Reyes Irene Valenzuela School for Girls is located in Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras. It stands as a sanctuary and beacon of hope for the few hundred young women who are enrolled there, offering them an alternate path to their historical options of labour and mistreatment. Most of the girls at Reyes Irene entered the workforce as children — working as street vendors or household domestic workers. With dreams of providing for themselves and their families, they are quickly confronted with the unfortunate reality of exploitation and abuse.

The school provides accelerated high school diploma programs, as well as technical training programs to prepare these students for careers including computer technicians, cosmetologists, pharmacy assistants, and tailors. They are given business courses and provided with opportunities to apply for small business loans to set up their own entrepreneurial ventures. Tuition is free, hours are flexible and students are welcome to bring in their own children while they are in classes.

In addition to their academics, the girls at Reyes Irene are provided with social services, private counseling, and health services that otherwise would not be available to them. In a country with social and religious standards that would be unfamiliar to most North Americans, Reyes Irene shines as a progressive, open-minded (and perhaps rebellious at times) institution. This rebellion includes providing their female students with access to equitable healthcare alongside social learning on how to protect their bodily autonomy.

Presently, the waitlist of young women eager to enroll at Reyes Irene is double the current capacity of the school. Through private donations, plans for a new, larger facility are currently underway! Expanding this school will not only increase the capacity of Reyes Irene to fundamentally alter the life course of many young women in Honduras, but also to spread the message of this institution and their values further and wider. Given that safety continues to be a concern for young women enrolled here, this new facility’s security measures will help ensure these women can learn, study, and grow in a safe environment.

“The girls in the school face many challenges. Living in poverty, domestic violence, gang violence, racism as indigenous people, drug and alcohol abuse in their families, teenage pregnancy, abuse in the workplace… to name a few. The school helps girls transform into confident and capable young women who become leaders in their families and communities.”

-Anne Morawetz, President of Friends of Honduran Children

Reyes Irene School for Girls