The Honduran government declared the country free of illiteracy after all 18 departments (regions) of the Central American nation managed to reduce their illiteracy rate to below 4 percent. The cooperation of Cuba's Educational Brigades was essential in achieving this goal.
The declaration is the result of the José Manuel Flores Arguijo National Literacy Program, promoted by the government of President Xiomara Castro, which successfully implemented the Cuban teaching methodology Yo, sí puedo (Yes, I can).
The declaration ceremony was led by Education Minister Daniel Esponda, who stressed that this achievement is “doing justice to thousands of Hondurans who could neither read nor write.”
During the ceremony, Romina Kasman, representative of UNESCO, stressed that “working for the right to education transforms lives, protects them, saves them, frees us, and empowers us.”
Kasman asserted that this program demonstrated that transformation through education is a tangible reality and not just rhetoric. “This successful result in Honduras represents a historic milestone for UNESCO worldwide,” she said, recalling that there are still 739 million illiterate people on the planet.
“This effort should be seen not only in the region, but also on a global scale, as an example of brotherhood and cooperation with the Republic of Cuba,” she said.
She also recognized the work of the Honduran Ministry of Education and the work of Cuban and Honduran facilitators and teachers, whom she described as “heroes of the process.”
For her part, Cuban Minister of Education Naima Trujillo reaffirmed her country's commitment to these literacy projects.
Paraphrasing Cuban independence hero José Martí, she declared: “Every man, upon coming into the world, has the right to be educated and then, in return, the duty to contribute to the education of others.”
Trujillo emphasized that every time a person becomes literate, we see “a more fulfilled human being, with greater opportunities to understand what is truly valuable in life,” and she concluded by assuring that “Cuba will continue to commit to the efforts that are necessary.”
The minimum literacy rate required to achieve this status, as established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is 4 percent.