OYE Holiday Greeting!!

Having trouble viewing this? Click here

Holiday Greetings from OYE Honduras December 2010 Dear OYE Family, On behalf of the staff and youth of OYE, we would like to offer you our thanks for your continued support and our wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season. As OYE completes another year, the achievements of its 75 scholars and the hundreds of youth it reaches testify to the strength of OYE's mission: education is the tool that empowers youth to take hold of their futures, become leaders and contribute to society. We have enormous gratitude for each of you for your continued support. Your donations enable OYE to fundamentally change the lives of at-risk youth in Honduras. OYE's young, committed and capable staff has worked hard to develop the leadership skills of OYE's youth. This year's main focus has been to train OYE's youth to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate community focused projects. As a complement to their studies, OYE youth completed courses on project management and implementation. Today, they are responsible for managing OYE's major programs: sports, magazine, radio, art and scholarships. This very significant transition to youth-led programs took place this last summer, and the youth have demonstrated incredible competency as they have assumed these new responsibilities. OYE believes this is the way to build the present and future leaders of Honduras. 2010 was a great year for OYE: it is growing as an established institution and it is reaching more people. It is ready to scale up its program. The only constraint OYE faces is funding. Foundations have cut back in this economic environment and OYE has felt the effects. It needs your support more than ever. Contributions to OYE can be made online through our Paypal account. OYE is a 501 (c) 3 tax deductible public charity. For more information, please visit us at our website, check out our blog, and read our 2010 year-end summary. YOUR DONATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE! OYE's 2010 Highlights What we've been up to... Eight scholars graduated from high school and all eight are proceeding to college. In a country where less than 30% of the population graduates from high school, it is a phenomenal achievement to have 100% of our high school graduates continue to the university. Our first university graduate has completed her practicum in industrial engineering. She grew up an orphan, living in a group home for girls. Today, she is an engineer. She is also giving back to OYE, teaching English, conducting writing workshops for the youth who run the magazine and mentoring young women. OYE receives 10 times the number of applications for scholarships than it can fill. It is poised to double or triple its scholarships. Resources are the only constraint. OYE's magazine for youth has published 11 editions and circulated more than 10,000 issues. Under youth leader Fabiola Oro, a scholar, the magazine has professionalized its format and is the leading magazine for youth in the city. OYE's soccer league of 14 teams and its youth-led online radio show are self sufficient. We express our apologies in advance if you happen to receive this message twice, as we have also sent some letters out via snail mail. Again, OYE staff and youth send you their warmest regards and wish you happy holidays. Much gratitude to each of you. Sincerely, Ana Luisa Ahern Justin Eldridge-Otero Luis Paredes Marisol Fuentes Co-Founder Co-Founder Co-Director Co-Director