Tufts International Development: Honduras Project Receives Accreditation! by Olivia Lazan (A’21)

by cpinkerton
Jan 24

The Trinidad School of Nursing (TSN) is a program created by members of Tufts International Development (Tufts ID) Honduras Team and implemented in partnership with the nonprofit Action for Education (AcE) and community leaders in Trinidad, Honduras.  It is a two-year auxiliary nursing school program, which will offer free tuition to all its students. The school is directed by AcE’s Director of Operations in Honduras, Jorge Encalada, and classes are taught by a local licensed nurse, Leny Paz. The institution has enrolled 43 students in the first year of the program, who have been going through the two-year vocational training program.

The Trinidad nursing school has received government accreditation! We have been working for over a year to get this program accredited, and it has been a difficult process due to bureaucratic barriers and changes in administration, rules, and regulations.

To navigate this, Action for Education leaders worked with a lawyer in Tegucigalpa and collaborated with local leaders. However, we are happy to announce that this program has been officially recognized by the Honduran government! We are continuing to work toward building a larger school and are looking for donations to help with construction and to sponsor students as they pursue their education.

Additionally, Tufts ID is working with Action for Education on advocating for the government to make an exception to their current format and allow classes to be held on weekends so that working people and parents can also earn a degree. The program is open to young people of all genders and it usually takes two to four years for them to graduate with auxiliary nursing credentials!