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Cost of school travel

 MSC archived stories - October 12, 2019

Congratulations to Genesis in San Pedro Sula, Honduras for receiving my 2019 HOPE scholarship. She is only 12yrs of age, and will be using the grant money for her academic studies, including monthly transportation cost of $46.25 for commute to the nearest school, which is located 5km away from her home.

 

As per www.numbeo.com, monthly pass in San Pedro Sula ranges $25-$50. This appears to suggest that Genesis is not paying for bus fares at a student discount rate, making 67% of her award going towards transportation.

 

In a recent post on MSC, I learned that monthly school bus fare of $28.85 in the Philippines, which compares to regular price range of $8.72-$19.38 in Manila or Legazpi seems, again excessive with no student discount!

 

When I was schooling in Sri Lanka in the 1980s, our school bus service was government subsidised, paying around 1/3 of the regular price (for 25km journey up/down). I'm astounded by the cost of transportation in Honduras and Philippines today.

 

I only have the above data to substantiate my claim, but would be interested to know the situation in other CI countries, so please do share if you have any evidence from your child EG (education) spending on transportation.

Comments

  1. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:36

    I don't have a breakdown on this but for the 2018 school year Sara used $141 for transportation in Zambia. If the reports were correct, she was travelling over an hour in each direction. I'm guessing what may be happening is that our sponsored children are using buses that aren't 'school buses' and are having to use services by a couple of different providers so they can't use a monthly pass. If they're more rural, for example, they may be dependent on paying whoever locally can take them into the nearest town.

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  2. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:36

    That's so cool - Congrats to Genesis! :)I'm so curious as to how does Hope Sponsorship works. How do we know if our kids applied for it? How do we know who is the recipient of the Scholarship?

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  3. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:36

    In Zambia, HOPE scholarships are only granted to students who have completed their senior secondary education, i.e. to college or university students, not to 12-year-olds like Genesis. So the rules depend on the country. The 15-year-old girl I sponsor in Zambia, Cecilia, is eligible for specific secondary school scholarships and she was granted one for 10th grade. These scholarships cover 50% of all education-related costs, whereas for HOPE scholarships I think it's 90%, at least in Zambia. Only a tiny fraction of (HOPE) applicants are successful. I make sure to remind Cecilia of the scholarship opportunity early each autumn! I think most of the potential beneficiaries - high-achieving students - would be aware of the scholarships. You could always ask CI about the specifics in your country of sponsorship.

    October 12, 2019

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  4. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:37

    That’s great Genesis will have the funds to travel, safely, to school. I’m curious— you refer to Genesis “receiving my HOPE scholarship”—have you set up your own program to provide education funds? I have not experienced the use of donations to cover transportation, but I have read here that this is often a need for higher education students in Guatemala.

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  5. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:37

    Karen190701, on the Message Boards, under UPDATES, Nov. 2017, debbies posted “HOPE Scholarship Info”. While it does not address your questions specifically, it does provide lots of great information.

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  6. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:47

    Thank you @liza92037!

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  7. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:47

    Thanks freestyle! In Zambia, $141 for 9mths of school term means monthly travel cost of $15.67, which is cheaper than regular price range of $22.81-$45.63 in Zusaka. I wonder Zambian students receive any travel concession on the main leg of their journey..

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  8. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:48

    Hi Karen, Liza pointed you to the right place to learn how the HOPE selection process works. Usually the scholarships are awarded from the CI HOPE Fund annually in October. Between you and the child's communication can lead to learning if they have applied/successful, etc

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  9. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:48

    Hi Elemay, Genesis is my youngest ever and the first recipient to receive the award from Honduras. CI chosen her because she is a very dedicated student and needs the support in order to continue progressing with her studies.

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  10. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:48

    Hi Liza, A special HOPE Scholarship Trust was set up (when this opportunity was given to donors years ago) to award an annual scholarship to a youth for higher education or vocational training needs. Genesis is my 14th recipient, but high weighting put on 'transportation' seems to have been due to her age.

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  11. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:49

    Thanks, Chelaka! I wrote above my donations have not been used for transportation (to school), but with reflection on reports I have received, I will amend that! Although not for public transportation, a portion of Soniya’s (rural W. Bengal) education expense this year purchased a bicycle to enable her to commute to school, tuitions, and CI programmes.

    October 12, 2019

    ReplyDelete
  12. chelaka23 March 2025 at 14:49

    Brightspot
    Thank you for your important information on the costs of education, and related costs. It is good to know. These anecdotal stories tell me a lot about how much it might cost to pay for a child's education, if I sponsor(ed) a child in that country.

    October 15, 2019

    ReplyDelete

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