Literacy Alliances Program (PAL)

Where our literacy expertise meets local leadership—bringing more books, stronger literacy programs, and greater impact to communities across Honduras.

Our Approach

Partners who are already rooted in their communities come to us for curated books, customized programming, training, and literacy-focused support. They bring the local knowledge and sustained leadership; together, we work within their budget and context to make literacy part of the work they are already doing.

See how!

We adapt to new contexts

We tailor our training, book collections, and access strategies to fit each community’s goals, setting, and resources. This has allowed us to:

  • Equip juvenile detention staff with literacy training and curated books for incarcerated youth, alongside Counteract.

  • Help children’s homes build supportive reading environments through caregiver training and curated collections.

  • Create and continually optimize libraries in private bilingual schools.

  • Develop early-childhood training and kindergarten Reading Corners with United Way Honduras.

  • Train educate. and OYE staff to incorporate literacy into play-based learning.

  • Establish Traveling Backpack networks with DHG, rotating books among remote schools.

We broaden our reach

PAL allows us to reach communities that distance and limited resources would otherwise place beyond our traditional school library program. By working through locally rooted partners, our literacy expertise—and our books—can travel farther.

  • Choluteca: Launched our first program in southern Honduras with Fundesur, creating Reading Corners and training teachers.

  • Trujillo: Delivered curated book collections to communities 8+ hours from our office.

  • Intibucá: Revitalized a municipal library with updated shelves, books, and murals.

  • And beyond: PAL has expanded Chispa Project’s reach to communities across 11 of Honduras’s 18 departments.

Want to partner on a literacy project? Contact us today.

Gleen Miralda, Literacy Alliances Program Coordinator

gleen@chispaproject.org

What We Offer

Our Services

We have an a-la-carté menu of some of the services we provide; however, we also adapt each of these parts of our program to the context of the partner organization and make the most of their budget. For example, we have adapted our traditional educator-focused teacher workshop to fit the context of a juvenile detention center, early childhood education, and young NGO professionals.

So, if you don’t see something that fits your vision exactly, don’t worry! We’re committed to fostering literacy in the way that works best for your community.

What We Offer

Create a Library

Design Reading Corners

Specialized Training

Traveling Backpack Library Networks

Customized Book Collections

Some of our Spark-filled Collaborations!

  • Traveling Backpack Libraries

    With Deutsch Honduranische Gesellschaft (DHG)
    August 2026

    6 tiny, remote schools now have access to backpack book collections as a part of Red Educativa La Tigra, benefitting 280 students. We trained 21 teachers on how to use these collections to inspire joyful reading and how to exchange their backpack book collections to always have new, engaging reads at hand!

  • Reading Corner Network

    With FUNDESUR and Friends of FUNDESUR
    August 2026

    We created Reading Corners in 6 educational centers across rural communities in Choluteca—our first program in southern Honduras. Together, we equipped 3 elementary schools and 3 kindergartens with a shared collection of 600 recreational books, trained 12 teachers, and expanded access to joyful reading for 310 students. 

    Students received backpacks and participated in creative literacy activities for the inauguration of these reading corners. After making his paper puppet, one 3rd grader declared, “This is the best day I’ve ever had at school!”

  • “Lighting the Spark of Reading in Children” Workshop

    With Asociación Compartir
    May 2026

    We equipped 50 teachers from schools in San Antonio de Oriente, Francisco Morazán, with practical strategies to inspire young readers. Teachers practiced interactive read-aloud techniques, classroom-management strategies, and tools for tracking students’ reading. They also explored how stories could strengthen values and reading comprehension—helping them transform books into meaningful learning experiences for their students.

  • Targeted Play-Focused Training

    With OYE Honduras
    February 2026

    We partnered with OYE in El Progreso, Yoro, to integrate our engaging approach to literacy into its new play-based learning initiative. We led 2 specialized trainings: one for OYE’s technical team and another for teachers from 4 of their partner schools. Through hands-on strategies and creative activities, participants learned how to make reading a joyful and meaningful part of play-based learning.

  • Expanded Book Collection in Trujillo

    With Leadership Mission International (LMI)
    February 2026

    Through a 2024 partnership with LMI, alumna and teacher Dixiana Campos received a starter collection of 50 recreational books, which she used to lead book clubs and reading circles with her students in Trujillo, Colón—more than 8 hours from our office. With Dixiana’s leadership, support from the school community, and LMI’s continued connection through Red Chispa, Escuela Cristiana Trujillo expanded its collection to more than 300 books. This initiative shows how empowering local leaders can help small collections grow into lasting opportunities for entire school communities.

  • Continued Partnership and Training

    With educate.
    February 2026

    Our long-standing partnership with educate. has brought books, training, and a shared belief that books change the story to communities in Trinidad, Santa Bárbara. This year,we led 2 specialized workshops: one for teachers from educate.’s partner schools and another for its technical team and youth volunteers. Participants practiced read-aloud techniques, classroom management, reading comprehension, critical thinking, and using stories to explore values—equipping them to create joyful, meaningful reading experiences for children and youth.

We have collaborated with…

  • "The quality of the books is excellent, but what I value most is the variety of stories and topics we received. Each book offers a new opportunity for our children to discover, imagine, ask questions, and get excited about learning."

    —Miss Dixiana Campos
    Teacher, Escuela Cristiana Trujillo
    Ex-alumna of LMI

  • “Through our collaboration with Chispa Project, we gained several practical tools for the mobile library in our ‘Contar Jugando’ project. Their book coding system helped guide students in choosing books. One of their workshops also introduced techniques such as a bank of open-ended questions that encourage creativity during reading discussions and can be used when students are reading different books at the same time.”

    —Dunia Perdomo,
    Director of Programs
    OYE Adelante Jóvenes

  • "For United Way Honduras, this collaboration means much more than bringing books to children: it brings together resources, commitment, and expertise to create spaces that spark imagination, nurture a love of reading, and support young children’s overall development."

    —Ives Reyes
    Coordinator of the Mobilization of Resources
    United Way Honduras