Honduras: Youth centers receive financial boost

Marchar 24, 2014

3 minutos de leitura

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Honduras: Youth centers receive financial boost

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São Pedro Sula, Honduras—President Juan Orlando Hernandez presented checks to 14 Youth Outreach Centers here as part of a new and innovative government initiative to use money confiscated from drug traffickers to support prevention programs.

During a March 20 evento, President Hernandez handed out $2,750 to each of the 14 Outreach Centers in this industrial city from the Office for the Management of Impounded Assets. The event was attended by 200 membros da comunidade, elected officials and representatives from the private sector.

The Youth Outreach Centers were developed by Creative Associates International’s Alianza Joven Honduras program, que é apoiado pelos EUA. Agência para o Desenvolvimento Internacional. Aproximadamente 18,000 youth are served by 35 Outreach Centers in five Honduran cities.

The Alianza Joven Honduras’s Youth Outreach Centers are playing a critical role in the country’s efforts to prevent an increase of violence and crime, and the Office for the Management of Impounded Assets has been working with Creative to support the centers.

Pablo Maldonado, Creative’s Chief Operating Officer who attended the event, expressed his appreciation for the Honduran government’s contribution to the centers.

In addition to the financial benefit, Maldonado said the presidential support of the program triggers “a new modality of partnership with the host country government,” including new levels of cooperation with the Ministry of Security and local governments, and the opening of doors to other prerogatives, such as selected access to confiscated assets.

“We are cognizant that the federal government has limited Lempiras,Maldonado disse, referring to Honduras’s currency. “For the government to have considered Creative’s program worthy of its support speaks to the value and effectiveness of our prevention efforts. We are honored by the recognition.”

NÓS. Ambassador to Honduras Lisa Kubiske, who also attended the ceremony, applauded President Hernandez’s fight against crime and his support for the Outreach Centers.

“For my government, the topic of crime and violence prevention is a priority," NÓS. Ambassador Kubiske said. “We are conscious of the importance of finding local solutions that can be converted to national responses.”

President Hernandez thanked the United States for its support of prevention programs in Honduras, particularly the Alianza Joven Honduras activities.

“We appreciate the support of [os EUA. Embaixador] and the people of the United States,” President Hernandez said. “We know that these good practices that we are implementing will help Honduras.”

The Honduran government’s funding will go directly to the Youth Outreach Centers and related municipal authorities, not Creative or USAID, disse Salvador Stadthagen, who leads Creative’s program in Honduras.

The event was also attended by Vice Minister of Security in Prevention Alejandra Hernández, the Mayors of San Pedro Sula and Choloma and 160 other government and Outreach Center representatives from across Honduras.

Creative’s Alianza Joven Honduras program partners with municipal governments to empower youth, their families and communities to prevent and address violence in their neighborhoods.

The Honduran program deepens the achievements of the USAID Regional Youth Alliance Program, which established Outreach Centers in high violence communities in Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama from 2008 para 2011.

Alianza Joven Honduras uses outreach centers to counter identified risk factors that leave youth vulnerable to violence—like low-quality education and a lack of positive role models—and bolster protective factors like values, job training and academic reinforcement instead.

By operating microenterprises like small fitness centers, silk-screening shops and bakeries, the outreach centers not only provide vocational skills and confidence, but profits that make them self-sustaining.

Additional Honduran Support

Separadamente, the Honduran government is supporting the Youth Outreach Centers through a $1 million contribution, which will be disbursed during the next 12 meses. The first installment of $400,000 was provided in February.

Honduras made financial commitments to Alianza Joven Honduras through an innovative security tax levied on the private sector, which also supports the program in grand scale. O $1 million contribution is being matched by the U.S. government at a 2:1 ratio.

The Committee of the Tax Security Trust Fund decided to support Creative’s program based on what it deemed a “successful” methodology of engaging youth in educational, profissional, recreational and other activities, according to the grant agreement. It wrote that additional funds would enable Alianza Joven Honduras to reach a larger number of beneficiaries with added and more diverse activities.

“This is a great accomplishment, and it is important to highlight the new administration’s willingness to cooperate with us in these efforts,” diz Stadthagen. “The ultimate beneficiaries are youth, suas famílias, and the communities they live in.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/12″][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar barra lateral_id=”barra lateral primária”][/vc_coluna][/vc_row]

Honduras: Jovens impulsionam um futuro sem violência

Marchar 4, 2013

2 minutos de leitura

Semana passada, Youth Alliance Honduras representatives gathered from all over the country for the first National Meeting of Outreach Center Coordinators and Partners to discuss common challenges, melhores práticas, and value added within communities. Each participant shared experiences from his or her outreach center, facilitating a dynamic and productive dialogue about the Youth Alliance Outreach Center program in Honduras.

Since August 2006, Creative has partnered with USAID through the USAID-funded Youth Alliance Program to establish over 100 “Por mi Barrio” (For my Neighborhood) Outreach Centers to prevent crime and reduce violence at the community level in Guatemala, O salvador, Honduras, and Panama. At the core of the program’s success is a critical partnership with local communities to address widespread challenges with gang-related violence. The centers provide a safe space for youth to gather, receber treinamento em habilidades comercializáveis, acessar aulas acadêmicas, gain economic opportunities for employment and volunteer.

The recent meeting of coordinators and partners from all the Youth Alliance Outreach Centers in Honduras proved particularly meaningful, as it provided a forum for representatives to exchange experiences and establish objectives aimed at increasing the sustainability of the centers’ work. One of the main features of the event was the “Mi CDA en un Minuto” (My Outreach Center in One Minute) video competition. Outreach center volunteers from across the country produced short films to highlight their outreach center.

For an intimate glimpse into their world, watch the winning “Mi CDA en un Minuto” videos:

O Nueva Capital de Tegucigalpa Outreach Center film won first place. Dania Romero, the Center Coordinator, presented the film, which was produced with a song composed by youth from the center.

O San Vicente de Paul de San Pedro Sula Outreach Center won second place. Héctor Campos, the Center Coordinator, presented the film on behalf of the center.

Por último, honorable mention was awarded to the San Martín, Tegucigalpa Outreach Center for its creativity and to the Búfalo de La Ceiba Outreach Center for its message of prevention.

Taking new knowledge and ideas home, outreach center coordinators and partners continue to inspire and catalyze positive change in their own communities.

Honduras: Alianza Joven opens new center in la Nueva Capital

outubro 26, 2012

1 minutos de leitura

Creative’s Alianza Joven Honduras, which supports at-risk youth in communities suffering from violence, uses outreach centers as a platform to work in trouble communities. This Spanish-language video highlights the opening of a center in La Nueva Capital.

HONDURAS: National Congress President Juan Orlando Hernandez Praises AJR Activities for Youth

dezembro 14, 2011

2 minutos de leitura

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HONDURAS:

National Congress President Juan Orlando Hernandez Praises AJR Activities for Youth

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National Congress President Juan Orlando Hernandez (fourth from right). To his right are Mauricio Cruz, USAID Honduras D&G Officer, Lidia Calix, Volunteer, Youth Movement Against Violence, Salvador Stadthagen, AJR Director. To the left of Hernandez are Zonia Zacapa, USAID Honduras D&G Officer, Edgardo Martinez Minister, FHIS-Honduras, Alejandra Hernandez, Coordinator, Honduras Youth Against Violence, and Brioni James, Diretor, USAID Honduras D&G Office.

In Honduras there are 25 Por mi Barrio (For my Neighborhood) Centros de divulgação, located in 5 cities of the country. These centers have become a light of hope for those communities most affected by violence, particularly for their youth who are always searching for positive opportunities that can prepare them for their lives. In the past months, several politicians, artistas, diplomatas, and religious personalities have visited the Outreach Centers.

This October, the USAID/AJR Outreach Center located in the community of San Martin, in Honduras’ capital, was visited by National Congress President Juan Orlando Hernandez, and a group of advisers and ministers of the Government of Honduras. The USAID/AJR project is implemented by Creative. Anteriormente, Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, along with Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez, participated in the inauguration of the Brotes Nuevos (New Sprouts) Outreach Center in Puerto Lempira. Da mesma maneira, the US Ambassador to Honduras participated in the inauguration of two Outreach Centers and visited a third one located in the conflict-torn area of Chamelecon in San Pedro Sula.

After learning about USAID/AJR’s work with Maria Auxiliadora (Salesians) Parrish, an implementing partner, President of the National Congress Hernandez was surprised by the high number of youth volunteers from the community who offer their time to benefit prevention efforts. Durante sua visita, Hernandez also viewed the computer, arte, and academic studies workshops that are available to youth at the outreach centers. One of the highlights of the visit was a paintings exhibit by youth who attend the San Martin outreach center. Representatives of the Youth Movement Against Violence in Honduras also presented a video on how violence is perpetrated in Honduras; the National Congress President invited them to present the same video to the 128 congressmen of the National Congress during an official meeting.

Recently in Honduras, a tax to address the growing demand for funds to combat violence has been approved. According to the Honduras National Congress President, prevention represents a paramount factor to reduce violence indices. During his visit he affirmed that a percentage of the funds of this tax will be assigned to prevention. “We have loved this model and we can see the results in the change of attitude of youth and in the many opportunities that these communities provide,” Hernandez said.

— David Medina with translation by Carlos Muñoz Burgos[/vc_column_text][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/12″][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar barra lateral_id=”barra lateral primária”][/vc_coluna][/vc_row]

HONDURAS: Forest Whitaker Lauds AJR’s Youth Against Violence

novembro 29, 2011

1 minutos de leitura

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HONDURAS:

Forest Whitaker Lauds AJR’s Youth Against Violence

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HONDURAS: AJR’s Grand Scheme Culminates in Municipal Crime Prevention Plans

Setembro 14, 2011

4 minutos de leitura

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HONDURAS:

AJR’s Grand Scheme Culminates in Municipal Crime Prevention Plans

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Constructive engagement of youth – promises long-term gains for Honduras.

The totality of the human costs of violence is hard to quantify. Mas, trauma, loss of social capital and trust and extortion of local businesses have a crippling effect on basic political and economic development in any community. Desde 1999, and despite the brokering of peace agreements, homicides have increased in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras making some of their cities among the most violent in the world.

Em Honduras, sobre 42 percent of homicides committed are in the northern cities of San Pedro Sula, Choloma and La Ceiba where approximately 1.5 milhões de pessoas, or about 20 por cento da população do país, reside. Homicides in these cities range from 158 homicídios por 100,000 inhabitants in La Ceiba, para 80 in Choloma with sum total of homicides in the three cities accounting for over 25 percent of the national total.

More alarmingly, preliminary data for 2010 indicate that homicides in the three cities grew by 35 percent versus a national increase of about 20 por cento. Do these grim statistics indicate that it’s too late to stop the violence? Is the fight lost? Not according to the Regional Youth Alliance USAID-SICA project which is planting seeds of hope for the worst off communities through launching a comprehensive strategy against violence in La Ceiba, Choloma and San Pedro Sula, reaching youth who are the primary perpetrators and victims of crime.

Beginning with the establishment of neighborhood Outreach Centers in 2008 that provide a safe space for youth to mingle, get assistance with homework, and access vocational courses, the AJR USAID-SICA project has structured these Centers to run on a shoe string budget with one staff person coordinating activities conducted by volunteers. Além disso, the Centers are supported by municipal governments, the private sector and religious institutions. Mais recentemente, the Creative-implemented AJR USAID-SICA’s engagement to reduce violence has culminated in Municipal Crime Prevention Plans in Honduras’s three most violent cities.

“This is a collaborative effort on an issue that no single layer of government or sector is capable of solving and in which all, including civil society and the private sector have an important role to play,” disse Salvador Stadthagen, Director for Honduras of the AJR USAID-SICA, project which is based in El Salvador where similar interventions are taking place.

At the core of AJR USAID-SICA’s philosophy is that preventive measures provide the greatest promise for curtailing violence and bridging the vast gap in guidance, estrutura, and goal setting that is so essential to youth. Como tal, the project’s holistic interventions range from establishing Outreach Centers to employment programs that involve the private sector, to youth movements against violence and to Municipal Prevention Plans that receive the support of municipal authorities.

AJR USAID-SICA activities have caught the imagination and participation not only of thousands of youth, but also the backing of ordinary citizens and of course municipal authorities who are now developing regulations that take account of the special needs of youth and women. Most impressive is that the project has also caught the attention of well known musicians who have given their time and talent to hold concerts and develop theme songs against violence that are now broadcast on the radio and TV.

The city of Choloma, known as Honduras’s industrial hub for its factories, is heavily impacted by the use and sale of drugs in neighborhoods with high unemployment, young people loitering in the streets, and sparse spaces for youth recreation. The conditions in Choloma were highlighted by the Violence Diagnostic conducted by the AJR USAID-SICA, providing a wakeup call that drove the city’s Municipal Crime Prevention Committee to conceptualize a Violence Prevention Plan bearing the slogan Choloma, Ciudad de Oportunidades, or Choloma City of Opportunities, that features vocational training, empregos, and sports for youth most vulnerable to violence.

Outreach Center beneficiaries celebrate better times.

The launch Choloma’s Plan took place on February 9th on a hot afternoon. It was kicked off by the siren of the local fire department drawing 1,000 marchers and many more onlookers on its Caminata por la Vida de los Jóvenes Cholomeños or “Walk for Life with Youth from Choloma.” Making their way to Choloma’s city park down the boulevard on a march that covered ten city blocks, citizens carried banners and sang out slogans and quenched their thirst with drinks provided by a local beverage company. “Today the municipality of Choloma wants to show that you can prevent violence and to invite youth now, that we see Choloma as a City of Opportunities,” said the city’s Mayor, Leopoldo Crivelli, who took part in the events.

Following the march, a video was produced by young people themselves to communicate the essence of the non-violence campaign. A theme song “Choloma, what is happening to us?” was composed by 26-year old Darlan Mendoza head of an educational center who led the celebratory concert. “Thanks to programs like the Regional Youth Alliance USAID-SICA today we have an Outreach Center [aqui] in López Arellano and I can proudly say that I am from this community,” said Sindy Barahona, volunteer of the López Arellano Outreach Center and collaborator at the prevention plan launch.

While the momentum that AJR USAID-SICA has created in Honduras’s three most violent cities can be likened to an oasis in a desert, it is a beginning. Hope springs eternal, especially when harnessing the spirit and energy of youth and to enable them to develop goals, a sense of the future and most importantly civic duty.[/vc_column_text][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/12″][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar barra lateral_id=”barra lateral primária”][/vc_coluna][/vc_row]

HONDURAS: Centros de divulgação, Proactive Prevention and Winning Youth

Julho 12, 2011

5 minutos de leitura

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HONDURAS:

Centros de divulgação, Proactive Prevention and Winning Youth

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Mais do que 2,000 marchers display citizen pride in La Ceiba para Todos.

Few roads lead to Puerto Lempira located along the Atlantic coastline about 185 miles northeast of Honduras’s capital city, Tegucigalpa, making it one of the most isolated areas of the country. Accessible only by plane or boat, there are few signs here that indicate globalization has had any trickle-down effect. Paved roads are few; livelihoods remain at a subsistence level and increasing narcotics trafficking in the area make life precarious.

Mostly populated by the Miskito whose spoken language is a mixture of Indian, Espanhol, African and English, the area is becoming noticed because of the growth in crime that its proximity to the drug trade route has caused. From a sleepy hamlet where a successful day was marked by a solid meal, Puerto Lempira has become, in the last few months alone, a combat theatre between drug lords with heavy weapons. Not even daylight provides protection from this wave of violence given that assassinations occur in broad day light.

“While in general the homicide rate in Puerto Lempira has been low compared to the rest of Honduras, nowadays there are incidents where bales of drugs wash ashore. The town has seen a recent wave of violence, the situation is clearly deteriorating.” said Salvador Stadthagen, who directs the AJR USAID-SICA project for Creative Associates International, um Washington, D.C.-based international development firm. “There are almost no employment opportunities here and fewer opportunities to gain skills.”

Lack of opportunity and lots of free time are like a pressure cooker for the town’s youth who are increasingly finding an escape in drug use. Those with some familiarity to this part of the Atlantic coastline also say that while couriers used to be paid in cash, they are now being paid with drugs which they in turn sell on the streets of Puerto Lempira.

“We conducted a baseline study in five cities around Honduras and it showed that Puerto Lempira provides the least opportunities for youth to find a job. During the study we assembled some focal groups with youth and found that they have nothing to do and that drug consumptions is spreading and lowering in age,” disse Stadthagen. “Drugs are cited as one of the motives of petty robberies, such as stealing bicycles, cooking gas cylinders, clothes from clothesline. They sell these things to buy drugs.”

Largely focused on prevention the AJR USAID-SICA project follows Creative’s carefully crafted philosophical method on how to approach marginalized youth at risk for recruitment into gangs and legal reform on the handling of minors within the legal system. As a result on March 31st, a group of dignitaries, including the President of Honduras himself, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, descended on Puerto Lempira to join residents in witnessing the opening of the town’s first youth Outreach Center. The presence of President Lobo Sosa, along with the U.S. ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens, Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez and the ministers FHIS Nasry Asfura and Education Alejandro Ventura, respectivamente, underscored the authorities’ concern for the community’s welfare.

"Nós [AJR USAID-SICA] are providing the first free computer training that has ever been offered in the city, and a silk-screen printing workshop for which we just trained 60 youths,” disse Stadthagen, after celebrating the opening of the Outreach Center which has been dubbed Brotes Nuevos, or New Sprout, by the community. “They are already selling silk-screened T-shirts. We will also provide training in welding and electricity.”

The Outreach Center concept was first developed under the USAID Youth Alliance Program in Guatemala in 2006, and has now expanded to El Salvador and Honduras through the AJR USAID-SICA program. The Centers are the result of more than five years of effort by Creative to provide substantive prevention measures to reduce vulnerability to crime and gang recruitment for youth in impoverished and often violent neighborhoods in El Salvador, Guatemala e Honduras.

Opening of Outreach Center in La Amistad, Choloma.

By the end of June 2011, Outreach Centers in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras will number 61, providing thousands of children and youth with a refuge that not only provides entertainment but also a place to do homework and to obtain basic skills and vocational training. Em Honduras, sozinho, mais do que 4,000 youth from the country’s most violent neighborhoods attend and participate in the Centers’ activities nationwide.

The Brotes Nuevos Center received eight computers from AJR USAID-SICA on its opening day. Showing the growing government interest in the area, President Lobo complemented his visit with an additional donation of another eight computers. Forty-seven beneficiaries are already being trained in the first free of charge computer training center in the city.

Philosophically and practically proactive rather than reactive, the Outreach Center model is particularly critical to Honduras, as in Guatemala and El Salvador, where homicide rates are among the highest in the world due to a large youth population with limited education who lives in violent neighborhoods and are prey to gang recruitment. Ao longo dos anos, various governments have tried to pacify an alarmed citizenry by insisting that the mano dura – hard hand – policy would be effective in curbing crime rates and gang activity.

Mas, years of analyzing the reasons impoverished youths in some Central American countries fall prey to gangs and other criminal activities by Creative experts, Harold Sibaja and Salvador Stadthagen have concluded that the only way to stem the tide of youths lost to the streets is to provide proactive options that help to structure and guide them as they face tough life decisions. According to Sibaja, the intent of the Centers and the overall youth campaign is to develop new leadership that promotes a culture of life in contrast to the culture of death that reigns in many of these communities.

“We are also financing an anti-drug consumption prevention campaign in collaboration with the government of Honduras which will include radio spots on the Catholic Church’s radio station utilizing a Miskito boy and girl as characters,” disse Stadthagen. “The campaign will include posters, T-shirts and school presentations. The drawings for the T-shirts are going to be made by the New Sprout Center’s micro-enterprise.”

Not only do the Centers provide a safe haven for youth which include training in various trades, they are also a low-cost sustainable alternative and rely primarily on community volunteers with only the coordinator of the Center being a staff member. De acordo, more than three thousand young people and hundreds of volunteers are already part of the Outreach Center effort in the three countries. For Puerto Lempira which is also the capital of the Gracias a Dios (Thanks be to God) Department of Honduras, perhaps a new day is dawning for its youth, one with opportunity to pursue aspirations that will trickle-down to the next generation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/12″][/vc_coluna][largura da coluna_vc=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar barra lateral_id=”barra lateral primária”][/vc_coluna][/vc_row]

Gangues nos bairros da América Central: Crianças sem infância

Junho 1, 2010

4 minutos de leitura

Por Salvador Stadthagen

Alguns bairros em El Salvador e Honduras são incongruentemente conhecidos por nomes como “Paraíso Divino” ou “Campo do Céu”. Se você caminhar pelas ruas pavimentadas de Mejicanos, Apopa ou Soyapango em El Salvador ou Nueva Suyapa, Rivera Hernández ou López Arellano em Honduras você verá pessoas com água e eletricidade. Há até mesmo uma dispersão de empresas e indústrias com cartazes anunciando Coca Cola ou água purificada. Esses bairros dão a aparência de pobreza “tolerável”. A realidade para os jovens que crescem lá é muito mais sombria e perigosa do que as aparências sugerem. Nestes bairros, a vida de um jovem vale menos que um par de tênis Adidas, ou um celular, ou uma camiseta de marca. Esses bairros estão no centro do fenômeno da juventude e das gangues.

O programa Regional Youth Alliance, financiado pela USAID, que lidero em coordenação com o Sistema Regional de Integração Centro-Americana (SICA) recentemente conduziu grupos focais com jovens nos bairros mais violentos de Tegucigalpa. A história que eles contam é sombria. Jovens em enormes bairros de 160,000 como Chamelecon ou López Arellano em Honduras, têm poucos lugares seguros para ir. As crianças estão crescendo sem infância. Os jovens têm medo de sair de casa à noite, medo de ir a pé para a escola ou para o trabalho de manhã ou de voltar para casa à noite. Até campos de futebol, há muito tempo um elemento de vida saudável para os jovens centro-americanos, não estão mais seguros. Muitos homicídios estão ocorrendo agora em plena luz do dia durante os jogos.

As gangues estão se tornando parte integrante da própria comunidade. As escolas estão se tornando um lugar perigoso. Uma onda de homicídios e extorsões está engolindo o sistema escolar público em El Salvador. A extorsão está se tornando um modo de vida. Permanecer vivo tem um custo – você tem que “alugá-lo”. Estudantes pagam às gangues um quarto por dia para poder estudar. Os professores são intimidados a pagar aluguel ou dinheiro de proteção a membros de gangues da vizinhança a partir de cada contracheque. Jovens prestando serviços porta a porta (entregadores), motoristas de ônibus e cobradores de passagens estão sendo mortos por não pagarem o “aluguel”. As crianças mais novas coletam para seus 16-18 chefes de gangues de anos e quando eles não apresentam contas claras, eles também são mortos. A taxa de homicídios em El Salvador saltou para mais de 75 por 100,000 em 2009 e a maioria dos perpetradores são jovens.

Em Salvador, estruturas de gangues são mais sólidas e militantes, mantendo uma cultura de gangue tradicional. Em Honduras, gangues de jovens estão gravitando para cometer assassinatos e tráfico de criminosos de drogas. As ligações entre traficantes de drogas e gangues estão se tornando mais aparentes, em El Salvador, assim como em Honduras e na Guatemala, à medida que os traficantes despejam drogas ao longo das rotas de trânsito que as gangues agora vendem cada vez mais localmente.

A emigração minou as estruturas familiares. Muitos ex-membros de gangues nos contam que foram criados por avós ou parentes. Em Salvador, estima-se que um quinto a um quarto da população do país foi para os EUA. para encontrar empregos. Os pais deixaram seus filhos para serem criados pelas avós, tios, primos, e até mesmo por irmãos mais velhos. Os pais enviaram dinheiro para pagar a comida, material escolar, cuidados médicos, até mesmo mensalidades da faculdade local em alguns casos. Mas, crescendo sem a influência e proteção dos pais, essas crianças se tornaram um terreno fértil para o recrutamento de gangues.

Os deportados dos guetos ou prisões de Los Angeles reforçam os gangues nos seus países de origem e fortalecem as ligações criminosas internacionais.. Deportados que voltam para comunidades semirrurais criam cliques de estilo urbano (células). Como assassinos pagos, ou assassinos, criminosos endurecidos deportados coletam dinheiro suficiente para retornar aos EUA. em apenas três meses. Outros deportados para Honduras, El Salvador e Guatemala mal falam espanhol e são presas fáceis para recrutamento em gangues locais.

O estigma das gangues associado a esses bairros torna ainda mais difícil para os jovens encontrar emprego. Jovens de Nueva Suyapa nos disseram que não se atrevem a colocar o nome de seu bairro em formulários de emprego, pois seriam automaticamente recusados. Em vez disso, eles listam um bairro mais aceitável.

As comunidades do bairro precisam que o seu governo e doadores as ajudem a resolver o problema das gangues de frente. Abordagens duradouras sobre a natureza viral das gangues precisam compreender a realidade desses bairros. Construir um campo de futebol pode parecer óbvio até você entender que muitos parques e campos, mas também edifícios comunitários e até escolas, já existem, mas foram abandonados ou são subutilizados.. O reforço e a reabilitação do “hardware” de tais infra-estruturas precisam de estar ligados ao “software” de programas que proporcionem um ambiente protector e estimulante..

Organizações religiosas precisam de apoio. Eles estão quase universalmente presentes e muitas vezes são o único cimento que mantém unidos os alicerces em ruínas dessas comunidades.. Com escassos recursos, esses padres, pastores e missões ajudam pessoas que enfrentam uma combinação letal de exclusão, alta pobreza urbana, migração, e insegurança.

Público, profissional, e as escolas paroquiais são um lugar importante para começar. As bolsas podem, por exemplo, cobrir $10 taxas mensais da escola profissionalizante, comprar uniformes escolares e livros que de outra forma seriam inacessíveis, e cobrir a tarifa de ônibus para levar os jovens a um ambiente saudável. Maior, escolas mais problemáticas podem receber psicólogos e outros conselheiros. Atualmente, alunos difíceis e evasivos são expulsos da escola, que só alimenta o ciclo do crime de gangues.

Uma boa observadora da cena das ruas na América Central comentou recentemente, incrédula, que não viu campanhas públicas nos bairros: nenhum cartaz alertando sobre abuso de drogas e violência ou positivo, reforçando mensagens para jovens. Em vez de, graffiti de gangue é onipresente. Ainda me lembro da campanha eficaz do “ovo frito” contra as drogas quando eu estava na faculdade nos EUA. Para ter uma chance, as comunidades desses bairros precisam de campanhas públicas, em rádios, TV e principalmente nas ruas.

HONDURAS: Dois novos centros de extensão fornecem refúgios seguros para jovens em risco

Junho 11, 2009

3 minutos de leitura

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HONDURAS:

Dois novos centros de extensão fornecem refúgios seguros para jovens em risco

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Dois centros de extensão que servem jovens em risco foram inaugurados em junho 11, 2009 Em Honduras, através do programa Creative Associates, implementado pela USAID-SICA.

Os centros de extensão mais recentes estão entre um total de 17 Na América Central, estabelecida pela Creative Associates International, Inc.. de Washington, DC. Os centros de extensão fornecem um ambiente seguro e construtivo para jovens vulneráveis que correm o risco de serem recrutados por gangues ou coagidos no comércio de drogas em bairros com altas taxas de inadimplência e violência.

Mais do que 700 Os jovens de todas as idades devem se beneficiar dos novos centros de extensão apoiados pela USAID-SICA, Salve as crianças Honduras e os clubes rotativos de Tegucigalpa nos bairros de Villafranca e Buenas Nuevas de Cayoyagüela em Tegucigalpa, a capital. Creative também estabeleceu um centro de extensão em Rivera Hernandez em San Pedro Sula.

Além de Honduras, O programa USAID-SICA é implementado na Guatemala e El Salvador e serve como um catalisador de soluções regionais para abordar a violência de gangues de jovens, incluindo procurar políticas comuns e práticas recomendadas. Esforços criativos também ajudam.

USAID-SICA é um programa conjunto entre os EUA. Agência de Desenvolvimento Internacional e Sistema de Integração da América Central (SICA).

Os centros de extensão são “verdadeiros santuários para jovens dessas comunidades aflitos pela violência e gangues,” disse EUA. Embaixador em Honduras, Hugo Llorens. “É importante apoiar os esforços nas alianças entre a sociedade civil, empresa privada, igrejas, ONGs e outros atores, Como todos estão buscando uma solução para o envolvimento de jovens hondurenhos no crime.”

A abordagem do centro de extensão, que foi implementado com sucesso pela Creative em toda a região da América Central, oferece esportes, Atividades de artes e entretenimento para jovens beneficiários e oferece treinamento de trabalho, Tutoria acadêmica, e permite que os jovens desenvolvam habilidades para a vida com o objetivo de diminuir as taxas de abandono. As atividades do centro de extensão são realizadas sob a liderança de uma rede de voluntários do bairro. Esta metodologia une comunidades e ensina os jovens que podem ser agentes de mudança em suas comunidades.

De acordo com a USAID, Honduras é o terceiro país mais pobre do hemisfério ocidental com 42.6 porcentagem de suas pessoas que vivem em $2 um dia. Sobre 40 porcentagem dos hondurenhos está desempregados ou subempregados, com consequências previsíveis em termos de crime, especialmente entre jovens marginalizados. Consequentemente, Os centros de extensão oferecem treinamento em computadores, cursos práticos no reparo de eletrodomésticos e bicicletas, Costura e alfaiataria, cabeleireiro, entre outros cursos.

O Villafranca e Buenas Nuevas dos centros de extensão de Comayagüela operarão sob a direção de Save the Children Honduras, que tem um histórico de trabalho no bairro e nas áreas circundantes.

Barahona alemão, disse um líder comunitário em Villafranca: “Este centro contribuirá para quebrar barreiras entre voluntários e jovens do bairro e dará aos jovens a chance de compartilhar, crescer, Aprenda e se torne novos líderes comprometidos em prevenir a violência.”

Save as crianças Honduras trabalha no país desde então 1968 Apoiando as comunidades para planejar e implementar programas de desenvolvimento integrados que melhorem a qualidade de vida dos honduranos. O projeto também tem apoio de sete clubes rotativos do distrito central de tegucigalpa

Para mais informações sobre o programa USAID-SICA, Entre em contato com o diretor do projeto, Salvador Stadthagen em [email protected].

Inglês (Pdf)

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HONDURAS: USAID-SICA Juvenile Justice Forum Enables Cooperation

dezembro 15, 2008

3 minutos de leitura

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HONDURAS:

USAID-SICA Juvenile Justice Forum Enables Cooperation

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Ao longo do passado 18 meses, 6,621 juventude, many from rural areas, have undergone a unique workforce skills development training through the Accelerated Skills Acquisition Program (o mais cedo possível), made possible with support from the U.S. Agência para o Desenvolvimento Internacional.

A 28-month initiative, ASAP is designed to strengthen the workforce skills and marketability of unemployed Sri Lankan youth, while improving the quality of training they receive at vocational training centers. ASAP is implemented by Creative Associates International, Inc..

“The difference between ASAP and someone you hire off the street is that ASAP candidates are able to work as a team, mostrar compromisso. Eles têm um plano, um gol, uma visão,” said Susil de Alwis, gerente geral do The Privilege Hotel, who says he has a difficult time finding qualified personnel, despite an unemployment rate of six percent. Thanks to ASAP, o conjunto de candidatos qualificados melhorou.

“Um dos rapazes que contratei veio de uma aldeia extremamente pobre,”Alwis disse. “Ter pouca exposição ao mercado de trabalho, ele tinha pouca confiança em suas habilidades. Mas tendo passado pelo mais rápido possível, ele agora tem potencial para ser um gerente geral. Acho que o ASAP motiva as pessoas a irem a alturas maiores.”

Western Sri Lanka provides 51 percent of the country’s GDP, while the rest of the country’s eight and mostly rural provinces make up the other 49 por cento. This imbalance comes from inadequate education opportunities for rural youth, which impacts economic opportunities for that region.

Many youth also lack a fundamental understanding of the job market. “They [rural youth] thought that private organizations were for posh people only, and people from Colombo,” said Neil Bogahalande, General Manager, Group Human Resources of the Browns Group describing his experience working with ASAP beneficiaries.

“We told them, gone are the days when an employer paid you a favor by giving you employment,” Bogahalande said. “The employer is not doing you a favor by hiring you, the job is a mutual benefit to both of you and there is no need to feel inferior or bad about asking for employment. You are giving your services.”

ASAP’s training is helping to change attitudes. ASAP’s custom-made curriculum can be applied for a five-day, ten-day or twenty-day period of training. The training benefits disenfranchised youth seeking economic opportunity and trainers and employers who are also trained by ASAP at the project’s collaborating vocational centers or businesses.

“As a trainer, I have found ASAP to be very different and impactful from other more traditional trainings,” disse a Sra.. R. Subajini, the Career Guidance Officer at the Batticaloa Technical College. “ASAP is very specific, in that it focuses on the skills required in the job market, skills lacking in our country.

According to management at the Institute for Data Management, an ASAP training partner which specializes in computer education, the program provided a wide range of opportunities to reinforce for students the importance of education, teaching them effective communications skills as well as confidence building exercises.

To those who have undergone training, ASAP has proven to be a very motivating factor and a way forward amid Sri Lanka’s stagnating economy.

“I want to extend my gratitude to USAID/ASAP for giving me this opportunity I was incapable of expressing myself in public. I was very shy but today I’m here addressing you. It is an honor addressing you all with such confidence. I overcame my lack of self-confidence through ASAP,” said Harshini Dhramasinghe, Trainer at the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority in Anuradhapura. “I remember the day when I joined ASAP. When asked to speak out, I could not express myself. I could not set goals and didn’t know how to face an interview. ASAP built my self-confidence, now I’m ready to face the global market place.“

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