UTA College of Business program partners with Non-Profit to change lives
Over the last semester, the University of Texas at Arlington College of Business has partnered with a non-profit organization to create a lasting impact overseas. Students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics have used their skills during a program capstone to help improve the lives of children in Honduras by partnering with Send Hope, a local non-profit organization that provides aid and medical care to underserved communities along the Mosquito Coast of the Central American nation.
Founded by Dr. Tom Brian, after a visit to the Mosquito Coast in 1991, the course of his life changed after seeing the state of the region.
“A man joined our church in 1991 and said he was going to do work in Honduras, and I said I wanted to go with him. When we got to the region and I saw it with my own eyes, it pretty much changed my life, it entirely changed my focus,” said Dr. Tom Brian. “My hobbies changed from hunting and fishing, to going down and doing work for the people of the Mosquito Coast.”
A view of a river within the Mosquito Coast region of Honduras. Due to harsh terrain and few roads, access to much of the region must be done on rivers and waterways. (Courtesy photo)
The Mosquito Coast was named for the local Miskito people who are native to the area. While the country of Honduras has developed steadily over the decades, the Mosquito Coast region has remained one of the most remote region’s of the country due to difficulty accessing the area.
“This place is so isolated because you can’t drive there. There are few roads and everything has to come in by boat or a small commuter plane,” said Brian. “We saw a massive need for change. I initially started going down there every six weeks to do dental work, but we eventually established Send Hope to help as much as we could.”
Volunteers with Send Hope hand out school supplies to young students of the Mosquito Coast region of Honduras. (Courtesy photo)
After realizing the need for more aid, Send Hope established the House of Hope, a children’s home for locals of the Mosquito Coast, and began to provide for the medical, nutritional, and educational needs of the regions children. While initially beginning with the support of 25 children, the organization has branched out to multiple villages in the region, now bringing medical and nutritional support to over 2000 children in the area.
“We have about 1,200 children in our feeding program, but we also have partnerships with local schools in the community,” said Lauren Hosack, Send Hope Regional Liaison. “Between our feeding program and the local schools, we reach about 2,000 children a month with the food we send down from our district.”
Volunteers with Send Hope meet with locals of the Mosquito Coast region of Honduras. (Courtesy photo)
While the organization sources food from donations in North Texas, a complex logistics team of volunteers ensures food, medical supplies, and educational materials reach the Mosquito Coast, even with a lack of reliable infrastructure in the region.
With such a complex logistical and support system, there is always room for improvement. Over the years of operation, Send Hope has compiled a mountain of information from the nutrition program that could assist with their efficiency in support of the region. However, most of this information has been listed on paper documents which could be lost, degraded, or otherwise destroyed by natural elements. Due to this, the University of Texas at Arlington College of Business Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics department has offered a solution.
“The capstone is in the last course our students take. During the course, the students spend the entire 16 weeks working on a real-world project to give them the final push they need to get them ready for the real world”, said Jayarajan Samuel, UTA College of Business Associate Professor. “Our students are currently analyzing Send Hope’s data that gives Send Hope the understanding of the impact they’re having and how to plan their future projects in Honduras.”
Over the course of the Fall 2024 semester, the capstone students analyzed thousands of hand-written tracking documents that were scanned by members of Send Hope in Honduras. The students created a dashboard to efficiently track children’s weights, nutritional status, and to better provide aid in the future. Students met with members of Send Hope at the College of Business on November 20th, 2024 to update the organization on processes they’ve developed, and give insight into how they could improve efficiency.
“Our first milestone from the capstone team is compiling all of our information and giving us an insight into where we’re at and impacts we’ve made,” said Michael Anderson, Send Hope associate. “The next goal, and goal for the next capstone team, is automation. We’re looking for a program or process to help maintain data entry and keep it updated to increase efficiency in food distribution and know where to send more.”
While the goal is to ultimately help Send Hope more efficiently send aid to the region, the students of the BSBA capstone program develop vital skills that will help them in the future, leading to a harmonious partnership where Send Hope receives important information and programs, while the students receive important real-world experience to build their resumes and gain working knowledge.
“A lot of the data from Send Hope is analog, really pen and paper. We’ve been doing a lot of work to digitize it. We’ve also been analyzing all of their data, from weather patterns to the ages and locations of the children and their parents to create a visualization of that data for them,” said Joseph Fisher, BSBA student. “This is the first iteration of UTA’s work with Send Hope. So our group is focused on initially reviewing the data and getting databases built correctly so the next group can use them to create more complex processes. All of this work gives me and the other students an opportunity to not just learn, but experience what it’s like working with different people in different ways.”
While members of the Send Hope Team met with students at UTA, they were given the culmination of the capstone teams work in the form of an updateable database which showed how weather patterns affected local villages, where children and their parents come from when seeking aid, and the impact their aid is having on children. It allowed Send Hope to visualize the impact they’ve been having on the region for years, and showed them opportunities for expansion in the future.
“It feels great knowing we’re actually able to help them make a difference. They’re down there in the jungle and it’s hard to imagine all the work they’re doing to help and help the kids,” said Fisher. “It’s a really cool opportunity. The only thing cooler would be to actually see how our work makes a difference on the ground.”
Students of the UTA College of Business BSBA capstone project meet with members of Send Hope to discuss their analysis of Send Hopes data. (Photo by Jalen Larry)
This capstone project is the first in a series of projects that will further connect the UTA College of Business with Send Hope’s mission in Honduras, and hopes are high to continue to deliver change for the people of the Mosquito Coast.
“It’s an extremely gratifying experience to see our students grow, first in the classroom then making an impact internationally like we are for Send Hope,” said Samuel. “From what I’ve heard, we’re already making a huge impact. We’re excited to continue to partner with them on similar projects for at least the next two to four semesters.”
As the partnership between the UTA College of Business BSBA program and Send Hope, the people of the Mosquito Coast will continue to efficiently receive the aid they need to thrive in their region of the world, and the students here at UTA will continue to exercise the skills they’ve developed over the their time at the university.
To learn more about the UTA College of Business Bachelor's of Science in Business Analytics degree, click here. To learn more about Send Hope's mission in Honduras, click here.
