We Said We'd Come Back in July

A mid-year check-in on what we promised, what has happened, and where we still need your help.

At the beginning of this year, we made you a promise.

We told you about 2025 — the six scholars we supported, the $23,000 in scholarships, and the six applicants we had to turn away for lack of funds. We told you we wanted to increase our impact in 2026. And we told you we would come back in July and tell you the truth about how it was going.

Here we are. This is that post.

Where We Are Now

We are still supporting six scholars. We have not yet been able to add new scholars for 2026, and we said we would tell you that plainly rather than dress it up. That gap is still the gap.

But there is real good news in where we are now, and we want to give it its full weight.

Aleyda's home is funded. In our last scholar story, we told you we were raising roughly $12,000 for a new roof and a safe bathroom for Aleyda and her grandmother, Doña Julia. A donor came forward to provide $4000 of that need, which was able to provide a new metal roof, new septic tank and latrine. We are deeply grateful  — this is exactly the kind of answered prayer we hoped to report back on.

We earned our Candid Gold Seal of Transparency this year. For an organization that has built its whole relationship with you on the promise of honest accounting, this is a meaningful marker — it says our finances and our reporting hold up to outside scrutiny, not just our word.

Our donor portal is live. Any donor can visit our website, enter their email, and request a single-use access code. That code unlocks private scholar and financial information — monthly scholar updates including grades and degree progress, financial reports based on our bookkeeping, our 990, and quarterly reports. The portal reflects our bookkeeping rather than individual receipts; if you'd like to see specific receipts, just ask us and we will produce them for you.

We welcomed three new monthly donors this year. Real progress toward the reliable base of support we asked you for in January — and we are still looking for more partners to join them.

On funding: our current monthly gap is about $600. One-time gifts have covered that gap so far this year — which we are thankful for, but which is not the same as it being solved. One-time gifts fill a hole. Monthly gifts close it.

What Our Scholars Are Up To

A few highlights from our scholars' own monthly updates, in their own words where we can.

Angie Palma Espinal (UTH, Human Rights/Resources, first year) closed her third trimester with a 92.7 average across five courses, including a demanding project she was still finishing as the term ended. In her own words:

“This month I feel proud of all the effort I've put into my studies and my responsibilities. It has been a month of a lot of learning and also challenges — but I'm glad to see I've kept pushing and honoring my commitment to my goals.”

She is now into her fourth trimester with five new courses underway.

Nancy Osorto Maldonado (UTH, Psychology, fifth year, on track to graduate in 2027) posted a 90.08 average and is deep into her professional practicum at a health center in San Marcos de Colón, Choluteca — giving talks to schools on bullying and mental health, and supporting patients with chronic illness. She is also completing her thesis research toward her psychology degree. Please join her in praying for her grandfather's health.

Lucy Lopez (UNICAH, Psychology, fourth year, graduating 2027) is interning at a health center while carrying five courses, including a research seminar where she is surveying incoming university students about social media addiction, and a community intervention practicum. She shared:

“I feel proud to be passing my classes, and blessed every day by God.”

She asked for prayer for her health.

Where We Still Need Help

The honest accounting: our monthly funding gap is about $600, and it is currently being covered by one-time gifts rather than a sustainable base of monthly giving. That is the single biggest thing standing between us and confidently saying yes to more students.

Looking toward 2027, our goal is to fund four additional scholars. We can't yet tell you how many new donors that will take — that depends on the size and mix of gifts that come in — but we do know it represents about $24,000 in additional annual giving. That is the number that would let us plan ahead instead of filling gaps as they appear.

And once again this year, we have more qualified applicants than we are able to fund. We are not yet able to tell you how many we will be able to say yes to for 2026 — that is still being worked out, and depends directly on the gap above. But we want you to know they are out there: young people with the same tenacity and determination as the scholars we already support, waiting to hear from us.

That is not a footnote. That is the whole reason we are asking.

Four Ways to Help Right Now

Give. One-time or monthly at www.hopescholarshonduras.org/donate. If you have been considering monthly giving, this is the moment — $600 a month closes our current gap, and every donor who joins gets us closer.

Read. Catch up on our scholar stories on the blog, including Aleyda's newest update, if you haven't already.

Share. Follow and share at facebook.com/hopescholarshonduras.

Pray. For our scholars by name — for Angie, Nancy, Lucy, Iris, Greysi, and Marveli, and for the applicants still waiting. For Doña Julia and Aleyda in their newly repaired home. For the doors that still need to open.

Thank you for supporting our scholars! We will see you at the end of the year.