaches schools, universities, and businesses to raise awareness about the rights and dignity of people with disabilities.
El Arca Choluteca's Social Education Program is our advocacy platform for transforming mindsets. We visit schools, universities, and businesses to talk about dignified treatment and the rights of people with disabilities.
The most powerful aspect of these talks is that they are not only given by our professionals: our own members with disabilities actively participate, sharing their experiences and showing their abilities.
Impact in the classroom
In every school visit, children are transformed. They go from initial curiosity to understanding, and finally to affection and admiration. Many end up wanting to visit El Arca or become volunteers when they grow up.
We also conduct inclusive entrepreneurship workshops, training single mothers and other vulnerable populations with tools for self-sustainability.
This program demonstrates our philosophy of 'walls outward': El Arca doesn't stay within its walls but goes out to impact the entire Honduran community.
Stories of change
Since 2017, the Social Education Program has conducted over 200 visits to institutions across the departments of Choluteca, Valle, and Francisco Morazan. On average, we reach 35 schools per year, from single-classroom rural schools in villages like El Corpus and Pespire to universities such as UPNFM and UNAH del Sur. Each presentation lasts 60 to 90 minutes and includes interactive activities, testimonial videos, and a Q&A session.
"The first time I went to a school to speak, my legs were shaking. But when the children applauded after I told them how I make pinatas, I understood that my story is worth telling," recalls Maria Fernanda Castellanos, a member of El Arca since 2012 and one of the program's most active presenters. Maria Fernanda has a mild intellectual disability and has participated in over 50 school talks.
Each visit is carefully structured. First, the professional team presents data about intellectual disability in Honduras, where approximately 14% of the population lives with some form of disability. Then, our members take the floor: they share their daily lives, show products they have made, and answer questions with a naturalness that disarms prejudice. Finally, a joint activity brings students and members to work side by side.
The program's impact aligns directly with the L'Arche International Charter, which states that the mission of communities extends beyond internal accompaniment to include transforming society. Our education program is our answer to that call: every classroom we visit is a seed of change in Honduran culture toward real inclusion.
The numbers speak for themselves. From over 200 visits, we have directly reached more than 8,500 primary and secondary students, 1,200 university students, and 600 corporate employees. A 2024 follow-up survey of teachers from 15 visited schools showed that 87% reported positive changes in how their students treat classmates with disabilities after the visit.
"After El Arca visited our school in El Triunfo, one of my fourth-grade students stopped mocking his classmate with Down syndrome. Today they are inseparable friends," shares teacher Karla Patricia Ochoa. Testimonies like this confirm that changing mindsets starts in childhood.
If you are a school principal, CSR coordinator, or community leader and want to bring the Social Education Program to your space, contact us at no cost. The talks are free and we adapt to each institution's schedule. All we need is a meeting space, a projector, and a willingness to listen. Write to us at choluteca@elarcadehonduras.org.