Introducing Manuel Bueso Pineda and Cesar A. Cueva Elementary Schools

The Library Committee at Cesar A. Cueva Elementary School signed their agreement with Chispa Project.

We’re excited to inaugurate two schools in Copán Ruinas, Honduras next week: Manuel Bueso Pineda Elementary School and Cesar A. Cueva Elementary School!

With the generosity of dedicated volunteers, we are providing 500 books and the essential materials to serve the 210 students at Manuel Bueso Pineda Elementary School. Our Chispa team has been working closely with school leaders to establish a Library Committee, empowering teachers, parents, and administrators to create policies, schedules, and strategies to maximize the use of their library. Just last week, teachers participated in our "Lighting the Spark with Literacy" training program on how to ignite a passion for reading among their students.

Manuel Bueso Pineda Elementary School stands out as a school deeply invested in developing real-world skills in its student body. It serves all grades from kindergarten to 9th grade, though due to limited space on its main campus, the middle schoolers have classes in an annex across town. Kids at Manuel Bueso don’t only engage in traditional classroom learning; rather, the school puts a special focus on classes like sewing, cooking, and other life skills, and they teach coffee grinding, a skill that prepares students to enter the main industry in the region: coffee production.

Cesar A. Cueva Elementary School also focuses on teaching nontraditional classes; however, their focus is on preserving their Chortí Mayan heritage by teaching the language in grades 1 through 6. All teachers, even if they are not Chortí Maya themselves, learn the language to teach it, an act that is not only saving this native language, but growing the population of people who still speak it. The teacher who is leading this movement is an alumni of the school himself, and he continues to be a spark in supporting the saving of indigenous culture in the area. 

We are thrilled to return to the culturally rich and naturally beautiful zone of Copan. The impact of this project will be felt for years to come, creating an enduring legacy of learning and opportunity.