The Beginning
In 1996, Dr. William DeJong, CEO of DeJONG Inc., went with his then 16 year old son to do service work through the organization Heart to Honduras in a rural village near the organization's Honduran complex. While he was there he recognized the dilapidated condition of the school buildings and the underserved population of rural students. He made the decision to return to the United States and form a team who could return to Honduras to do a more thorough assessment of the facilities in the area he had visited prior.

In April of 1997 Dr. DeJong, Charles Newman, AIA, Ron McKnight along with eight other architects, engineers, and planners of the organization CEFPI teamed up and traveled to Honduras to evaluate the school buildings in a rural mountain area of the departments of Cortes and Comayagua. They found buildings of sticks and mud serving as schools, and in some areas, school being held under trees. With the assessments in hand, the group returned to North America and created a report of recommendations for building guidelines.

The Schools
In 1998 the group began working together under the name Schools for the Children of the World. They began taking two trips to Honduras each year with new volunteers to build and renovate schools, and that tradition continues today. With the new guidelines in hand, they set out to network with Honduran government officials and other NGOs and to build a demonstration school in Canchias, the village which the Heart to Honduras complex is located. On July 15, 1998 the first school was dedicated and opened to the community.

In 2000, the group facilitated a work session with the Honduras Ministry of Education and Honduran architecture students from two of the largest universities in the country. This work session marked the beginning of a lasting and beneficial relationship between SCW, the Honduras Ministry of Education, and Honduran architecture students that is still strong today.

The Current Situation
SCW has built six new schools and over 50 school renovations in Honduras, a new school in Nicaragua, and one in Belize. SCW became an official 501(c)(3) organization in the United States in 2003 and was contracted by the Honduras Ministry of Education to develop a National School Facility Master Plan. The school facility master plan was a huge step forward for SCW and has contributed to the founding of a Honduran sister organizations, SCW-Honduras and SCW-Canada.

In 2006-2007 SCW has ventured into East Africa and has begun the development of projects in Kenya and Tanzania.

Please peruse the site for lots more information on our passion and our organization.