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	SOUTHCOM supports local Honduran students 
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        <h1 class="title">SOUTHCOM supports local Honduran students </h1>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Oct/24/2003330272/1920/1080/0/230804-F-AN818-1107.JPG"
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                 alt="Honduras Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, center-right, leads U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, center left, on a tour of the campus grounds for the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)"
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            <div class="image-title">230804-F-AN818-1107</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Honduras Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, center-right, leads U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, center left, on a tour of the campus grounds for the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander shakes hands with a student from the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. AFSOUTH remains committed to shared values with partner nations in achieving responsible stewardship of the environment in a shared neighborhood. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)"
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            <div class="image-title">230804-F-AN818-1034</div>
            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander shakes hands with a student from the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. AFSOUTH remains committed to shared values with partner nations in achieving responsible stewardship of the environment in a shared neighborhood. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)</div>
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                 alt="Honduras Deputy Minister of Education for School Construction and Reconstruction, Juan Carlos Coello, center, speaks with U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, right, during an inauguration ceremony at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. AFSOUTH remains committed to shared values with partner nations in achieving responsible stewardship of the environment in a shared neighborhood. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)"
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            <div class="image-title">230804-F-AN818-1041</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Honduras Deputy Minister of Education for School Construction and Reconstruction, Juan Carlos Coello, center, speaks with U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, right, during an inauguration ceremony at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. AFSOUTH remains committed to shared values with partner nations in achieving responsible stewardship of the environment in a shared neighborhood. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)</div>
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                 alt="From left to right, Honduras Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, and Honduras Deputy Minister of Education for School Construction and Reconstruction, Juan Carlos Coello, participate in a bricklaying ceremony at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)"
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            <div class="image-caption">From left to right, Honduras Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, and Honduras Deputy Minister of Education for School Construction and Reconstruction, Juan Carlos Coello, participate in a bricklaying ceremony at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)</div>
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                 alt="Honduras Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, left, and U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, right, shake hands after a bricklaying ceremony at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)"
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            <div class="image-caption">Honduras Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, left, and U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, right, shake hands after a bricklaying ceremony at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)</div>
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                 alt="Honduran Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, right, and U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, second from right, listen to a student describe irrigation and drainage concepts at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)"
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            <div class="image-caption">Honduran Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, right, and U.S. Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, second from right, listen to a student describe irrigation and drainage concepts at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)</div>
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                 alt="Honduran Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, speaks during a ceremony at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)"
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            <div class="image-caption">Honduran Minister of Education, Professor Daniel Esponda, speaks during a ceremony at the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation (SCITA) in Comayagua, Honduras, Aug. 4, 2023. U.S. Southern Command's Humanitarian Assistance Program donated $25,000 to SCITA for improvements to infrastructure that are key to ensuring quality education for Hondurans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)</div>
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    <div><b>By Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell</b> <span class="date">/ Published Oct. 24, 2023</span></div>
    <span class="dateline-text">COMAYAGUA, Honduras , </span>
    <p>12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander, Maj. Gen. Evan Pettus, joined top representatives from the Honduras Ministry of Education to inaugurate the expansion of a school dining facility in Comayagua, Honduras, on Aug. 4.</p>

<p>On behalf of U.S. Southern Command’s Humanitarian Assistance Program, a contribution of $25,000 was donated for the purchase of construction materials to the System of Technological and Agricultural Innovation Centers (SCITA by its Spanish acronym).</p>

<p>“This donation is a symbol of U.S. Southern Command’s support for the community of Comayagua, and to the education sector of Honduras,” said Pettus. “It shows the strong ties that the U.S. and Honduras are continuing to foster.”</p>

<p>SCITA is a public, highly specialized agricultural sciences boarding school that educates roughly 300 children, grades 1-11, on full scholarships from every department of Honduras.</p>

<p>Pettus commended the students for their work saying, “You have an important mission here – educating and mentoring future generations who will go on to make the lives of Hondurans better through the use of technology and sustainable agriculture practices.”</p>

<p>The US continues to look for opportunities to strengthen its partnership with Honduras, while also supporting Honduras’s enhancements in education. On Jan. 11, The U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa announced a formalized three-way alliance between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Honduran Ministry of Education, and the Honduran private sector to support educational reforms and improvements to school infrastructure. This alliance supports the efforts of President Xiomara Castro, through the Ministry of Education, in the implementation of the Plan for the Refoundation of the Educational System.</p>

<p>Professor Daniel Esponda, Minister of Education for Honduras, explained that the first element of the Refoundation Plan is feeding schools. He instructed the young boys and girls at the school to take ownership of their experiences and knowledge and put them into practice within their communities.</p>
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