In Latin America, Honduras is one of the countries with the largest amount of children working between ages 5 and 17. Currently the statistics of working minors increased to more than 350.000. Many of these children have dropped out of school following their parents' orders, to help provide financially for their families. The kids that work in the streets are exposed to many dangers, such as: gangs, drugs, illness and discrimination. Out of 100 kids that start school, only one obtains a bachelor's degree. Many of them will have very little opportunities as they grow, and will possibly end up forcing their own children to follow this same path. With a society that suffers high rates of illiteracy, school desertion, crime and poverty, it was necessary to act in a direct, innovative and creative way.

ASISTIR is the first school system designed to educate boys and girls early on and simultaneously feed their families.

The program works through a student ID card that turns public school attendance into food for their homes. Every child receives a card that is used to register class attendance through an electronic system. From then on, for every school attendance this card accumulates money that is used as help to supply food for the family.

The money accumulated in the student ID may only be exchanged by each student's parents at the end of the month and only for products of the basic food basket in the state food banks (BANASUPRO).

The children from the schools that were chosen received a special school card that kept record of their attendance through an electronic system. For every attendance registered in the card the kids received certain amount of money in their accounts. Later on, in a monthly basis, the appointed parents went to their closest food bank (BANASUPRO) and with the same card exchanged their money for products of the family basic food basket. Under the program, month attendance matched or surpassed the income that the child could have received by dropping out of school to work. This way, they were contributing to their family's economy without having to go out and work in the streets. Studying is their only job.

ASISTIR received a strong media coverage since the first day it was launched, generating a national conversation about school abandonment and child labor. Since the main result of the campaign is to decrease the level of desertion and support the homes, the campaign was perceived by the public as an admirable work carried out by the government to impulse the youth. ASISTIR will take place during the next four years. According to the estimates of the Education Department and the Government of the Republic, during the first two-year period more than 20.000 students will receive a scholarship through the program, with a total allocated donation of approximately 102 million lempiras, which are equal to 4 million dollars.

Many programs have tried to resolve school desertion in the country but have not succeeded because they've never dealt with the root of the problem. With ASISTIR, we eliminate the problem as we eliminate the need: If the child receives a wage for studying, his/her parents don’t have enough motif to pull them out of school. At the same time, contributing with the family improves the lives of all of its members. This is why we decided to innovate something so common as a student card and turn it into a way to accumulate money based on the children's attendance. This accumulated money only works to acquire food, thus we avoid the use of it on unnecessary expenses. This is how we generate a win/win solution, children shape their future with education and the family doesn't lose a monthly income. This is how the idea eliminates child labor.

Honduras is a country with countless social problems, and all of them impact in school education, forcing children and teenagers to stop studying and become financially responsible for their families. It is estimated that at least 25.000 of them abandon school to work and forget about their education.

In a country with more than 350.000 children working, and one of the highest levels of child exploitation in the region, we saw the need of creating an idea that will generate an immediate change in society. With the help of the Honduran Education Department and the Presidential Scholarship Program "Honduras 20/20", we implemented ASISTIR, the first education system capable of educating our kids and feeding their families.