Improving health in rural Honduras from the ground up

March 18, 2019

By Amalia San Martín

4 min read

In a flurry of activity along the street of this small rural community, men and women are working together to load bags of cement. Tired but laughing, they drop the nearly 100-pound bags into a cart pulled by oxen, which is blocking the entire road.

In the middle of the bustle is Petronila Cárcamo, a mom of two and a community leader in Chagüitón. The 10 to 15 bags of the cement she’s helping haul will be used in her own home to cover the existing dirt floor that poses health hazards to her family.

Oxen haul a cart loaded with concrete mix. — Oxen haul bags of concrete mix to Chagüitón, part of a home improvement process in the rural community. Photo by Gabriel Rodriguez.

“I’ve been out of the house so much lately,” she says. “This week I was nowhere to be found, because I’ve been bringing all the cement.”

Cárcamo and others in the community are pitching in to make improvements to 25 households in Chagüitón. They are supported by the Dry Corridor Alliance – PROSASUR project, which provided the cement and other construction materials that will be used, including wood, aluminum, PVC piping and tools, among others. The project will also supervise building and supply professional contractors to lead the work.

Ninoska Bulnes, Nutrition and Household Hygiene Coordinator for PROSASUR, says a simple thing like a cement floor can make a big difference in a household’s health.

“Families can count on a healthier floor that will help them prevent the spread of parasites that are introduced through the skin. Parasite-borne illnesses are common in children under 5 years old,” she says. “The cement floors will be installed where the children are, sometimes in the living room, and in the kitchen where food is prepared to improve food safety.”

Petronila Carcamo in the doorway of her home in Honduras. — Petronila Carcamo was elected by her neighbors as a community health monitor, and is making improvements to her home with support from PROSASUR. Photo by Gabriel Rodríguez.

In addition to her new floor, Cárcamo, who was previously elected by her neighbors to oversee the nutrition monitoring of children in her community, received an updated stove that will reduce by 60 percent the amount of firewood used and minimize smoke inhalation.

“I am grateful for PROSASUR, because today I feel happy,” she says. “I have an improved cook stove and soon I’ll have my new floor.”

Communities come together to improve health

Across the Dry Corridor of Southern Honduras, PROSASUR is working to improve agriculture production, raise farmers’ incomes and improve health and nutrition.

The program is implemented by Creative Associates International in partnership with INVEST-Honduras, one of two program clusters. It’s funded by the World Bank through the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.

PROSASUR is assisting 2,000 households to undertake health-focused improvements, including 800 sanitation projects. More than half of the construction and installation will take place this year, with the remaining projects completed over the following two years.

Karen Cruz carries a bag of concrete mix. — Karen Cruz carries a bag of concrete mix, which will be used for new, healthier flooring. Photo by Gabriel Rodríguez.

The projects, carried out in collaboration with residents, are one piece of a larger effort to improve health and reduce chronic childhood malnutrition in the region. Health risks from parasites, smoke, and poor water and food sanitation often cause sickness like diarrhea and pneumonia that can stunt children’s development and prevent them from achieving healthy growth.

PROSASUR is supporting the installation of new floors, stoves, water filters and latrines to combat these issues. The program is investing from $500 to $700 in each home and requires the households and communities to contribute local materials such as sand, rocks, water and labor.

Chief of Party Carlos Ruiz says the communities are rallying around the projects and the goal of improving health.

“We have been heartened to see neighbors helping one another, lending their time and energy to bring these home improvement projects to fruition,” he says. “Even more importantly, communities are excited about these changes and the impact they will have. The projects are an important step in raising awareness about health in the region.

Bulnes says that she expects to see a noticeable decline in common health problems once the projects are complete and families begin using the new technologies.

Karen Cruz fills up a cup of water for her daughter using her new filter. — Karen Cruz uses her new water filter, which is providing healthier drinking water for her family. Photo by Gabriel Rodríguez.

“We are confident that with these projects, there will be fewer cases of diarrhea and anemia associated with malnutrition, both with the children that live in the home and other members of the family,” she says. “The prevalence of both these illnesses in the Dry Corridor is 16 or 17 percent higher than the national average.”

Karen Cruz, who has a son and daughter ages 2 and 4, will have all four improvements on her home in Chagüitón, marking a huge change in her family’s living conditions. She has already constructed the new stove with brick and other material provided by PROSASUR and contributions from her community.

“With the cement floor in my kitchen and maybe part of my living room, my family will be much healthier, especially my kids,” she says. “I feel satisfied with what PROSASUR has given me. With the old stove, I was breathing in smoke, but not with the improved one. My children will be well.”

With editing by Evelyn Rupert and Carlos Ruiz.

Caribbean youth create blueprint for violence prevention

March 12, 2019

By Evelyn Rupert

5 min read

To reduce violence across the Caribbean and foster a “culture of peace,” youth must be meaningfully engaged as leaders, say youth from across the region in a draft agenda for advocacy and action.

The draft Caribbean Youth Advocacy and Action Agenda on Violence Prevention (AAA) was developed by a group of about 20 youth from the region, with the input of hundreds more. The Agenda lays out a youth-centric plan for preventing violence and highlights several successful programs that can serve as models.

The draft AAA was shaped by additional feedback given by participants at the Caribbean Summit on Youth Violence Prevention, which took place Jan. 15-16 in Georgetown, Guyana.

The Steering Committee for the Learning for Youth Networking and Change Sessions (LYNCS), a regional learning network focusing on youth-centered violence prevention, worked on the AAA over the course of several months, hosting webinars, youth dialogues, and surveys to collect a wide range of youth perspectives and ideas.

“This Action and Advocacy Agenda represents us as young people throughout the Caribbean region,” remarked LYNCS Co-Chair Kurba-Marie Questelles at the Summit’s opening ceremony. “We as young people cannot sit idly by and expect our governments to do everything. We must all work together to build a culture of peace and prosperity within our Caribbean communities.”

LYNCS was supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) under the aegis of its Community, Family and Youth Resilience program (CFYR) and CARICOM, a regional organization dedicated to cross-country integration and fostering resilience.

The Advocacy and Action Agenda builds upon CARICOM’s Social Development and Crime Prevention Action Plan, which has been accepted as the overarching regional framework to guide violence prevention and reduction. The AAA centers on three of CARICOM’s core pillars: prevent and reduce crime; foster social inclusion; and promote reintegration.

“That Agenda identifies a pathway to develop a culture of peace,” CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque said of the AAA. “This initiative and the process through which it has been defined is an excellent illustration of the commitment of our youth to play their part and be leaders in the development of our community.”

The following are the three major takeaways from the youth-driven Action and Advocacy Agenda:

Prevent and reduce crime

The youth behind the Action and Advocacy Agenda call on policymakers and donors to support crime and violence prevention programs that are comprehensive, culturally responsive, and inclusive and that are designed at the local level with youth engagement throughout the process.

Most victims and perpetrators of crime in the Caribbean are males ages 15 to 30 years old, according to an Inter-American Development Bank report from 2017. The Advocacy and Action Agenda highlights the importance of addressing how toxic masculinity fuels crime, violence against women and girls, bullying, and inter-family violence.

Another common theme that emerged through the authors’ conversations with youth was the need to end corporal punishment, both in the home and at school, to build more peaceful communities and stop cycles of violence repeated by different generations.

LYNCS Co-Chairs Kurba-Marie Questelles (left) and Asha-Gaye Cowell (center) connect with attendees between sessions.

The document encourages scaling-up and supporting evidence-informed programs built on positive youth development: an approach and philosophy that empowers youth to reach their potential with support from families, communities and governments.

Programs like the RISE Safe Spaces initiative are already making a difference in their communities, says Questelles. They just need the backing and resources to expand and share their best practices across the region.

“The reality is that many young persons throughout the Caribbean have been working on outstanding projects in silos within their various communities,” Questelles said. “With the introduction of the LYNCS and, by extension, the AAA, these projects can be upscaled and shared via this regional mechanism through which every Caribbean citizen can learn, share ideas and provide assistance.”

Foster social inclusion

In the Caribbean and around the world, large numbers of youth are socially excluded and discriminated against on the basis of their gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status, and more.

To reduce violence, it’s imperative to promote programs that are inclusive and increase marginalized groups’ dignity, security and opportunity, the Agenda emphasizes.

The AAA calls for resources to support equitable educational and economic opportunities. Specifically, the document urges governments to support youth entrepreneurship and employment and address inequality in education with teacher training, counseling, vocational training, social-emotional development curricula, and programs to support parents.

Systems that foster bias and marginalization need to be dismantled so that every young person has the opportunity to play a role in decision-making.

Youth were at the center of the summit, sharing their views on violence prevention and youth engagement.

Promote reintegration

The third pillar of the Advocacy and Action Agenda centers on rehabilitation and reintegration of youth who have come into conflict with the law.

For the AAA’s authors, this means justice systems across the region must not treat youth offenders in the same manner as adults and should be better informed about youth development. Laws and policies must be tailored more toward meeting the unique needs of young people beginning at the time of arrest, not release, and providing youth with the requisite support needed to prevent them from becoming repeat offenders.

Reintegration of perpetrators and restorative justice, which ultimately aims to rehabilitate criminal offenders through reconciliation work, are essential for communities to heal from the effects of crime and violence, the agenda states.

“If the criminal justice system aided those whom it imprisoned and provided them with the necessary tools to be appropriately reintegrated, we would be better off as a Caribbean society,” Questelles said.

Young people across the Caribbean face many challenges. But too often, the AAA asserts, they are seen only for those challenges, and not as part of the solution.

The Caribbean Summit on Youth Violence Prevention gave youth a chance to provide inputs to the Action and Advocacy Agenda and by extension to shape policy and programming related to violence. This is in keeping with USAID’s approach to sustaining program outcomes far beyond the life of the project by engaging local partners, building their capacity and providing them with the tools to foster local solutions.

“It’s about getting down and dirty. It’s about going back to your communities and showing that you have a plan of action,” said Vishal Hulbert Joseph, LYNCS Steering Committee member and Summit Master of Ceremonies. “[It’s about] showing how you will promote this Agenda within your community to affect the real positive change.”

Click here to read the full Caribbean Youth Advocacy and Action Agenda on Violence Prevention.

Caribbean summit sparks youth-led action for violence prevention

March 12, 2019

By Evelyn Rupert

3 min read

Youth leaders and policymakers from the Caribbean rallied around the issue of youth-led violence prevention at a recent United States Government-supported summit that provided them with a blueprint for building peace in their respective communities. The January 15 and 16 Caribbean Summit on Youth Violence Prevention was attended by nearly 270 people from more than 20 countries.

The centerpiece of the Summit was the Caribbean Youth Advocacy and Action Agenda for Violence Prevention, a draft guiding document for policy and programming developed by Caribbean youth leaders over several months. The drafting of the Agenda was spearheaded by the Learning for Youth Networking and Change Sessions (LYNCS), a regional learning network on youth-centered violence prevention.

“The time for action is now. We have to be more strategic in our approach if we are to create a culture of peace,” said Kurba-Marie Questelles, LYNCS Steering Committee co-chair, at the Summit’s opening ceremony. “What we’re here to do is bring everyone together, and this is where the Advocacy and Action Agenda comes in.”

The Summit was supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Community, Family and Youth Resilience program (CFYR), alongside partners UNICEF, CARICOM, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, the Caribbean Development Bank, and the Commonwealth Secretariat. It was designed to support USAID’s approach to sustaining program outcomes far beyond the life of the project by engaging local partners, building their capacity, and providing them with the tools to foster local solutions.

At the heart of the Agenda and the Summit was the idea that youth must be included as leaders in preventing violence within their own communities and the region at large. “We are all a part of the process, and we are necessary to creating and maintaining that peaceful Caribbean community,” Questelles said.

Youth-led dialogue

The high-energy Summit saw youth actively engaged as moderators, panelists and discussion participants, giving their thoughts on topics such as healthy masculinity, gangs, bullying, the arts as a tool for violence prevention, and mental health. Youth made up over 50 percent of the participants and included 36 high school students from the Georgetown area who actively engaged in sharing their perspectives.

Officials in attendance voiced their support for the Agenda and for youths’ role as leaders in innovation and building peaceful and resilient communities.

“Peacebuilding cannot be for the government alone; it is everybody’s business,” remarked Dr. the Hon. George Norton, Guyana’s Minister of Social Cohesion, who represented the President at the Summit. “It is a pleasure for me to therefore congratulate you on this Summit, as we do need young people, youth leaders with governments and other agencies to champion preventative measures in the area of youth violence.”

Summit leaders and speakers encouraged attendees to keep the momentum going, to remain engaged in the conversation and to take the ideas and information gleaned from the Summit back to their own communities and countries.

“It’s really nice to see what’s happened over the past two days, and we don’t want it to just remain here,” said Asha-Gaye Cowell, LYNCS Steering Committee co-chair.

Closing out the Summit was the Hon. Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister of Youth and Sports for Trinidad and Tobago, who endorsed the Action and Advocacy Agenda on behalf of the other government ministers in attendance. She urged all those in the room to work together to bring the Agenda to life and make a real difference in the region.

“This is a call to action for not just government, but for youth, the young people,” she said. “We all have a role to play as it relates to this Action Agenda. And something we need to ask ourselves as youth leaders here today is, ‘What am I going to do when I get back home?’ Because we as governments need your help to make this thing a reality.”

The event culminated with attendees providing feedback on the Agenda’s three pillars – prevent crime and violence; foster social inclusion; and promote reintegration – drawn from CARICOM’s Social Development and Crime Prevention Action Plan, which has been mandated by the Council for Human and Social Development and endorsed by the Heads of Government for inclusion in national plans across the member countries.

Input from the Summit and follow-up conversations with youth networks around the region will ultimately shape the finalized Agenda, which will serve as an overarching framework for policy and programming on violence prevention.

What the 3 most lethal elections of 2018 have in common

February 26, 2019

By Jeff Fischer

4 min read

The three most lethal elections of 2018 were the congressional and municipal elections in Mexico (July 1), the general election in Pakistan (July 25), and the parliamentary and district elections in Afghanistan (Oct. 25). In these cases, lethality is measured through loss of life, and each of these elections counted loss of life in triple digits.

Why were these elections more violent than others? Each of these countries had experienced electoral violence before, but why was the intensity of last year’s violence so much greater than in past elections?

We can learn more by examining the unique characteristics of each election and how they compare with each other.

Mexico’s Electoral Violence

By one estimate, at least 48 candidates for congressional and municipal offices and 84 political party officials were assassinated during the Mexican election campaign. These murders occurred throughout the country, in 22 of Mexico’s 31 states, and were not exclusive to any single political party.

These deaths were coupled with at least 543 other incidents including kidnaping, extortion, and other forms of violent intimidation. By one BBC report this was termed “the most violent election campaign in Mexico in living memory”. The incidents largely occurred in the pre-election phase. Mexico’s narco-gangs are seen to be behind the killings in order to maintain local safe havens and transit points for their illicit activities.

Pakistan’s Electoral Violence

In one pre-election bombing claimed by ISIS, at least 149 people were killed at a campaign rally in Tustung. Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies estimates that at least 230 people lost their lives and over 400 were wounded in 22 election-related terrorist attacks in July alone. Suicide bombers also attacked polling stations on Election Day, in one case killing at least 31 people.

While Islamic insurgencies such as the Taliban and ISIS were behind these mass casualty attacks, some violence between political rivals was also experienced with shootings and clashes reported in in Mardan, Rajanpur, Khipro and Kohistan.

Afghanistan’s Electoral Violence

In the pre-election phase, violent incidents included a suicide bombing at a voter registration site on April 22 which killed 57 people, with children among the dead. There was an August 25 bombing near to an election office that killed three people.

In the pre-election phase, most of the target locations were mosques and schools, which were doubling as voter registration sites. However, on October 13, 22 people were killed by a bombing at a campaign rally in Takhar province. Candidates were targeted for assassination.

On Election Day, dozens of people were killed in various attacks on polling stations across the country, with the Taliban claiming to carry out such attacks. Suicide bombings, grenades, improvised explosive devices and rocket attacks were employed against polling stations. Police officers were ambushed in Ghor province, with four officers killed in the assault. Other attacks included kidnappings and forms of intimidation. Nearly a third of polls were closed for security reasons. The Taliban and ISIS have taken credit for the incidents.

This election is seen as the country’s most violent election since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2004.

What do they have in common?

Main perpetrators were not political rivals

In each case, the main perpetrators of this election-related violence were not political rivals (except for some incidents in Pakistan). That is to say that the violence was not being employed as a means to win the election.

In the case of Mexico, it was criminal gangs seeking to control local governance to establish safe haven and transit point for illicit activities and drug shipments. And, in Pakistan and Afghanistan, it was the Taliban and ISIS, who were not seeking to win an election, but to disrupt, discredit, or derail it. While security forces in Pakistan were accused by some parties as manipulating the vote, in none of these cases were security forces complicit in the violence.

Prevention is difficult

Preventing electoral violence by criminal and insurgent perpetrators is a difficult task because their motives reside largely outside of the scope of mediation efforts. Criminals have economic motives and employ violence to continue their operations. For insurgents, their motives lie in extremist ideologies, making them largely unresponsive to mitigation programming.

Tactics align with perpetrator

Among these three cases, it is clear that criminal groups and Islamic insurgents used different tactics. Criminal groups used targeted assassinations of uncooperative candidates. Whereas, while some candidates were targeted in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the insurgencies chose mass casualty tactics and employed bombings at electoral and campaign events. In all three cases, the contests included district-based offices so the number of candidates, and thus targets, was plentiful.

Timing of the violence

In all three cases, the violence took place in the pre-election phase and on Election Day. In this way, the violence was employed to influence turnout, and, if successful, post-election violence was not necessary.

Why did we see so much violence?

Why were these elections more lethal than in other countries that experienced electoral violence, including Sierra Leone, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe? The answer may lie in the profile of the perpetrators.

As discussed, the motives of criminals and insurgents are not to “win” elections. For criminal groups, elections are a means to continue their illicit activities. For insurgents, elections are insurgents to demolish. As a result, these perpetrators do not believe in the institutions of election to determine governance. They do not have a stake in the political stakes in these contests as other actors do.

As a result, while political rivals and ruling parties are the most frequent perpetrators of electoral violence, their stake in the elections as a means to achieve governance may serve as a tempering measure, which, while not preventing electoral violence, can reduce its intensity and lethality.

Jeff Fischer is a Senior Electoral Advisor with the Electoral Education and Integrity Practice Area at Creative Associates International

Pablo Maldonado: How Creative’s Latin America legacy shapes today’s programs

December 28, 2018

1 min read

Nutrition center brings parents together to improve children’s health

December 7, 2018

By Amalia San Martín

5 min read

Schoolchildren line up at a newly opened nutrition center, waiting for their turn to be served a hefty helping of tortillas and chicken soup.

In this region of southern Honduras where food insecurity is prevalent, the center ensures that the María Cristina Martínez School’s 50 students get at least one healthy and substantial meal daily.

This Nutrition Training Center recently opened in the community of Santa Marta in the municipality of El Triunfo. It revitalized an old kitchen space to improve the nutrition of the school’s students and serve as a resource for the surrounding communities.

Junior Garcia Aguilera receives a bowl of chicken soup. Photos by Amalia San Martín.

The center was established by the Dry Corridor Alliance (ACS) – PROSASUR program, which works with families to raise incomes, strengthen food security and improve health and nutrition in 6,000 households across the region.

For 11-year-old Junior Garcia Aguilera and his classmates, the facility is diversifying diets and introducing a healthier mix of vitamin-rich foods.

“Before, we only ate rice and beans,” the fifth-grader says. “Now, my friends and I are happy, because it’s good to eat fruits and vegetables to improve the diet.”

A community comes together in the kitchen

The Nutrition Training Center is one part of a Community Nutrition Plan designed by ACS-PROSASUR, which is implemented by Creative Associates International in partnership with INVEST-Honduras, one of two program clusters. It’s funded by the World Bank through the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.

The center supplements meals with fresh produce from an on-site garden, and mothers of the children take turns volunteering to cook. Staff from ACS-PROSASUR offer guidance on recipes that give growing kids the nutrition they need.

Principal Cruz Lorena Funez in the school garden. — Principal Cruz Lorena Funez picks fresh vegetables from the school garden.

“Since the project came to the school, we have been fully up and running,” says school principal Cruz Lorena Funez. “Our kitchen was inactive for a long time, but now the mothers are motivated to come and make meals here at school. We have learned from the team how to make nutritious food and supplement meals with what we harvest.”

Funez says that other schools in the area have taken notice.

“I tell you, our center is envied. I’ve talked with other principals in El Triunfo about the vegetables we harvest and the meals we have been preparing for our children,” she says. “To my surprise, soon after, I began noticing that my colleagues were sharing photos showing what they were cooking with vegetables from their gardens.”

On this day, Funez explains, volunteers prepared tortillas at home, waking early to grind and knead the dough. Then they came to the center to do the cooking and prepare the soup, adding in coriander, string beans and squash from the garden.

“We are thankful, because before we did not have this kitchen that we have today. It’s very nice, very clean, and the children are eating much better. Rice and beans every day is much better for the children when accompanied by vegetables,” says volunteer Esperanza Moran, whose 8-year-old granddaughter Kimberly attends the school.

Improving health through clean cooking

The condition of many homes in this area make food safety a challenge. Lack of access to clean water, smoke inhalation and unhygienic cooking and mealtime practices can have negative effects on a child’s health and growth. The center is working to combat this by offering a clean cooking space with more modern equipment and fully stocked cabinets of kitchenware.

Volunteers Esperanza Moran and Militina Suazo tend to a pot of soup. — Volunteers Esperanza Moran (right) and Militina Suazo tend to a pot of soup at the Nutrition Training Center.

“We provided a water filter to ensure water is free from parasites and bacteria to prevent diarrhea and other sickness among the children,” explains Dr. Ninoska Bulnes, ACS-PROSASUR Health and Nutrition Coordinator. “We also provided an improved stove that helps reduce the use of firewood – part of our environmental efforts, but also a way to prevent health problems caused by smoke.”

Moran says that the upgrades have been welcome in the community and are getting parents excited about making healthy meals for the children.

“Before, we did not even want to come and cook here, because we didn’t have anything to cook with, no pots or pans,” she says. “Today we have clean, filtered water, pots and pans. In short, we have everything a kitchen requires.”

Principal Funez notes that more changes are still to come: ACS-PROSASUR will be partnering with the school and parents to improve the dining area, which is currently just a tin roof over a dirt floor. The program will help provide tables and chairs and lay down concrete.

“Next Saturday, we are going to have a fundraiser with the parents so that we can start putting in the concrete floor,” she says excitedly.

Making nutrition a priority

In the municipality of El Triunfo, the Community Nutrition Plan is reaching more than just the school in Santa Marta; the communities of Cayuya and Dos Quebradas are also benefitting, says Dr. Bulnes.

“Improving nutrition is the main objective and involves many aspects that range from monitoring the growth of children in the communities to the implementation of Nutritional Training Centers,” she says of the plan.

The Nutritional Training Center is managed by members of the community with technical advice of ACS-PROSASUR staff. In addition to providing meals for schoolkids, the center serves as a meeting place in which nutritionists or trained health monitors can give guidance to to families on how to prepare healthier food.

A mother lays her child down on a scale to measure his height. Photo by Skip Brown.

It’s also a place where families can come to monitor the growth of their children and get advice if the kids are falling behind or at risk of having stunted growth.

On the ninth day of every month, mothers bring their children aged 2 years and younger – about 35 children in total – to the center to have their height and weight measured by monitors who are elected by the community and trained by ACS-PROSASUR staff. The monitoring allows mothers to increase their awareness about how their children are growing and receive training and guidance on how to keep their children’s health on track.

Volunteers and staff educate parents on how to prepare fortified foods, diversify diets and make sure children are getting the micronutrients and calories they need.

By supporting the nutrition of children from newborns to sixth-graders, the Nutrition Training Center is working to ensure that these communities’ next generation will grow up healthy and strong.

With editing by Evelyn Rupert.

Freedom to move forward: Reframing juvenile justice in Honduras

December 4, 2018

By José Granados and Evelyn Rupert

7 min read

When Rosa was asked to bring her two young grandsons before the government agency that oversees juvenile offenders, she feared her family would be pulled apart.

“I thought, ‘Dear God they’re going to take them away from me,’” she recalls. “I started praying silently and crying. But then someone patted me on the back and told me not to worry, that everything would be OK.”

At the meeting, the family was instructed by a judge to go to Casa Alianza, a nonprofit organization that supports juvenile rehabilitation and reentry into society. When they arrived, Rosa sat nervously in the waiting room while her grandsons Paco and Gabo spoke with Casa Alianza staff in another room.

“I was praying and praying, ‘Please don’t take them,’” she says. “Then I was asked to come in, and they told me that we were going to do a one-year program at Casa Alianza. ‘But they’re not taking my boys away?’ I asked. They said, ‘No, they’re going to come here for therapy and training on Saturdays. They’re good kids,’ they told me. ‘They just made a mistake.’”

Casa Alianza works with youth exiting the justice system or who have been recommended for programming as an alternative to detention. It’s a resource hub where youth can come and receive services like counseling and job training. And for youth struggling with homelessness, it’s also a place to stay, with dormitories, a dining hall and 24/7 support for dozens of young men and women.

Brothers Paco and Gabo at Casa Alianza. — Brothers Paco and Gabo head to Casa Alianza once a week to receive counseling and other support services. Photos by José Granados. Photo by: José Granados

Paco, 17, Gabo, 14, and their grandmother have been working with Casa Alianza since January, welcoming instructors and counselors into their home and visiting the organization’s facility in Tegucigalpa on Saturdays for workshops on topics like drugs, sex education and the importance of family.

Casa Alianza receives support from the Proponte Más secondary violence prevention project, which is funded by the U.S. Agency of International Development and implemented by Creative Associates International in five of Honduras’ most violent areas.

“Before, nothing really mattered to me. But now, I’ve learned how to value things, value time with my family,” says Paco. “I see that the instructors care for us, they’re like a family. They don’t just tell us to do our homework, they worry about us, they’re involved, they come visit us at home, they ask us how we are, they bring us what we need. It’s been a great experience.”

As the brothers participate in their workshops, Rosa is also taking parenting classes aimed at helping her create a home environment in which Paco and Gabo can thrive.

The goal is to ensure that the two teenagers have the tools and support they need to become successful adults – and keep them from returning to the justice system.

Finding alternatives to detention

In Honduras, where a gang ecosystem draws children and youth into engaging with crime and violence, minors are often both victims and perpetrators. From January to June 2018, nearly 600 minors were processed through the juvenile justice system – some 200 of them convicted.

But increasingly, the Honduran justice system is turning away from sentencing minors to juvenile detention facilities – using so-called “alternative measures,” which can include probation, community service, or working with a program like Casa Alianza.

“We know that detention centers are not the most suitable for the reintegration, re-education and rehabilitation of youth,” says Belkin Díaz, a judge in the juvenile court system. “At that age, sometimes the youth have already gone through very difficult experiences, and you have to put yourself in their shoes to understand the situation in their communities.”

Juvenile Court Judge Claudia Pereira in her office. — Juvenile Court Judge Claudia Pereira in her office in Tegucigalpa.

Díaz is a member of the Proponte Más Juvenile Justice Technical Committee, a group of judges, prosecutors, juvenile defense attorneys, nonprofit organizations and civil society groups working to reduce the number of youth in detention and strengthen alternative measures.

The committee is already seeing success in encouraging the juvenile justice system to take a closer look at alternative measures.

This year is the first time in several years that the juvenile detention population in Honduras decreased, from about 550 in 2017 to 475 in 2018. At the same time, the number of juvenile cases culminating in alternative measures has risen – from 371 in 2015 to 625 in 2018, according to the Institute for the Care of Child Offenders (INAMI in Spanish), a government agency created in 2016 that oversees juvenile justice.

Proponte Más is contributing to a referral system through INAMI to direct youth to services and resources like Casa Alianza. The pilot referral system has allowed Casa Alianza to assist 81 youth through INAMI referrals.

And the Juvenile Justice Technical Committee is set to take on a more formal role in policymaking as it transforms into the Advisory Board for INAMI.

“I know that without this committee, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” says Claudia Pereira, a committee member and public defender working in the juvenile court system. “Before the committee, we all worked separately – defense on one side, prosecution on the other. But with the committee, we found each other and we all started to think more about the youth.”

Spurring system-wide change

As Pereira and Díaz talk about the committee’s work in the main juvenile court building in Tegucigalpa, families anxiously wait for their appointments with clerks, lawyers and judges several floors below.

Even though they sit on opposite sides of the bench, Pereira and Díaz both say the hardest part of their job is seeing children and youth who are often victims of crime and violence become perpetrators themselves and have to face a justice system they often don’t understand.

“We have to raise awareness among others in the justice system that we can’t just look at the infraction that brought the kid here, we also have to look at the situation that led him or her to become an offender,” says Pereira. “To give youth an opportunity to keep their freedom and not just look at the crime with which they’re charged, but also the personal circumstances. That’s the challenge we face every day.”

As the Juvenile Justice Technical Committee spearheads the use of alternative justice measures, some of its members and others working in the juvenile justice sector are expanding their expertise and knowledge through a master’s degree program developed by Proponte Más with the University of Málaga.

Proponte Más has awarded 25 scholarships to justice operators, government officials and staff from Casa Alianza to pursue a master’s in Child Protection and Juvenile Justice.

Both Díaz and Pereira are enrolled in the program and say it’s given them a better understanding of children’s social and psychological development and how their actions are affected by the context in which they live.

“That’s been important for me, to understand how much youth are influenced by the situation in which they’ve grown up,” says Pereira. “I’ve learned in the master’s program how that child arrived here, learned to see that maybe that child didn’t have the same opportunities that others have had.”

Casa Alianza instructor Nolvia meets with the family.

A family moving forward

Back at Casa Alianza, Paco and Gabo grab a seat at a lunch table with other kids as their grandmother Rosa talks warmly with their instructor. Despite their three-year age gap, the brothers sound more like twins. They both aim to graduate from high school, dedicate themselves to missionary work for a few years and then study engineering at a university.

And both say that their family has become stronger through their work with Casa Alianza.

“My family has seen a big change. We always communicated, but not as much as we should have. But now, with everything the instructors have taught us, we’ve become more united and we talk about everything,” says Paco. “They’ve helped us enjoy spending time as a family and to take care of the things we have.”

Casa Alianza Family Integration Instructor Nolvia Aguilar, who has been the family’s primary instructor since their first day at Casa Alianza, says when Paco and Gabo arrived, they were timid, reserved and not very engaged in the workshops and classes. But over the past several months, she has seen the family flourish.

“What keeps us going is the growth of the family, to be able to help them out of that hole they find themselves in,” she says. “They have changed a lot, and for me it’s rewarding to see as their instructor … These are the stories that stay with us. Now they’re a family that’s sharp, active, excited, enthusiastic.”

Díaz says that with the coordinated support of Proponte Más, justice operators, government officials and nonprofit organizations, many more youth can find the same success as Paco and Gabo and avoid time in detention – which has the potential to reinforce gang engagement and a cycle of violence.

“We hope that INAMI’s work and increased alternative measures will benefit the boys and girls of our country,” she says. “We hope that we can help, even if it’s just this one grain of sand, because between all of us, we can make a change for children.”

Crea Honduras and UNITEC partner to advance development

November 28, 2018

By Jillian Slutzker

2 min read

Crea Honduras and the Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (UNITEC), one of the principal private universities in the country affiliated with the Laureate International network, will partner to advance social and economic development, it was announced.

“We consider the alliance with the academy as an important collaboration model, and we value the dynamics of UNITEC with whom we will develop projects that emphasize institutional strengthening, youth, technology and social inclusion, ” says Crea Honduras head Susana Ferrera, an economist and experienced international development practitioner who has worked extensively in community development and workforce development with a variety of donors, NGOs and private sector partners.

“Our mission as Crea Honduras is to support the people and communities of this country, and to do this, we propose using innovation and technology to influence social development,” she adds.

The Oct. 25 agreement unites the UNITEC’s research acumen, educational excellence and technical knowledge in business, entrepreneurship and technology with Crea Honduras’ expertise backed up by Creative Associates International’s 41 years of experience in education, social and economic development, corporate social responsibility, citizen security and violence prevention, as well its ability to implement complex projects in challenging environments.

Crea Honduras and UNITEC will develop a joint research agenda, and partner in developing and implementing social initiatives. The first project will be aimed at the institutional strengthening of national organizations.

Continuing a legacy of development results

Officially launched in August, Crea Honduras and neighboring Crea El Salvador build on Creative Associates International’s robust experience implementing sustainable development programming over three decades in Central America.

Creative is currently implementing seven projects across the region, including in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and the Caribbean. These projects focus on preventing crime and violence, improving technical education and training, raising incomes for small-holder farmers and more.

The Honduras and El Salvador Crea subsidiaries draw upon the evidence-driven expertise of Creative in the region and serve as agile, flexible and innovative implementers of development programs, collaborating with a variety of donors and partners to tackle the region’s most pressing challenges.

In addition to its partnership with UNITEC, Crea Honduras recently piloted an innovative prevention program in collaboration with the Honduran government’s Deputy Secretariat of Security for Prevention.

With technical education, young entrepreneurs launch small businesses

November 16, 2018

By Gretchen Robleto

3 min read

A Nicaraguan boxing champ has entered the ring as a new business owner, achieving her longtime goal of opening a training gym in the country’s capital.

Entrepreneur Leticia Caldera, 27, opened the doors of her gym five months ago and offers weightlifting and boxing training for girls and boys as young as age 6.

Leticia was able to start her career as a small business owner and trainer after graduation from technical education school Centro Juvenil Don Bosco, where she earned her degree in physical conditioning and sports training.

She calls choosing a technical school “the best decision I’ve made about my studies.”

Leticia Caldera in her boxing gloves. — Leticia Caldera owns a weightlifting and boxing gym in Managua. Photos by Gretchen Robleto.

“With my technical career, I got the theoretical knowledge and the practical experience,” Leticia says.

Centro Juvenil Don Bosco is one of eight technical vocational center partners receiving support from the Aprendo y Emprendo program, which seeks to improve access to and quality of technical education for at-risk youth, focusing on the vulnerable Caribbean Coast region and ethnic minorities.

The program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Creative Associates International, provides scholarships for youth to pursue technical degrees, strengthens technical schools and builds collaboration with the private sector.

For Leticia, opening her own gym is more than just a personal achievement – it also means she can help other girls and women in her neighborhood of San Judas.

“There are risks for the girls and young women, and knowing boxing gives us security,” says Leticia, winner of the 2017 national women’s boxing championship the Alexis Argüello Cup.

As a female boxer, Leticia says she has faced gender stereotypes, but that she overcomes them when she puts on her boxing gloves and steps into the ring.

“I have heard both positive and negative comments,” she says. “But when people realize I’m ready to take on the role of boxing coach, they trust my ability.”

Entrepreneurs cook up new venture

Beral Morales and Katy Jiménez are working to get their new food product on store shelves.

Elsewhere in Managua, two classmates with a passion for cooking developed their own recipe for starting a new business: combine fresh ingredients and technical know-how.

Beral Morales, 17, and Katy Jiménez, 25, both students at technical education and vocational training center Fundación Victoria, are launching a business selling a unique spearmint sauce, which will soon be available in stores.

“As part of our assignment at Fundación Victoria, we had to develop a product and service,” Beral says. “Soon this product will be more accessible to buyers.”

Beral and Katy combined their technical knowledge to launch their company: He is studying business administration, and she’s in a food technology program. The product is in the legal process of being registered, and the pair have found an investor who is covering the cost of their sanitation registration.

“Using the industrial cooking techniques I’ve learned is one way I can apply my passion for food,” says Katy. “At Fundación Victoria, we learn to work with meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables and beverages following hygienic and sanitary standards for manufacturing.”

Beral, Katy and Leticia presented their new businesses at a technical education forum and fair hosted by the Nicaraguan Network for Technical Education (RENET) during Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 12-18. RENET, a group of educational institutions, training schools, businesses and youth-focused organizations, was established through Aprendo y Emprendo.

At the forum, Víctor Zúñiga, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast, said that young people need support, training and collaboration to launch businesses and create jobs.

“Entrepreneurial culture is based on innovation capacity and permanent training,” he says. “To promote their ability to take on new ventures, youth and organizations must work with a collaborative approach to create innovative products.”

With editing by Evelyn Rupert.

Facing drought and floods, Honduran farmers must build resilience

November 7, 2018

By Amalia San Martín and Evelyn Rupert

3 min read

Extended periods of drought and flooding this year in the Dry Corridor of Honduras have left many farmers with ruined crops, created dangerous food insecurity and loss of income.

Swings in weather are common in this region of southern Honduras – but this year’s erratic weather was harsher than usual. Some of those hardest-hit live in the area supported by the Dry Corridor Alliance – PROSASUR program, which works with families to raise incomes, strengthen food security and improve health and nutrition in 6,000 households.

Because of the year-round warmth in Honduras, farmers have traditionally planted crops twice a year – once in May and a second time beginning in August, a planting period known as the “postrera.” This year was different.

In 2018, both rounds of crops were hit by extreme weather, explains Rimen Martínez of the Dry Corridor Alliance – PROSASUR program, who monitors environmental issues and climate changes.

A cornfield dried by drought. — Drought struck Honduran farmers’ gardens and fields, particularly corn. Photo by Rimen Martínez.

Martínez says that traditionally, the rainy season begins in early May, giving farmers much-needed water for their newly planted crops to last through a week-long drought period in June, known as the “canícula.”

“But this year, it didn’t happen that way,” Martínez says. “Everyone was traditionally waiting for the rains on Día de la Cruz (May 3), and they didn’t come. The canícula lasted almost 30 days. Many families’ crops dried up, and drought brought hunger. The crops grown during this time of year are a crucial source of food for many.”

And when Tropical Storm Michael, which later evolved into a Category 4 hurricane, hit in October, flooding soaked farmers’ plots in the south and sent massive amounts of water rushing through the streets in the country’s capital of Tegucigalpa and many other cities.

For Martínez, this doubly damaging year for farmers is further evidence of a weather cycle that has been pushed off track by climate change.

“What we’re seeing is a distortion in the cycles of nature,” he says. “These used to occur every 20 or 25 years, but now it’s happening more often.”

Rimen Martínez looks over a map of the region. — Rimen Martínez looks over a map of the region with fellow project staff.

Building resilience for farmers

Edgardo Varela, Coordinator of Income Generation and Agricultural Production for the Dry Corridor Alliance – PROSASUR project, estimates that about 10 percent of the 2,500 farmers involved in the program lost their crops as a result of the drought and flooding. In turn, food insecurity caused by destroyed crops can drive not only serious health issues and stunted growth in children, but also migration to other parts of Honduras or outside the country.

This year’s losses from extreme weather underscore the importance of the program’s goal to build farmers’ ability to withstand climate fragility and improve farming practices.

For example, to cope with the dry season, the agricultural technicians of the project are helping farmers install water harvesting and drip irrigation systems that can keep crops healthy using rainwater collected and stored during the rainy season.

The technicians are also working with farmers to plant more strategically – such as growing sorghum instead of corn during the fall season because it is more resistant to drought. And to combat flood damage, farmers are raising crop beds higher off the ground, a practice that helped protect some farmers’ harvests during this year’s floods.

The flooded Choluteca River in southern Honduras. Photo by Edgardo Varela.

These and other initiatives are part of a $6.5 million investment by the program in developing household and community plans in both agricultural and non-agricultural business, nutrition and hygiene that will raise incomes and improve health.

Dry Corridor Alliance – PROSASUR Chief of Party Carlos Ruiz says that building resilience is ultimately at the heart of his project and essential to help farmers have healthy harvests in the future.

“The fragility of the context makes supporting the poorest and most vulnerable households in the Dry Corridor a joint responsibility,” he says. “That’s why we’re not only training families in good agricultural and health practices, but also strengthening community leadership and providing guidance to local governments and other actors to mitigate the impact of climate change.”

The Dry Corridor Alliance – PROSASUR program’s Cluster 2 is implemented by Creative Associates International in partnership with INVEST-Honduras and funded by the World Bank through the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.

El Salvador recognizes successes in violence prevention

October 29, 2018

By Gerson Lara

3 min read

Six development projects were recently recognized for their success and contribution to the national Safe El Salvador Plan (“Plan El Salvador Seguro”), a 50-municipality effort to implement crime and violence prevention programming, focused on answering urgent priorities while working toward longer-term goals.

The winning programs, and six honorable mentions, were chosen from a pool of 51 submissions based on their contribution to entrepreneurship, employability, sports, childhood development, victims’ services, art, culture and recreation. The Safe El Salvador Plan is overseen by the National Council for Citizen Security and Coexistence.

Salvador Sánchez Cerén, President of El Salvador, speaks at the award ceremony. Photos by Gerson Lara.

Among the winners were two initiatives supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Crime and Violence Prevention Project, which is implemented by Creative Associates International.

The winning programs were recognized at a Sept. 28 event with Salvadoran President Salvador Sánchez Cerén.

“I congratulate these six programs … [and] appreciate your commitment, efforts and dedication, which strengthen citizen security and violence prevention in our country,” President Sánchez Cerén said. “Let’s continue working, innovating and developing these programs, which look to ensure peace in our communities. Your work is a valuable contribution toward transforming our society, improving peace, tranquility and tolerance.”

The two winning programs supported by the Crime and Violence Prevention Project were the municipality of Usulután’s rehabilitation and revitalization of public spaces and the “My Second Home” Outreach Center in the municipality of Conchagua in La Unión.

The Crime and Violence Prevention Project has supported the creation of more than 160 Outreach Centers in 125 communities, which provide kids and youth with the opportunity to take workshops on setting goals, play sports and music, get help with homework and hang out after school in a safe space.

And a total of more than 100 public spaces have been rehabilitated with help from volunteers and the project, benefitting tens of thousands of people in 18 municipalities.

Each of the six winning programs will receive a $1,000 prize to further its work, and the projects’ staff will also be invited for international learning exchanges about violence prevention.

“Recognizing the success of these violence prevention programs isn’t just about a prize, it’s a way to inspire and drive organizations, institutions, donors and local and federal governments to keep working on prevention, because the results have such an impact on people’s lives,” said Javier Calvo, Chief of Party of the Crime and Violence Prevention Project.

Award winners from Usulután — From left: Norma Edith Argueta, Olinda del Carmen Maravilla and Ruldman Ovidio Coreas at the award ceremony. Usulután’s Municipal Violence Prevention Committee was recognized for its efforts to rehabilitate public spaces.

The other winning programs were:

Municipal Athletic League, implemented by the Municipal Violence Prevention Committee in Armenia, Sonsonante
Luz de Esperanza Josué 1:9, implemented by ADESCO in Zacatecoluca, La Paz.
“Jóvenes con Todo” job and employability training by INJUVE, the National Institute of Youth, in Mejicanos
Soccer tournaments for community rebuilding, implemented by the Municipal Violence Prevention Committee in Jiquilisco.

With editing by Evelyn Rupert.

A small seed opens big opportunities for farmers in Honduras

October 3, 2018

By Amalia San Martín and Evelyn Rupert

4 min read

A group of farmers in southern Honduras are trying their hand at cultivating a crop not commonly found in the region: sesame.

While crops such as corn, beans, squash, melons and cashews are typically found in both commercial and family fields across this stretch of Honduras, an effort to plant sesame is bringing farmers a new source of income and the possibility of tapping into a profitable value chain and export market.

The Dry Corridor Alliance (ACS) – PROSASUR program has developed agricultural business plans for farmers that place emphasis on high-value crops and improving household conditions. As part of these business plans, the program has partnered with a Taiwanese company called the Dong Jyu Group, which is providing a group of 52 farmers with the seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to grow sesame crops in the municipalities of El Triunfo and Namasigue.

Three women walk through a garden. — Miriam Carcamo (center) walks through her small garden with ACS-PROSASUR technical staff. Photo by Skip Brown.

“It is a pleasure to be involved in the production of sesame seeds, and the community will be very happy to see this become a reality,” said farmer José Vivian Varela, speaking on behalf of the group of sesame producers at a launch ceremony held in El Triunfo on Sept. 13. “We are very proud to be here with government officials, the Ministry of Agriculture, ACS-PROSASUR and our friends from Taiwan.”

The sesame initiative and agricultural business plans contribute to the ACS-PROSASUR program’s efforts to raise the incomes of smallholder farmers in 12 municipalities across the Dry Corridor – a region named for its extended periods of drought.

ACS-PROSASUR is implemented by Creative Associates International in partnership with INVEST-Honduras and is funded by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program through the World Bank.

The partnership with the Dong Jyu Group was established as an initiative of the Honduran Department of Economic Growth. It is supported by the Department of Agriculture and Livestock’s Office of Agricultural Science and Technology, directed by Guillermo Cerritos.

A steady income for farmers

Under the agreement, Dong Jyu Group providing farmers transportation, a daily meal and a weekly wage to cultivate sesame crops, and they’ll earn additional income when the sesame is harvested in a few months.

ACS-PROASASUR is facilitating agreements between Dong Jyu Group and individual producers. The program will provide training to the farmers and visit the plots every 15 days to give assistance and monitor progress.

Each of the 52 producers planted approximately 1 hectare of sesame in August, which are each expected to yield 2,240 pounds of product in December – a total of more than 116,000 pounds of sesame.

Donald Lin, president of Dong Jyu Group, said the partnership will allow farmers to grow a lucrative crop and earn a steady income without taking on any of the upfront costs of planting or risk of the harvest being spoiled by disease or drought. And sesame’s export value is higher than that of other common exports like cashews and cantaloupe.

“I want to bring the success that we’ve had in Taiwan and share it with all of you,” Lin said to the producers. “You won’t have to buy seeds, you won’t have to purchase fertilizer, and you won’t have to wait four months until the harvest to receive an income.”

In the Dry Corridor, where climate change and phenomena like El Niño and La Niña exacerbate yearly lengthy droughts, some 90 percent of the population live on less than $2 a day. Many families rely on subsistence farming or small profits from agricultural production, but the drastic swings between heavy rainfall and drought are an annual danger to harvests.

ACS-PROSASUR Chief of Party Carlos Ruiz said that while planting sesame may be foreign to many farmers, the new crop can help improve the livelihoods and raise wages of its growers.

“This is a historic day because it is a new way of doing business and a new way to generate income for the family … We firmly believe this effort will improve the livelihoods of our families,” he remarked. “We want to thank our producers and encourage them with this new business model.”

Planting resilient crops

In 2018, a particularly hot and extended period of “canícula,” a stretch of extreme heat during the rainy season, caused Honduras to declare a state of emergency, and the government estimated that some 65,500 families in the Dry Corridor required emergency food assistance. Many municipalities lost most of their harvests.

ACS-PROSASUR and Dong Jyu Group hope that farmers in the region can become more resilient to the extreme climate with drought-resistant crops like sesame.

“Sesame seed is a plant that does not need much care to be productive … This product was chosen because it is low risk but has a worldwide demand and a lot of potential in this region,” said Dong Jyu Group Project Development Manager and Special Assistant to the President, Willis Yang. “We are very pleased because we know we’re doing something that will trigger a change in the lives of families.”

Once the initial group of producers adopt and adapt to a new crop and have a successful first harvest, Dong Jyu Group hopes to introduce more Dry Corridor farmers to sesame – and potentially begin raising household incomes through other agricultural products.

“We’re starting with one small sesame seed, but we hope to expand and introduce other crop alternatives in the future,” said Chief of Party Ruiz.