From the boisterous group drum circle and dancing outside the 15th of September neighborhood Outreach Center you would never know that residents in this very community were once shuttered inside—hiding from the gang violence that plagued their neighborhood.
“There was common robbery, there were gangs, drug sales. There were a lot of things that were not healthy for our kids,” says Teresa Benjarano, head of the community’s Board, known as the Patronato in Spanish.
The scene today is dramatically different. Children and adolescents flock to their neighborhood Outreach Center to play music and board games, practice English skills, take part in dance clubs and learn about healthy ways of resolving conflict.
The Outreach Center is part of a youth-focused crime and violence prevention program called Alianza Joven Honduras-USAID (Youth Alliance Honduras-USAID) that has helped to galvanize communities across the country, as well as the government and private companies to join efforts to prevent violence and expand opportunities for young Hondurans.
The five-year project, which began in 2012, is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Creative Associates International.
For residents like Benjarano in at-risk communities, the project has mobilized critical resources and energy to make their neighborhoods safer. It has placed violence prevention at the top of everyone’s agenda—including families, officials and companies—from the local to national level.
“The arrival of the Outreach Center was a door of opportunities that is like water when you put out the fire,” says Benjarano. “The arrival of the Outreach Center has not only been a door of opportunity, it has been a blessing in our community because it incorporated and strengthened actions that we had already started.”
The transformation happening in the 15th of September community is not unique. In seven cities across the country, Alianza Joven Honduras-USAID has helped to launch and support 64 Outreach Centers in vulnerable communities.
The Outreach Centers are established in partnerships with local, religious or community-based organizations, often with support from the Government of Honduras and the respective Municipal Governments. The National Foundation for the Development of Honduras (FUNADEH in Spanish) is the project’s “legacy” partner and has been working alongside the Alianza Joven Honduras-USAID to ensure the gains and centers are sustained when the project officially closes in April this year.
At the heart of the Outreach Centers’ success is community leadership and ownership. Community volunteers and coordinators help to organize and run the center’s activities. The Outreach Centers have even created a certification system, through which volunteers demonstrate mastered skills and earn “Five Star Volunteer Certificates” for their service.
For many youth, the transition from Outreach Center beneficiary to volunteer can provide a critical sense of purpose, explains Salvador Stadthagen, Director of Alianza Joven Honduras-USAID.
“You see that the most powerful transformation when a youth goes from being just a beneficiary of prevention to being a volunteer in which there is youth-to-youth help and assistance,” he says.
Margarita Blandin, a coordinator at the Las Ayestas Outreach Center in Tegucigalpa, has seen the powerful effect the Outreach Center can have on young people in these neighborhoods.
“They all live in this environment that doesn’t allow them to accept that there is a different opportunity or chance or life for them,” she says. “I think that from the moment they [enter] they are offered a different space, where they move away from their reality.”
Inspired by the changes, more than 1,900 volunteers across the country, from youth to heads of community boards, have joined Alianza Joven Honduras-USAID’s efforts at Outreach Centers and through prevention campaigns.
Another key to the project’s success has been to make violence prevention everyone’s business, including the private sector.
Companies from telecommunications giant TIGO to commerce chains Lady Lee and PriceSmart have joined forces with Alianza Joven Honduras-USAID to supply Internet to Outreach Centers, to repair or construct Outreach Center facilities, donate gym equipment and sponsor national campaigns, among other initiatives.
Myriam McCormick, manager of Telamar Resort, which recently joined this list of private partners, says that supporting Honduran communities to thrive also helps Honduran businesses.
“If we work with the young adults right now, they are the future, future employees of the hotel. If we don’t give them the tools that they require to grow and to be exceptional, our companies don’t have a future. I think it’s a plan for sustainability, and we as a community, as Hondurans, also need to help each other to grow better,” she says.
One these private sector initiatives is investing in the future by providing youth marketable and in-demand workforce skills. Microsoft has teamed up with the project to develop seven “Microsoft Academies” in Outreach Centers with computers, software and instructors. Youth can earn certificates in Microsoft Office as a Specialist or Microsoft Technology Associate. Since their opening in December 2016, more than 220 youth have been certified and many more are taking courses.
For many of these youth, access to technology and workforce training is very limited, says Stadthagen, the project’s director.
“Bringing Microsoft Academies is a way that a youth can receive a certificate that is recognized internationally and valued by the private sector here in Honduras. It becomes a very valuable asset for these kids,” he says.
Another initiative the private sector supports, community gyms based out of the Outreach Centers, provide a safe space for neighbors to exercise and, for example, take group Zumba classes, something that wasn’t available in many of these communities before.
The program has made arrangements for several Outreach Center gym instructors to complete internships in private gyms and bring that experience back to their neighborhoods. Other Outreach Center gym instructors have been trained through an arrangement with local representatives of the American Aerobics Association.
Jader Soriano, a gym instructor at the Jardines del Carrizal Outreach Center in Tegucigalpa, says the gym is a positive distraction for the neighborhood youth.
“Instead of going to the same routine where they go see their friends or where they go to some corner to consume drugs or to have negative thoughts, they can come here to the gym and have better attitude, take care of their mind and take care of their body,” he says.
From the beginning, the project has found some of its biggest allies in the Government of Honduras, which has placed the issue of youth crime and violence prevention at the top of the national agenda.
From President Juan Orlando Hernández down to the municipal level, government entities have provided whole-hearted support to the Outreach Centers, contributing funds for their construction, providing stipends to volunteer coordinators and championing national campaigns and prevention methodologies.
Next year, for example, the National Prevention Program through the Secretariat of Education will introduce successful methodologies used by the Outreach Center for teaching conflict resolution and goal-setting through life-planning into the public school curriculum.
Residents in at-risk communities who once felt neglected and under-resourced have been buoyed by this strong investment in their neighborhoods.
“It’s incredible the effect of having the President come in and inaugurate an Outreach Center or the ministers coming in or important people like the mayor or the private sector coming in and saying: ‘We are here to help,’” says Stadthagen. “It creates a great feeling of not being excluded. It creates a feeling of inclusion that is extremely important.”
These committed government partners have taken notice of the changes in at-risk youth and vulnerable communities thanks to project-supported activities. They are committed to continuing the progress, in partnership with local communities and organizations, long after the project officially ends.
“The truth is that through these types of alliances we achieve greater investment in youth issues. These methodologies and programs proven… It is already a program that we know produces results,” says Youth Minister Feryd Bascha. “I think that when combined actions are taken in cooperation between government and civil society, and that all are interacting together and systematized, that is the moment when indicators are going to be moved because joint efforts are being made.”
With reporting by Emanuel Rodriguez
In 1986, the repressive regime of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier fell in Haiti, and the country confronted a new challenge: running democratic elections.
The fall of Duvalier’s 15-year government coincided with the rise of democracy and electoral assistance organizations in the United States—including new groups like the National Endowment for Democracy and its core organizations, the International Republican Institute, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Center for International Private Enterprise and the Solidarity Center.
Early democracy assistance was at first directed toward political party support and domestic observation, but there was not an organization designed to assist the newly formed electoral management bodies that were responsible for the administration of elections.
Haiti would be among the first countries to receive this type of non-partisan electoral assistance.
It was three decades ago that the first form of assistance occurred—a study tour of Haitian officials who headed to the United States to observe its electoral processes.
A Haitian constitutional referendum was scheduled for March 1987—30 years ago this month—and the U.S. State Department wanted those individuals charged with administration of the referendum to observe an election in the United States.
The election selected for them to observe was a municipal primary in February 1987 in Kansas City, where I was serving as Commissioner on the Kansas City Election Board.
During their visit, the delegation was able to observe the preparations for voting, the establishment and operation of polling stations and the retrieval of sensitive voting materials for accounting and tabulation. They also monitored the board’s process to review and certify the outcomes.
After their visit and the successful conduct of the Haitian referendum that March, I continued to provide assistance for the general elections scheduled for November. I was invited to Haiti to mentor the first Provisional Electoral Council, or CEP as it is still known by the French acronym, and made four trips to Haiti that year. The Center for Promotion of Electoral Assistance also had a representative advising the electoral management body.
I was generally encouraged by the enthusiasm and dedication that I saw among the election organizers.
During my visits, I regularly met with election managers at the Provisional Electoral Council to discuss their options in organizing voter registration for the first time, polling station locations and organization, poll worker recruitment and training, ballot design and security.
I found the Haitian to be open and receptive to the guidance being given on these issues and a general appreciation that there were standards to be followed in conducting elections.
For election day, international organizations sent freshly minted delegations to monitor the voting. At an observer coordination meeting, the names of the groups participating were posted and this was the first time that I saw the International Foundation for Electoral Systems in a programming role.
Despite the optimism and collaboration of Haitians and international assistance providers, remnants from the Duvalier regime, in particular the Praetorian Guard known as the Ton Ton Macoutes, would have none of these elections. They menaced the campaign period with attacks.
Election day was no different. The Macoutes attacked a polling station at the Argentine School in Port-au-Prince, killing 17 voters. Other violence flared around the country and voting was cancelled around 10 a.m.
Haiti went into one of its many political winters under a succession of military regimes that lasted until the 1990 election which brought Haiti’s first democratically elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide to power.
While the 1987 Haitian election demonstrated the vulnerabilities of the electoral process to violence and the need for election security, the 1990 election was a kind of redemption for the notion of assistance to electoral management bodies.
The 1990 democratic election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide was seen as a genuine expression of the will of the people, and that elections can be successful even in tenuous political environments.
In fact, Horacio Boneo, the founder of the Electoral Assistance Unit within the United Nations Secretariat, has contended that the 1990 Aristide victory combined with the same-year electoral victory of Nicaraguan presidential candidate Violeta Chamorra—another expression of the will of the people and an upset over Sandinista contender President Daniel Ortega Saavedra—demonstrated to policymakers that fair processes and good election administration can produce legitimate “opposition” victories.
Had Duvalier’s internationally favored presidential candidate Marc Bazin, a former World Bank official, won in Haiti, and Daniel Ortega retained power in Nicaragua, international electoral assistance might not have emerged with the strength that it has.
Today, electoral assistance is provided by a global family of inter-governmental and nongovernmental organizations, of which Creative Associates International is a member.
Then, in the 1990s and early 2000s, electoral assistance was largely focused on the establishment of electoral management bodies, training the staff and constructing viable electoral processes as countries like Haiti moved from conflict or authoritarianism to democracy.
The challenges today, however, are different.
Rather than establishing the foundation for electoral management bodies and processes, many countries need to protect elections from malpractice and violence and ensure they have the resources to carry them out.
Today, the focus for electoral assistance should be two-fold.
First is electoral integrity—that is protecting elections from malpractice and violence. As elections are processes, they must be protected from perpetrators seeking to influence the outcomes by malfeasance.
Second, elections must be financially sustainable through domestic budgets, particularly in developing countries. Assistance should also be directed at financial management in order to reduce the election “opportunity costs” whereby inefficient election spending translates into fewer monies for health care, education, infrastructure, security, or other public goods and services.
In 1987, the Haiti experience demonstrated that bilateral cooperation on electoral assistance was a viable concept. It demonstrated that transfers of skills in electoral administration could be obtained. However, it also revealed the limitations on assistance in environments where spoilers intend to delay or disrupt the process and the significance of national political will in achieving a successful result.
Jeff Fischer is a Senior Electoral Advisor at Creative Associates International.
Combining behavioral insights with social emotional learning are essential to improved student achievements for school-aged children in conflict and crisis environments, according to experts on a panel at the Comparative and International Education Society conference on March 7.
Panelists at the session called “Using Behavioral Insights to Improve Learning and School Safety in Humanitarian and Development Contexts: Preliminary Findings and Potential New Directions” point to case studies from India, Kenya, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria and Timor-Leste, among other countries, that are leveraging behavior insights to reach education program targets.
Behavior insights—the emerging science that goes beyond traditional economics that analyzes how people make decisions and take actions—can play a role in complimenting existing programming, shaping effective policy and addressing future issues in the classroom, said panel experts.
“Why does the science of behavior matter?” asked Josh Martin, Vice President of Ideas42, an organization that applies behavioral science research to tackle complex social problems. “Addressing challenges and applying targeted low-cost interventions requires understanding psychological barriers that can have a detrimental impact on learning outcomes.”
Exposure to conflict can result in deep psychological trauma that can have long-lasting effects on children’s mental health and cognitive abilities. Many of these children are fleeing violence, having witnessed the destruction of their homes and even the killing of family members.
“When considering refugees in the humanitarian context and the extreme challenges they face that creates cognitive depletion, behavior insights are going to be extremely important to the kind of problems and solutions we are able to provide,” said Martin.
Integrating behavior insights in education programming design allows the development of effective and tailored intervention strategies to support students with specific psychosocial needs.
With more than 263 million children and youth out-of-school worldwide, analyzing barriers to education is needed. In conflict-affected countries, children face significant challenges in receiving a quality education–or an education at all. Lack of school infrastructure and sufficient learning materials, as well as ongoing safety and security concerns, keep the most vulnerable students out of the classroom.
Natan Last, Innovation Strategist on the Research and Development team at International Rescue Committee (IRC)’s Airbel Center, works closely with IRC technical units in health, education, among others, to spur innovation in humanitarian aid. By bringing together field staff, designers, strategists, researchers and technical experts, the Airbel Center aims to uncover innovative ideas that make positive impact.
“We need the spur of innovation now more than ever,” said Last. “To demonstrate higher impact but to help solve enormous global challenges in delivering interventions, like the increasing urgency of the humanitarian crisis–especially in education.”
“Through better design, we can gain a clearer understanding of behavior in context that has the potential to lead to promising interventions and solutions,” said Last. “And lean from failure to success.”
Julia Finder, Technical Manager, Education in Conflict at Creative Associates International, presented a framework that Creative developed to provide at-risk youth in both humanitarian and development contexts with support needed to positively change social behaviors.
“Context is extremely important when examining how to best support social emotional learning and social behavior change,” said Finder.
To demonstrate the framework, she provided case studies based on Creative’s projects in Nigeria, Honduras, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste and Morocco, among other countries.
To properly address social behavior change, understanding what impacts children and youth is essential.
“When designing a new project, there are several key technical questions Creative aims to address,” she said.
Among the technical issues Creative seeks to address are:
Targeted interventions in the school, the community and home all play a role in supporting social emotional learning.
Creative applies a “whole child, whole teacher, whole school, and whole system approach,” to address critical supply and demand factors that affect learning, teaching, management, parental participation and responsiveness to children’s needs.
“Each entity play’s a critical role in providing holistic support and they must all interact together to be effective in changing social behavior,” according to Finder.
Creative applies a multi-tiered approach in design, where the least at-risk learners are at the top and the most at-risk learners are at the bottom. This approach helps assess and identify individual need and tailors intervention to encourage stability, learning and growth.
Finder demonstrated how this approach works by applying it to the Nigeria Education Crisis Response project, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Creative, IRC and local partners.
In Northern Nigeria, more than 2.2 million people—including more than 1 million school-aged children—have been displaced from their homes due to the Boko Haram insurgency.
In addition to psychosocial support, the project has established non-formal learning centers that provide literacy and math education and, for older youth, livelihoods training as many families have been uprooted from their homes and sources of income.
“Once we apply the framework and assess individual needs, we then devise a plan,” said Finder. “Depending on the changes we’re observing with the students, we then change the dosage and frequency of support.”
Looking through the multi-tiered approach lens helps to tailor specific interventions.
When applying the multi-tiered approach in the targeted schools, findings emerged that female students were not staying in school and not completing their education.
Creative provided additional support and training for the girls in order to achieve the same outcomes as their male peers.
Moving forward, Finder emphasized the need for additional research to promote behavior change.
“We need to build a further understanding on what support is available and how we can effectively design measurement tools to isolate specific interventions to determine their individual impact,” said Finder. “And we want to support communities in identifying what skills they need to ensure they can provide continual support to at-risk children and youth.”
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At age 14, Maria had a reputation as a troublemaker and was at risk of leaving school. But with support from a counselor and a unique program for at-risk youth and their families, Maria turned her life around.
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On the outskirts of San Vicente, a new playground is bringing hope to a community once plagued by crime and violence. See how safe spaces are helping to transform neighborhoods across the country.
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In communities across El Salvador, music is helping at-risk youth to steer clear of a life of gangs and crime. Youth orchestras are part of a holistic approach to prevent crime and violence and spread opportunity.
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Ever always dreamed of becoming a chef, but like many youth in his town his dreams seemed out of reach. All this changed when Ever enrolled in a vocational education program supported by USAID.
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In communities across El Salvador, music is helping hundreds of at-risk youth to steer clear of a life of gangs and crime. The philharmonic youth orchestras are part of the El Salvador Crime and Violence Prevention Project’s holistic approach to prevent crime and violence and spread opportunity.
In one of the most violent countries in the world, the sounds of music are helping at-risk youth to steer clear of a life of gangs and crime.
In Ilobasco, El Salvador, more than 100 youth ages 8 to 29 who live in some of the toughest neighborhoods are picking up musical instruments instead of gang affiliations.
Eleven-year-old Jhonnatan Marroquín could have been a crime statistic in Ilobasco. Instead, he is a guitarist.
“Ever since I took up the guitar, I’ve been very busy,” says Jhonnatan. “It’s fun and I don’t get involved in anything bad, like gangs.”
Ilobasco and eight other communities in El Salvador are organizing and managing local philharmonic orchestras to engage at-risk and vulnerable youth in positive, forward-looking activities.
The El Salvador Crime and Violence Prevention Project—an innovative program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Creative Associates International—is working in Ilobasco and other communities to devise ways to bring lasting peace to troubled neighborhoods.
The project has formed municipal committees that coordinate crime prevention and safety initiatives and has helped to develop community-run activities that engage at-risk youth to steer clear of crime and gangs. Using a variety of initiatives—from art, music, and dance clubs to outdoor activities—the project has already helped 53,000 Salvadoran youth in 55 municipalities.
Ilobasco, a town of some 65,000 residents located about 30 miles northeast of the capital city of San Salvador, had 91 reported homicides in 2014 and 88 murders in 2015—putting it well above what experts describe as epidemic rates.
Manuel Antonio Henrqiuez, Coordinator of the Municipal Committee to Prevent Violence in Ilobasco, is honest about the challenges facing his municipality.
“We’re among the 50 most violent municipalities in our country,” he laments.
But he is not giving up on his town, and he is hoping that music is one of the ways to get at the root of the problem.
The program Jhonnatan participates in consists of a youth orchestra school – a type of town philharmonic. USAID’s El Salvador Crime and Violence Prevention Project funds nine philharmonic schools that are reaching more than 600 at-risk youth at no cost to them or their families.
Mario Ernesto Acosta Romualdo, a psychologist who used to coordinate the philharmonic prevention tool for the El Salvador Crime and Violence Prevention Project, says a multi-pronged methodology is used to determine where this type of an intervention could tip the scales in favor of peace.
“We select the communities where we think we would have the greatest impact, looking at several risk factors, including gang activity, dysfunctional families and domestic violence, drugs, alcohol, among others,” says Acosta Romualdo, who has since left the project.
Poverty, migration to other countries, single-parent households and other factors mean that most of the youth in the target areas have no formal background in music, let alone access to musical instruments.
Fortunately, the USAID-funded program provides the curriculum, equipment and stipends for teachers. The community contributes space for the practice sessions and to store the equipment, while the Secretary of Cultural Promotion assists with training the instructors.
Youth are tested to measure their potential and aptitude, though no one is turned away from the program. After about eight months of constant practice and positive reinforcement, they are ready to perform in public.
Tito Antonio Alvarez works with the Ilobasco Mayor’s Office and is a coordinator of the town’s philharmonic orchestra.
“This is a great project,” Alvarez says. “It’s helping the youth, especially to overcome all the social problems we are living with here in El Salvador. Before this program began, the youth here in Ilobasco would spend their time hanging out with friends or at home, or just walking around the city. Now they spend their time on music.”
While keeping at-risk youth engaged in positive activities, the philharmonic orchestras play a role beyond keeping the at-risk youth busy. Psychologist Acosta Romualdo says the targeted youth suffer from low self-esteem and other conditions that can be addressed through the program.
“It’s important to reinforce this equilibrium and build the self-esteem so they can see their short-, medium- and long-term potential,” he says.
This approach stems from the El Salvador Crime and Violence Prevention Project’s strategy of encouraging at-risk youth to see a future beyond today.
Acosta Romualdo notes that the effects of the program extend beyond the young musicians themselves.
“We’ve noticed that when an instrument enters into a home, it impacts everyone, not just the youngster. The entire family becomes interested; they see the learning that goes on. They see the dedication, and they begin to live those kinds of values of working together and helping out,” adds Acosta Romualdo.
Eliseo Castellanos sings the praises of the philharmonic orchestra program.
He is in his sixth term as Mayor of Ilobasco, which has more than 100 youth participants in its philharmonic orchestra.
“It’s a real nice thing. We see a lot of enthusiasm,” Mayor Castellanos says. “We have five music instructors who are teaching the children, and we feel this is definitely helping with [youth crime and violence] prevention. The community is very enthusiastic about it and that makes me really happy.”
Ilobasco’s Mayor adds: “I speak with the youngsters and with the adults. They are all motivated. This is really working. We really need this.”
Jhonnatan’s mother is an enthusiastic supporter of the philharmonic orchestra. In Jhonnatan’s case, learning how to play the guitar has been especially helpful because he was born with a spinal condition that keeps him in a wheelchair.
“He has been a bit shy and used to ask me why was he in a wheelchair. It had been difficult because our part of town is rural and it’s hard to navigate in a wheelchair since there are a lot of stones in the road,” says Julia Irma Marroquín. “He would tell me he wouldn’t want to go to school because he would fall off his chair. But ever since he started in the orchestra school, he says he wants to go. He wants to learn. He wants to sing me songs.”
Psychologist Acosta Romualdo is familiar with Jhonnatan’s situation in Ilobasco.
“He and his mother would tell me that oftentimes he had been excluded because of his physical condition,” Acosta Romualdo says. “But now, even though the classes are on a second floor with no easy access for him, the kids and the instructor lift him up for class and bring him down afterwards, and now he feels that he is part of something. That’s very satisfying.”
Building Jhonnatan’s self-esteem and allowing him to see a future are among the positive outcomes from the program.
“His accomplishments are a win for me as his mother,” she says. “The guitar literally changed his life. I am so thankful for the project and thankful that it brought my son so much happiness.”
Jhonnatan has been able to find a passion for music and he’s already thinking about his future.
“I’m getting real good grades, and one day I want to be the director of a big company, one of those companies that make computers, televisions and television cameras.”
Ten-year-old Armando José Guevara Guerra is also in the philharmonic school and cannot stop gushing about it.
“My aunt told my mother about it and we came, and I really liked it,” he says. “I’m learning to play the guitar, to play songs. My new favorite song is called Tema de Amor (Love Theme).”
Armando is so enthusiastic about participating in the project that he also plays music in church and says he wants to be a music teacher when he grows up.
“I want to be a teacher right here (in the philharmonic school). In church I play the song ‘Singing the Joy of Living’,” Armando says.
Though the program’s goal is not to turn out professional musicians, Alvarez of the Mayor’s Office says a handful have gone on to make a living as professional performers.
Alvarez says the philharmonic orchestras transform how communities see themselves.
“In this country, having a local philharmonic is something completely new. You’d see that in Europe, in other places, but not here,” says Alvarez. “But now, what we have accomplished in such a short time, well, that makes me real happy. El Salvador is not just about violence. There are good things, and positive things.”
Reported from El Salvador by Michael J. Zamba and Rene Urrutia.
On the outskirts of San Vicente, El Salvador, a construction crew was putting the final touches on a new playground that will feature swings, a slide, a merry go round and benches.
A municipal official from this town of 53,000 people says the playground is of particular importance for residents in this area.
“There are gangs about 50 meters in that direction,” he says, pointing at a cluster of houses on the other side of a small patch of wooded area. “There are more gang members over there,” he says, pointing in the opposite direction.
Sadly, he comments, a group of gang members were killed in this area about a year ago.
Located about an hour from the capital of San Salvador, this community hopes to turn this situation around with playgrounds, street lights, sidewalks and other community-focused tactics. In particular, this playground is an initiative designed to provide safe, open spaces for families and to help reduce crime and violence. It has worked elsewhere in this city.
San Vicente is an active participant in the El Salvador Crime and Violence Prevention Project, a five-year, $24 million project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Creative Associates International to help communities throughout this Central American country. The project consists of a multifaceted strategy—ranging from developing employment opportunities to creating violence prevention policies.
Municipal authorities, community leaders, residents and Creative collaborate to identify key projects such as youth Outreach Centers, sports, arts and urban renewal activities that can turn the tide of crime and violence. Infrastructure projects like playgrounds, street lights and sidewalks are essential to a community’s success.
On the other side of San Vicente, residents in the neighborhood of Cañasverales know firsthand what it is like not to have a place for families to relax and feel safe.
Kevin Umaña Montoya is the coordinator of an Outreach Center in Cañasverales , a neighborhood where approximately 500 children live.
“There really wasn’t a place for kids to play or hang out. They would come from school and just stay home, and people were afraid to come here because they would say it was a dangerous community,” he recalls. “But thank God [and] with the USAID project we’ve been able to do big things, like build a park for the kids to play so that they can find a safe space to hang out, instead of thinking about other things.”
In addition to the park and Outreach Center, the project installed street lights and sidewalks along selected streets.
As part of the El Salvador Crime and Violence Prevention Project, a local committee comprised of municipal authorities and residents was established to devise plans using the program’s tools, including infrastructure.
Patricia Henríquez, coordinator of San Vicente’s crime prevention committee, explains that families in the Cañasverales neighborhood urgently wanted to improve the public spaces—but they also needed to put in their part.
“The whole community participated [in building the park] and they felt empowered,” Henríquez says. “And by helping to build it, the community is invested in it and will help to take care of it. I feel very good about being involved in this project. It is very satisfying to see the level of community involvement and to see the youth involved too. Perhaps they had nothing to do before, but now they are involved in making the park a nice place to be.”
In addition to the community’s contribution of labor, the city government and USAID have their respective roles. The municipal government provides the space, architectural drawings and project supervision. USAID’s project provides funding and technical support.
José Domingo Chávez, an architect and chief of projects in the San Vicente Mayor’s Office, says seven neighborhoods in San Vicente have been identified as at risk and are the focus of these joint efforts in his city.
“The USAID project is about a place where families and the whole community can go to be together, to play, to interact with one another,” Chavez says. “When you have those recreation areas, when the kids come from school, they can go have some fun, do sports, keep their minds occupied, so that they won’t be involved in things that will do them no good.”
Miguel Eduardo Gutiérrez Martínez, who until recently was a civil engineer with the El Salvador Crime and Violence Prevention Project, says that there are 77 neighborhoods in municipalities around the country that have these infrastructure projects.
The scope of these tactical efforts come in three price ranges, depending on their scope: Small projects may cost less than $8,000 and are completed in a few weeks; medium-sized efforts range from $8,000 to $19,000 and are typically wrapped up in about six weeks; and large projects could cost up to $60,000.
The idea has proven successful in other parts of the world, including the dangerous neighborhoods of Brazil. It was studied and adapted for use in El Salvador.
Though the new parks and other infrastructure receive a considerable amount of attention, these neighborhood improvement activities go beyond fun and games.
Crime and violence need certain conditions in order to grow, Gutiérrez Martínez says, and these infrastructure projects help to eliminate them.
“It’s about creating spaces or improving existing spaces, opening up new, livable spaces, and also fixing areas that are too dark and isolated where people don’t feel safe,” says Gutiérrez Martínez. “Gangs and violence in El Salvador have robbed people of their sense of community. What we want to do is give back that pride in their community, and for that to happen, you have to have a community that is safe, clean, orderly, and with areas that invite one to use them.”
He says these infrastructure projects may seem small, but they are making a significant difference in the lives of residents. He says they are “giving people faith and hope in their communities.”
An upside to these projects is the improved relationship between underserved communities and municipal officials.
“We have found in a lot of communities and heard from residents that they never asked for infrastructure projects that they needed,” says Gutiérrez Martínez. “This communication did not exist.”
Likewise, municipal authorities frequently lacked access to these communities until the project was introduced. In some cases, city officials are now using this model to enhance their communications with other marginalized communities.
Nonetheless, reducing crime and violence continues to be the primary goal of these activities.
San Vicente Mayor Medardo Hernández Lara says installing parks, street lights and sidewalks are making a change in these violence-prone neighborhoods.
“Before, if you were to visit Cañaverales at 9 or 10 at night, it was very insecure,” he says.
Now the situation has changed and the community is now taking back the night.
“Sometimes children play and play and play until dark in areas that were once not safe,” Mayor Hernández Lara explains. “Now it’s real busy and packed with children.”
Umaña Montoya of Cañaverales agrees with the Mayor’s analysis of these areas. He has also seen a marked difference in the children ever since the park was built.
“Every afternoon after school, they head to the park. Their mood is different now. They are happy and that motivates me, to see them happy and smiling,” he says.
Gutiérrez Martínez sees a brighter future for these municipalities.
“And people are returning to those days when you would see children play well into the night and where people would gather with their families and neighbors,” Gutiérrez Martínez says. “El Salvador can still be a good place to live.”
Reported from El Salvador by Michael J. Zamba and Rene Urrutia.