Corporate Social Responsibility

COHEP sponsors several programs to help Honduras.

Scholarship Tutors

Through the initiative of the COHEP Foundation, in 2003 a pilot program called the Scholarship Tutors Program was launched. The goal of this project is to reduce the school grade repeat rate and dropout rate among students in 1st and 2nd grade through tutoring in Spanish and Math, offered by 5th and 6th grade students.

Becarios Tutores In 2004 this program was implemented in 8 schools in the capital, and in 2005 the COHEP Foundation organized the resources of individual businesspersons to expand to 17 primary schools, helping 450 students who as tutors received monthly scholarships of 200 Lempiras each, as well as school supplies to assist in tutoring. More than 800 students in 1st and 2nd grade benefited from the program.

This program promotes from the earliest school years the values of solidarity and companionship, and in the long run improves the quality of our human resources. Moreover the participants learn the importance of teamwork utilizing the skills and abilities of every participating student. With the goal of improving tutor quality, the program produced the Thematic Guide for the tutors, which oriented the tutors towards the themes most important to reinforce each bimester.

The guide includes instructions describing the procedures for implementing the program, from the selection of education centers by means of a diagnostic test, the selection of tutors, development of tutorials, meetings with parents, reporting procedures, and a closing ceremony.

Concurrent with the tutoring program, the participating schools receive assistance with infrastructure and equipment administration. For example, three schools are sponsored by local businesses, which help them cover their principal infrastructure needs.

Description of the Scholarship Tutors Program

Methodology: Given that 1st and 2nd grades form the base for improving the quality and efficiency of the education system, the COHEP Foundation formed the Scholarship Tutors Program, which combines the skills and desires of the students of higher grade levels with the need to help the learning process of the students of the early grade levels.

The way the Scholarship Tutors Program works is simple: the COHEP Foundation, through the Education Coordinator, identifies a school, in an urban or rural area, where the level of repeating a grade exceeds 10%. At the same time, the program identifies the best 5th and 6th grade students, and sets up a cooperative meeting with the school and the chosen students. Each student from the higher grade levels helps 2 or 3 lower grade students to improve their reading comprehension, writing, and math skills, 3 times per week during the school year, outside of normal classroom hours.

The ultimate goal is that students with learning disabilities receive help from their more advanced classmates. In this way the rate of repeating a grade, or of dropping out, is greatly reduced.

More Information: Tutores News ; Presentation (Spanish)

Contact:
Edificio COHEP, Col. Tepeyac, calle Yoro
Tegucigalpa M.D.C., HONDURAS C.A
Teléfono: 504-235-3336
Fax: 504-235-3345
Correo: hectorf@cohep.com

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The COHEP Foundation

The COHEP Foundation was formed in 1992 as a private, non-profit organization without political or religious affiliations.

Objectives of the Foundation

1.- Strengthen the technical and financial resources of the Foundation.

2.- Promote economic reforms to incentivize investment and employment growth in the nation.

3.- Ensure that all commercial and industrial activity nurtures the economic growth of Honduras.

4.- Participate in and encourage community development projects, solidifying the role of free enterprise in Honduras.

5.- Promote national awareness of the principle that fundacioncohep free enterprise is the engine for sustainable economic growth in Honduras, by applying standards of productivity, efficiency, initiative, competition, and ethics, joining forces to maintain unscathed the image of protecting the Honduran people.

6.- Create and expand relationships between the Foundation and other associations, foundations, and institutions, private or public, national or international.

7.- Coordinate and ensure the execution of free enterpise activities under the framework of a national agreement to advance the economic development of Honduras, with the goal of improving the quality of life of all Hondurans.

Programs Managed by the COHEP Foundation

Taiwan Credit Fund: Currently the Foundation is managing a US$400,000 credit project directed at SME's in the industrial sector, in accordance with a 2002 agreement signed by the Foundation and the Secretary of Industry and Commerce, with funds provided by the government of Taiwan.

Loan Disbursement Requirements

The loans are geared towards specific business sectors, preferably for owners 100% dedicated to the business; loan amounts range from US$500 to US$7,000.

The loan proceeds are used to fund working capital, machinery acquisition, promotional activites, and sales in the following business sectors: footwear, agroindustry, metals, woodworking, textiles, tourism, artesans, concrete blocks and bricks, printing, and poultry farming.

Contact:
Edificio COHEP, Col. Tepeyac, calle Yoro
Tegucigalpa M.D.C., HONDURAS C.A
Teléfono: 504-235-3336 ext.144
Fax: 504-235-3345
Email: hectorf@cohep.com

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Junior Achievement International

Founded in 1919, Junior Achievement is the largest, fastest-growing economic education organization in the world. Junior Achievement International develops the programs of Junior Achievement in 112 nations around the world.

Junior Achievement Honduras

Junio Achievement We are a non-profit organization with no political or religious affiliations, founded in 2002, with the goal of nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit of Honduras' youth. We implement educational economic development programs, at all education levels, in the private and public sector, throughout the nation.

The Mission of Junior Achievement is:

“To educate and inspire new generations to value free enterprise, business, and the economy as a means of improving the quality of life and developing the economy of our nation.”

The programs are implemented to help students gain an understnading of:

  • The importance of a free market economy
  • The role of business in the global economy
  • The obligation of business in environmental and social issues
  • The obligation of business to operate under ethical principles
  • The relevance of education in the workforce
  • The impact of the economy on the future

Contact:
Edificio COHEP, Col. Tepeyac, calle Yoro
Tegucigalpa M.D.C., HONDURAS C.A
Teléfono: 504-235-3336 ext.111
Fax: 504-235-3345
Email: jahonduras@cohep.com
Web: www.jahonduras.org

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The SME Unit

The SME Unit of COHEP opens its doors to all micro, small, and medium businesses who are seeking business, legal and financial advice.

We also support the growth of the SME sector through business roundtables, electronic information portals, and acquiring financing through the Taiwan Fund and the COHEP Foundation.

The purpose of the SME Unit is to maintain permanent awareness of SME issues in the private sector at a national level.

Among our principle objectives is the creation of the SME Network, which encourages each COHEP member to establish in its organizational structure a component dedicated to developing the SME sector. Our goals are:

  • Teamwork
  • Competitiveness
  • Assistance

Contact:
Edificio COHEP, Col. Tepeyac, calle Yoro
Tegucigalpa M.D.C., HONDURAS C.A
Tel: 504-235-3336 ext. 118
Fax: 504-235-3345
Email: ibonilla@cohep.com
Web: www.infomipyme.com ; www.empresariosenlinea.com

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