Breaking Down Barriers

Karen Guadalupe Izaguirre is a teacher who works in an educational centre in Catacamas, Honduras. She is also a mom to two beautiful daughters, Alejandra and Alexa. As a teacher, she has seen first hand the limited resources for children with special needs. As a mother of a daughter with cerebral palsy and another with imperfecta osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) she knows how important programs that promote inclusion and education are to the future of children with disabilities. “In our municipality, people with disabilities experience exclusion due to their condition,” says Karen. “Without the support of the Inclusive and Sustainable Development for Vulnerable Populations (ISED VP) project which aims to promote economic and social inclusion of women, disabled and indigenous populations, children like my daughter would not have access to the learning and skills she needs to function successfully like her peers.”

Karen’s ten-year-old daughter Alexa is currently a student at Las Manos Hablan School for the Deaf. Though this school continues to educate students on skills that help find employment they were lacking the technology needed to learn important computer skills. To bridge this gap Cuso International donated the technology and resources needed to promote success. “This donation will improve the teaching and learning process in terms of comprehension by the students, which will benefit children, including my daughter Alexa,” says Karen. “I am incredibly grateful.” Karen’s hope is that Alexa will learn how to use the computer equipment and basic programs and feel part of society, without barriers that limit her from doing what she wants to do.

“Children with disabilities are a blessing,” says Karen. “We must help break down the social barriers that affect the development of people with disabilities, so that they too can be happy and fulfil their dreams.”