Cosmo Fujiyama

One Thousand Schools (OTS), formerly Students Helping Honduras (SHH), is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) with operational bases in both the United States and Honduras. Predominantly active in the outskirts of El Progreso, OTS extends its humanitarian and developmental projects across the entirety of Honduras. Characteristically managed by student volunteers, the organization aims to mobilize youth engagement in addressing socio-economic challenges within the region, promoting educational and community development initiatives. UMW Today

History

One Thousand Schools (OTS) started in 2004 when Cosmo and Shin Fujiyama went on a volunteer mission to Honduras, organized by the Campus Christian Community at the University of Mary Washington and aiming to assist victims of poverty and domestic violence. Witnessing the dire circumstances faced by the residents of Siete de Abril, particularly the children, inspired the Fujiyama siblings to establish OTS as a recognized student organization at their universities the subsequent semester.

In the spring of 2006, OTS organized its inaugural walkathon, successfully raising over $148,000, a sum bolstered by a matching grant from Doris Buffett, the founder of The Sunshine Lady Foundation. These funds enabled the return to Honduras for the construction of a school in collaboration with the Siete de Abril community.

Following this initial success, Doris Buffett proposed a second challenge: a matching grant of $100,000, contingent upon the students raising an equivalent amount by semester's end. This challenge led to the expansion of OTS's network, with the establishment of chapters at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. The collective efforts of these students not only met but exceeded the target, raising $110,000 and securing the matching grant. These funds were instrumental in purchasing a land title for the Siete de Abril villagers, ensuring their legal residence, and constructing 44 cinder block houses for each family.

The organization's commitment to its cause and its growing impact led to its registration as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2007, a move advised by Dr. Gregory Stanton, the founder of Genocide Watch. This milestone marked OTS's official recognition and further solidified its foundation for future humanitarian efforts in Honduras.

Projects

Today, the organization hosts service trips throughout the year as part of its formal operations. Volunteers travel to Honduras in groups to assist with construction, build relationships with the local residents, and witness the conditions in which they live. Projects include:

Villa Soleada (formerly Siete de Abril)

Villa Soleada comprises forty-four 22' x 28' homes, each with three bedrooms, a central room, a bathroom, and a shower. The village also includes: a community center, land for farming, sustainable businesses, a well, a library, an eco-friendly waste management system, electricity, and a soccer field.

Villa Soleada Bilingual School

The Villa Soleada Bilingual School (VSBS) was built with the goal to change the graduation rate of Siete de Abril, now Villa Soleada, to "100% from 0%", in one generation. The VSBS High School was inaugurated in March 2020.

The students from Villa Soleada attend the school on a full scholarship, with students from wealthier neighborhoods paying $40 a month (in U.S. dollars). The teaching staff is made up of both Honduran and American teachers. The school provides a longer school day than the typical Honduran school, and offers summer enrichment classes.

Villa Soleada Children's Home

The Villa Soleada Children’s Home is a temporary/permanent living arrangement offering childcare, family reunification, and kinship care. The Children's Home consists of multiple homes, each with Honduran houseparents who look after 10-15 children. Many children from the Children's Home attend the Villa Soleada Bilingual School mentioned above, with others attending schools in El Progreso.

School Builds

Students Helping Honduras builds schools following a three-way partnership model: OTS provides the construction supplies and professional labor, the families in the communities provide unskilled labor, and the local government provides heavy machinery, sand to mix cement, and the teachers. All supplies are locally sourced, and all projects are supported by the local government and businesses.

Train for Change

Train for Change was a program run by OTS that empowered local Honduran teacher leaders through professional development to improve the quality of education for 1 million children in the most impoverished areas in the country. The organization sunset this program at the end of 2024.

Impact Report 2019

In June 2019, a survey team from One Thousand Schools published a self-report summarizing their projects' impact on communities in Honduras. The survey team visited 46 communities in Northern Honduras and surveyed and interviewed 30 directors, 91 teachers, 114 parents, and 171 students. The following is a list of findings from the survey, according to OTS:
*School enrollment increased by 39.1% on average after completing a project.
*The average number of classes cancelled due to rain or inadequate protection from weather dropped from 14 days per year to less than one day a year.
*The average number of teachers per school increased from 6.5 to 8.5.
*99% of students reported they like the new classrooms.
*99% of parents were satisfied with the project.
*100% of directors were satisfied with the project.
*98% of teachers were satisfied with the project.
*97% of participants agreed that they were prouder of their school after the completion of the project.
*94% of participants agreed that they believe more in women’s capacity to contribute to projects.
*98% of teachers and directors agreed that the project helped them perform their jobs better.

Membership and chapters

The membership of OTS consists of more than seven thousand students and adults from different states. Chapters are typically located on college campuses (U.S.) and at high schools.

Chapters typically host fundraisers on their school’s campus to raise money for the school build projects. OTS also hosts annual Fall Retreats and Summits in the U.S. for chapter members to come together and learn more about the organization. Each year in Honduras, OTS hosts a Leadership Week for chapter leaders to learn, connect, and prepare for the next year.

Each year, OTS hires 1-3 Student Directors to serve as the liaison between the Honduran staff and chapter members in the United States.

U.S. college campus chapters include:

*American University
*College of William & Mary
*Christopher Newport University
*Clemson University
*Hollins University
*Hofstra University
*George Washington University
*George Mason University
*Georgia Southern University
*Georgetown University
*James Madison University
*Wake Forest University
*Marymount University
*University of Kentucky
*Old Dominion University
*Penn State
*Queens College, City University of New York
*Stony Brook University
*Radford University
*Shenandoah University
*UNC-Chapel Hill
*University of Mary Washington
*University of Maryland
*University of Michigan
*University of Virginia
*University of Rochester
*University of South Carolina
*Virginia Commonwealth University
*Virginia Tech
*Washington College
*Towson University
*Salisbury University
*University of Tennessee
*University of Maryland Baltimore County
*University of Dayton
*Cornell University
*Moravian College

High school chapters include:

*Haddonfield Memorial High School
*Mountain View High School (Virginia), Mountain View High School
*Freehold Township High School
*Wakeland High School
*Lawrence High School (New Jersey), Lawrence High School
*Manalapan High School
*Colonial Forge High School
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References

Children's charities based in the United States
Development charities based in the United States
Charities based in Virginia
Non-profit organizations based in Fredericksburg, Virginia
Foreign charities operating in Honduras