Mom & Daughter Overcome Adversity To Get An Education

Iris Borjas has been a volunteer for MDM Honduras for eleven years, participating weekly in tutoring for different grades and collaborating in the kitchen since 2011, both at the learning center and the Bernardo Galindo school in the community of El Mulular. Iris is also the mother of three, Fatima (18), Katerin (9), beneficiary students of the sponsorship program, and Liam the youngest, who is 2 years old.

Years before becoming a volunteer, Iris was forced to drop out of high school to start her life as a mother. For 8 years she put her education on hold to take care of her family. However, she did not lose her desire to continue her studies, and it was in 2012 that she found a new opportunity to finish her high school studies with MDM Honduras.
But like every opportunity, it came with challenges to overcome, as due to her strong desire to continue volunteering for MDM and her responsibilities as a mother, she found it necessary to study remotely, which meant attending classes in Tegucigalpa every weekend for two years, a sacrifice that paid off when she graduated as a Public Accountant in 2013.

“For me, it has been a great blessing, from the beginning I have always enjoyed coming and participating. Being a tutor has been of great motivation for me because I enjoy teaching. And I appreciate the support I receive for my daughters, I don’t worry about their uniforms and school supplies, because they get everything they need.“
Iris Borjas

In the following years, Iris had the opportunity to work as a tutor at the Bernardo Galindo school in the community of El Mulular, supporting the school’s head teacher three days a week. While this was happening and motivated by her fellow volunteers and the MDM Staff, Iris decided to start her university studies in 2016, although unfortunately, she could not continue at that time due to a serious episode of pneumonia in her youngest daughter Katerin whom she had to hospitalize for a while.
The years passed and the economic needs of the household kept Iris away from the classrooms, in which the pandemic played an important role in strongly impacting the economy of the region. However, even with the impediments to continuing her college career, Iris kept supporting her daughter Fatima, until she finished high school and achieved her bachelor’s degree in Science and Humanities in 2021.

Fatima, a sponsored student since 2nd grade, has grown up in the MDM environment, participating in the activities and developing herself in each of her stages as a student. She values the benefits and opportunities received through MDM.

“It has been nice to grow here [at MDM Honduras], I learn many new things through the computer and reading classes, and all that has contributed a lot to me. For me it means a lot, it is a great blessing. Many young people don’t study because they can’t cover the costs of transportation and school supplies, they don’t have that joy, but thanks to MDM and all the staff they have been a great blessing to me and many children in the community.”
Fátima Elvir Borjas

Now in 2022, Mother and daughter have embarked on the university path together, although they chose opposite careers, Iris aspires to become a Spanish teacher, while Fatima chose the English career.

They now look forward to the future and the opportunities that will come for them and for Katerin and Liam, grateful for the support they found at MDM Honduras and determined to reach their goals and continue contributing to the transformation of their lives, their family, and their community.

“I chose English as a career because I always liked listening to North Americans talk when they come, and I wanted to know what they say. I want to be able to communicate with them and I also want to help to translate and teach English to the children in my community.”
Fátima Elvir Borjas