Calling All Young Leaders and Change Makers!

As 2013 draws to a close OYE is more than happy to turn its attention to the future, and this means selecting new scholars and planning for the 2014 year. This past weekend the process of preparing for 2014 kicked off in earnest as we interviewed potential OYE Scholars. With board members settled to arrive at the end of this week the tumultuous agenda preparing for next year shows no sign of slowing down. Board members, beneficiaries, and staff will participate in both long and short term planning sessions.

Program Coordinator, Dunia Perdomo, Introduces the first exercise.

This past weekend the organization hosted its first round of interviews for 2014 OYE scholars. In addition to returning OYE scholars, approximately 30 local youth were invited to participate in both

OYE Volunteers Morgan and Alex
observe new applicants with board mem-
ber Walter Molinari (Black t-shirt).

group and individual interviews. For the first time, OYE implemented a dynamic Group element, allowing a diverse committee to evaluate how applicants interacted among their peers. Divided into groups of youth with like ages, the applicants were given challenges and the committee assessed who took leadership roles, who was a good listener, who demonstrated rational thinking or deduction, and what was the general group dynamic. This was the first time that OYE has used such tactics to gain a deeper understanding of how applicants think, function, and transact with their peers.

First time applicants work together

In addition to being a great observational tool, the dynamics gave the applicants a chance to accommodate themselves and gain some confidence before entering the individual interviews. The individual interviews give the applicants an opportunity to express their hopes and aspirations and convey things that one cannot see during a dynamic group activity. As Walter Molinari pointed out, the personal interviews are essential to finding youth with leadership potential, as opposed to those who have already developed a strong sense of leadership and voice. At OYE we are seeking youth with positive attitudes and a desire to make their community a better place, a clear distinction from a competitive drive and take-charge attitude. Walter lauded the individual interviews as a great tool, identifying some of OYE’s greatest leaders like Gerald and Sandra who never would have come across in a group interview.

Activity #1, Applicants collaborate to build
unique model homes

The next phase of the process involves home visits. This allows OYE staff to know where the scholars live and meet their families. Vice versa the families of OYE scholars have the chance to meet OYE staff. Both sides arrive to a better understanding of the other. Information is confirmed and OYE has the chance to develop a personal relationship with its community. (This is by far my favorite part of the process.)

All in all the process is evolving and offers a well-rounded perspective on aspiring OYE scholars. The applicants this year have been inspiring. It is so hard to select the ones that

Applicants work as pitch team, selling
their model home to OYE

will receive OYE scholarships, but as our programs expand  we can realistically offer each and every applicant the chance to benefit from OYE’s Leadership and Capacity Building classes and participate in OYE youth-led community outreach programs.

A Great Look at Honduras through the Eyes of the Youth

This video was produced by Jovenes Contra la Violencia, a youth movement growing in Honduras. Many of OYE's scholarship students are joining the group Jovenes Contra La Violencia, which is entirely volunteer based uniting Honduras' youth against the growing culture and destruction of violence in the country. The movement, like OYE, is directed by youth. As an organization we look forward to forming strong alliances with these youth activists!

68% of Hondurans are younger than 30!!!
From 2007 to 2011 there were 25K homicides the majority of the victims were young people!

OYE's Youth are Resilient - A Look at Honduras

By: Samuel Rioux, Development Coordinator OYE Honduras 

As the difficulties abound, OYE is cultivating excellence. The work done at OYE is neither easy for staff, beneficiaries, nor donors. Every day we see the situation on the ground becoming more complicated and more riddled with crime, corruption, and violence. There is no doubt that living in Honduras is a challenge. OYE's students come from some of El Progreso's most dangerous neighborhoods. They have grown up in a world of violence and danger. When we say that the OYE youth are at social risk, we are talking about many factors; to name a few migration, drugs, gangs, family disintegration, coercion, extortion, and economic hardship.  These factors and adversity are the fire and the hammer that forge strong leaders. There is no doubt that each of OYE's students is special. To arrive at OYE they have already demonstrated an incredible resilience to the dangers, threats, and temptations that surround them. OYE has the privilege of honing these students into capable, confident leaders who will be responsible for positive changes in Honduran society.

A cursory survey of the news represents Honduras as a country riddled

with crime, drugs, and gangs. The US Treasury Department recently identified international drug traffickers, "Los Cachiros" in three of Honduras' 18 counties. The national police seized a number of businesses linked to their trafficking and money-laundering operation including the country's largest zoo. As seen in Mexico and Colombia, drug traffickers do not just get arrested and go away. Major drug cartels often serve as stabilizing or limiting factors for smaller gangs. They control, pay-off, and contract small gangs to do their dirty work exercising control over the greater macro-situation. However, as US and Honduran authorities close in on major drug traffickers, gang presence escalates in the cities of San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa, La Ceiba, and even El Progreso. It is not out of the question to expect drug traffickers to strike back at authorities or note an increase in gang violence as the "Cachiro" power vacuum is filled.

Elections will be held soon in Honduras, so that should be beckon of hope, right? Elections are what make Democracy work, giving the people a chance to elect leaders based on their morals, values, and experience to represent the wants and needs of the population. Honduras' election machine is churning, and a tension is mounting. Support is closing around two new parties, Libre and Partido Anti-Corrupcion (PAC), and Hondurans’ support for the traditional Liberal and Nacional parties that have dominated the elections for years is dwindling. However, despite the break from tradition, Hondurans project little faith that their vote will change the circumstances of their reality. CID Gallup executed a poll in September that shows Libre candidate Xiomara Zelaya, wife of disposed President Mel Zelaya, leading with 29% of the popular vote but followed closely by the Nacional Party's Juan Orlando Hernandez with 27%. Given the +-2 margin of error this poll places the two in a dead heat. Although the whole process is complicated by the fact that 33% of the population anticipates that Juan Orlando will be Honduras' next President, possibly due to their "reported doubts about the capacity of the Tribunal Supremo Electoral to organize and execute honest and transparent elections".

The results of the election will be straining enough without the added pressure of the mounting crime and murder rates. Juan Orlando, the anticipated next President is basing his campaign around a strongman iron fist on crime. He has talked about beefing up security or increasing the number of a new hybrid military police force saying: "Voy hacer lo que tengo que hacer!" (I am going to do what needs to be done!) Numbers of these new military police have already begun training and

Billy Joya proposes his legislation to
Congress

operations thanks to what is known as Law 747 or the Billy Joya Law. Billy Joya is one of Honduras' most controversial figures forming part of one of Honduras' most notorious death squads, Battalion 316, in the 1980s. Today, he is running for Congress with the Patriotic Alliance Party, works as a political consultant, and pushed through this law creating a situation very similar to martial law in some parts of the country. 

Candidate Juan Orlando draws a stark dichotomy between right and wrong when it comes to security-right being the Law 747 or martial law and wrong returning the military to the barracks. He insinuates that his political opponents favor taking Honduras down the bad road returning the army to the barracks and permitting crime to prevail. Perhaps he has chosen his allies correctly, given the Central American tendency to rely on military intervention when politics become too convoluted, or perhaps he truly believes in martial law. One thing is clear, if he is elected there will be an increased gun presence on the streets, hopefully in the hands of the “good guys,” but if he loses will the army return to the barracks peacefully?

Where are the youth in all of this? Tragically there is a distinct sense of apathy among many Honduran youth. They have traditionally turned out to vote in low numbers and made little effort to inform themselves on the issues. However, this year a new trend is emerging. PAC and Libre have motivated young voters – this excitement is obvious in their online presence PAC, Libre. In fact, the age of new media has arrived to Honduras in full and traditional Nacional and Liberal parties have also adopted and elevated youth organizers to the forefront. OYE has cultivated political awareness through workshops with its scholars and is proud to see seven of its scholars and staff members participate as election monitors with Caritas Yoro, an international development NGO, and the Tribunal Supremo Electoral, the Honduran institution charged holding the elections.

However, it doesn't end there. Youth are taking actions, starting movements, and becoming involved. At the Conference on Honduras, the volunteer movement Jovenes Contra La Violencia (Youth Against Violence) presented their strategies and actions around reducing the violence in Honduras. They have executed unique projects on a complete volunteer basis and developed a real youth movement. Several OYE students  like Gerald Velasquez, form part of the movement, and OYE looks forward to future collaborations with these inspiring youth.

"If there were more art schools than military outposts, there would be more guitars and than rifles, and more artists than assassins!" - Gerald Velasquez

These hard times have make great leaders-at OYE we are cultivating strong resilient youth capable of making positive changes for themselves and their communities.

After writing this article I asked my dear friend Morgan to take a look at it. She usually provides me with my best insights-makes me question if they are my insights at all. She commented that the reality of what our Honduran friends and co-workers live through is crazy. We are living in the same country and under the same conditions, but we have an exit. When the going gets to tough we know that we can always return to the US or continue traveling. We have options. Many of our friends, co-workers, and the students here do not have those options. Their lives are here, there families are here, and their futures are here. Morgan remarked, "I will be forever grateful (yet deeply saddened) that I have witnessed these atrocities." There is always a silver lining and something good always comes out of a bad situation. I consider myself blessed to have met the strong and resilient people that form part of my community here in OYE and Honduras. I believe that the atrocities we live today are producing youth capable of incredible changes.

Radio Foro - Youth Unemployment

Yarli Yanez presents: Radio Foro Desempleo
Background-Panelists Walter Molinari,
Maria Luisa Regalado, Lic. Jose Antonio Hernandez

“We dream about finishing our studies, growing up, and finding a great dignified job, but the reality that we are living is something very different” – Yarli Yanez.

Honduras is a young country! Even regionally it has a shockingly high birth rate and large population of dependents. Here it is common for a youth between the age of 13 and 21 to leave school to in order to work or, if they are lucky, work to put themselves through school and support their family. However, youth employment opportunities are less abundant than the scarce opportunities existing for adults. Therefore, there is high demand for work among youth resulting in unfair working conditions. If a youth is fortunate enough to find a job they are likely to face challenges obtaining a legal wage, working dignified hours, and continuing to study.

OYE Scholar, Gladys Recarte

Challenges are amplified when gender is introduced as a second variable. The US, where a female CEO still receives 20% less than a male peer, appears progressive beyond belief when compared to Honduran society. In Honduras women typically enter the workforce at age 15, approximately 56% of the country’s women are unemployed as employers favor male candidates, and 26% of young women fall into the unique category known as NiNis. A NiNi is someone who neither Works (Ni trabaja) nor studies (Ni estudia). Conditions of unemployment and under-employment produce dangerous results in the society like gender inequality, income inequality, migration, and poverty to name a few.

OYE’s Second Radio Forum sought to address this issue by promoting up a dialogue and engaging El Progreso’s youth population in a civic activity.

Over 200 people crowded into the upstairs conference space at OYE to participate in OYE’s second Radio Forum on Youth Employment. The event, hosted by OYE’s Radio Ritmo Online Group, invited the participation of local high school students, business representatives, civil society associations, and municipal leaders to engage each other on the topic of youth employment. Yarli Yanez, the Ritmo Online coordinator, served as mistress of ceremony among the panelists Walter Molinari from KM2 Solutions, Maria Luisa Regalado from the Honduran Women’s Collective, and Jose Antonio Zuniga the Regional Chief of the Secretary of Employment.

Panelists Walter Molinari, Maria Luisa Regalado, and Jose Antonio Zuniga

The forum addressed the pressing issues of youth employment, unemployment, and under-employment in a manner that was particularly effective engaging the young audience. The panelists offered distinct points of view, and Yarli was sure to leave the students with concise and concrete understandings of the complicated themes presented.

The forum highlighted some of the causes affecting youth unemployment in the country:

a.     Lack of technical training and opportunity

b.     Lack of education

c.      Political Corruption

d.     Rural to urban migration

And structural issues:

e.     Unequal distribution of land/resources

f.      Uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources

g.     An inefficient governing system that neglects labor rights

Over 180 students formed the audience, coming from four
local high schools.

It is not easy to hold the attention of 200 high school students, but as the panelists analyzed the causes, reality, and outcome of Honduras’ youth labor situation the audience listened with impressive attention. The forum was addressing an issue that the youth audience lives day in and day out.

Coordinated with the Radio Forum, OYE’s Adobe Yoice Voice’s program presented a short feature film, Unemployed, depicting the reality of youth labor in Honduras. Sandra Fiallos, the program’s coordinator, partnered with volunteer Dylan Cassidy to direct and film. They worked with a team of 20+ OYE scholars and volunteers to write the script, design the storyboard, film, and edit. The final product is the first OYE’s first feature film by Adobe Youth Voices. We look forward to many more.

Why be an employee and not an employer? – Asks Walter- Maybe we can think back to the colonization – its conditioning

Walter Molinari – “When we ask ourselves why are we training to be employees and not employers, perhaps we need to think back to the colonization and years of conditioning.”

View the Youth Employment Video!

Honduras 4 OYE - "How do you feel?"

As we piled art, easels, magazines, and ourselves into the NGO pick-up truck we really didn’t know what to expect from the day. Months of planning and groundwork were about to come to a head. Together with Km2 Solutions and Seattle International Foundation we were about to host our first public conference on youth development.

Volunteers from the National Beverage
Co. Collect signatures from guests.

The event, Honduras 4 OYE, served to both celebrate the new alliances OYE has formed with private businesses in San Pedro Sula and promote our philosophy of youth development. The event was born from a conversation between Walter Molinari and Mauricio Vivero during a conference hosted by SIF in Guatemala, forging new relationships with the Honduran business community and some of those businesses most active in youth development.

Left to right; Walter, Yarli, and Mauricio

Walter, a new member of the OYE Board of Directors, has grown close to the organization through his role as Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator for KM2 Solutions, which took the lead in sponsoring the event. 

We arrived at Altia Business Park, where the event would be hosted, with plenty of time to explore the scene and prepare for the event. The event took place in the Music Salon on the second floor of the park’s Recreation Center, Recxen. The building, modern, flashy, and comfortably built, is a breathtaking change of scenery from anything an OYE student is used to. The Rec. Center is an unparalleled candy shop for young-adults, housing video games, pool tables, and even a lounge with complimentary iPads. The words culture shock might be used to describe the first reactions OYE students had upon arrival, but I would suggest another word, perhaps, awe, bliss, or joy. No sooner had the students dropped their boxes of art and magazines than they began posing for pictures.

Having visited the building myself, I half expected the excitement of the OYE students and allocated 2 hours of preparation time to ensure that everything went smoothly.  OYE displayed paintings and magazine issues created by its civic engagement projects and projected a playlist of inspiring OYE videos.  In pairs of two, OYE scholars and staff awaited the guests on the first floor. We welcomed business leaders and representatives from Cargill, Unitec, Dermalaser, Altia, the National Brewing Company, news media, and other NGOs.

Guests included students from Unitec, staff from the NGO PASMO, and
many more.

Yarli Brizuela, a member of OYE’s Radio program, served as the Mistress of Ceremony, inaugurating the event, thanking the guests, and introducing Mauricio Vivero. Mauricio, Seattle International Foundation’s Executive Director, addressed the crowd with kind words for OYE, as well as his perspective on youth development. His inspiring presentation captured the attention of the audience and set the pace for the rest of the event.

Maria de los Angeles Mejia followed Mauricio, highlighting how OYE works to empower youth. She emphasized the unique nature of OYE’s hands-on education in youth leadership and civic engagement, where youth beneficiaries contribute to their own projects and work to engage and empower other local youth. As she concluded her presentation she introduced a product of OYE youth development programs, Sandra Fiallos.

Sandra shares her story.

Sandra stole the show. She shared her personal story and testimony as an OYE scholarship student. Those present experienced a range of emotions as she remembered the powerful changes OYE has caused in her life. Describing the shy, timid, frustrated girl who arrived to OYE, it was hard to recognize the capable and eloquent young lady standing before us. Sandra’s five years of formation in OYE have produced a strong leader and an engaging individual, whose honest account of OYE and her personal growth left the audience speechless.

Luckily, Walter Molinari, KM2’s Coordinator of Corporate Social Responsibility, was ready to pick-up where Sandra left off.  He emphasized the importance of engaging and empowering youth, explained the unique nature of the Honduras4OYE event, and presented the dynamic relationship formed between KM2, OYE, and Seattle International Foundation. He followed the emotional account by Sandra with examples of concrete actions that can be initiated to unite the for-profit sector with the non-profit to build a stronger society. 

Mauricio, Walter, guests from OCAD, and Representative
 from Cargill.

After the representatives from the four sponsoring businesses spoke, everyone retired to the terrace for refreshments and a chance to socialize. OYE Radio students animated the reception and recorded brief interviews with the guests. Representatives from the businesses had to chance to mingle with OYE students and see for themselves the potential of the youth their donation will empower. 

At the end of a long but enjoyable day we packed everything back into the pickup and headed for home, a much trickier proposal than most can imagine. First we dealt with inclement weather and then unloading at the OYE office. Once all was safely stored in the office, we faced the striking reality that sets the lives of the OYE scholars apart from those fortunate enough to live and work in San Pedro.

The journey back to the houses of scholarship students was precarious to say the least. El Progreso is a small town with a population of nearly 300,000. Population growth vastly outstrips the expansion of infrastructure not to mention security. A general rule states that the more isolated a neighborhood from the center, the more dangerous that neighborhood will generally be. The neighborhoods of most OYE scholars are very isolated.  By 8 pm, taxis stop running to a significant number of the neighborhoods, especially those on the margin of the town. This creates obvious problems for students studying in University or working in other cities. Students need to arrive before the last taxi or bus leaves, and the danger does not end there. Upon arrival to their community students continue running the risk of assault or robbery.

Neris, an OYE student of nearly 5 years, is a special case. She lives in former banana plantation territory, well outsider the geographic area that composes El Progreso. Arriving to her house by car is an hour-long affair down isolated dirt roads, over thin bridges, and through mud. By bus, you can double the travel time because there are no formal stops. Any passenger can signal for the bus driver to pullover and drop them off stretching a lengthy trip into an excruciatingly long trip. Neris has made that journey twice a day every Saturday to participate in OYE. She leaves two hours before she needs to arrive in the morning and is always prompt to return home on time.

Neris posing with Mauricio

This year, Neris enters University and assumes greater responsibility at OYE. She must now travel to El Progreso nearly everyday to coordinate the Radio Project, and when she has classes in San Pedro she will have to add another two hours of round-trip travel to her routine. It takes grit and dedication for someone like Neris to stay in school and stay involved.

Neris did not believe that she would be able to attend the event Honduras 4 OYE due to her rigid travel schedule; the last bus leaves Progreso at 6 pm. I insisted she attend offering to play chauffer and drop her off at her house afterwards.  After all, the event was to celebrate youth empowerment and the opportunities we are generating for deserving youth like Neris. She acquiesced, attended the event, and had the great time that she deserved.

The trip to Neris’ house was much more than I anticipated. Gerald Velasquez, Yarli Yanez, and Alex Clark-Youngblood joined me on my quest to drop Neris off. As we bounced along the dirt roads further and further into the countryside, we each slowly came down from the high of the event. Passing countless crops and villages of farmers we began talking not of the ping-pong tables and video games at Altia but of Cantarito, the country’s version of Hide and Go Seek. Yarli, who lived in the country till she was 8, and Neris talked about the early bedtimes and4 am wake-up calls. We were entering a different world.

I pulled into the small but well kept yard of Neris’ family. It was defined by a short but well made wooden fence, I imagine more for aesthetics than to keep anything in or out. Unlike the city and its margins, Neris and Yarli emphasized the tranquility and peace of country living. Neris invited us to join her for dinner. We ate beans, tortillas, cream, eggs, and hot dogs - the staples of many Honduran diets. The experience was pleasant but in a very surreal way. The food was good and we chatted along, but Gerald had asked me something while we washed our hands before dinner that I couldn’t shake from my head. 

“How do you feel being here after Altia?,” Gerald had asked.  I understood that he packed a lot of meaning into that question. He, too, comes from a small village, possibly even more remote than the one we were in, and the tone of his question was cutting. But, what a great question!

How did I feel, how do I feel now, what was I doing in either of those places? I didn’t and still don’t

know how to answer the question that Gerald asked me because it cuts to the core of development. Last Friday, I saw two different cultures separated by a vast development gap. There is no question that structural inequality has a strong presence in Honduran society, or rather is responsible for a rift between distinct elements of Honduran society. The Honduran state is rife with weak institutions and fails to guarantee the rights of its citizens.

Nearly 50% of Honduras’ population lives in rural areas with inadequate infrastructure condemning the population to violent patterns of migration or likely cycles of poverty.  Over 60% of Honduras’ rural population lives in poverty (IDB). Rural youth are trapped between migration to the dangerous marginal communities surrounding urban centers or a structurally limited education that produces unskilled agricultural workers (campesinos).  Only 13.4% of Honduran youth between the ages of 20 and 21 years had completed high school in 2009 compared with 42% of urban youth within the same age group. Nobody is boasting that 42% of 20 to 21 year olds graduating from high school is a great achievement, but when compared to the rural option it looks pretty good.

So, how did I feel traveling from the modern palace of Honduras’ advanced communications to the rural home of an OYE scholarship student? Well, quite frankly I felt humbled. I continue to feel that way knowing that each one of the students that steps through the doors of OYE is an incredibly determined powerful person who has decided to dedicate their time with the determination to change their life and the lives of their family, friends, and community. They understand the barriers that exist and by being in school or by not having children, they know that they are an exception to the norm and are taking the first steps needed to institute that change.

Gerald said to me, “To us, this is normal, but how do you feel.”

For me it was an extreme juxtaposition and one I’ll never forget, but, at the same time, it is an inequality I will never accept.

Fortaleciendo Liderazgo Local

Por Dunia Perdomo; Coordinadora de Programas

OYE tuvo el beneficio de participar en el  Foro 2013: fortaleciendo liderazgo local de los asociados de Seatle International Foundation.  La reunión se llevó a cabo desde 14 al 16 de marzo en Antigua Guatemala. Dunia Perdomo, Coordinadora de Programas y Proyectos y Yarli Yanes, becada y coordinadora del proyecto de Radio Ritmo Online asistieron a él.

Yarli intervino como panelista en la sesión Programas de Desarrollo de Liderazgo Juvenil. Ella compartió su historia personal y las mejores prácticas de nuestra organización desde su experiencia en los proyectos. Su participación le valió el reconocimiento por los organizadores del evento.

Muchos de los asistentes al evento expresaron su admiración e interés por el concepto de trabajo de nuestra organización. Nuestro modelo de formar líderes a través de la construcción de capacidades en liderazgo e integración de los jóvenes a los proyectos de Arte, Radio, Revista, Deportes y Adobe es un ejemplo tanto para organizaciones locales como para las de la región latinoamericana.

La participación nos deja formación en evaluación de impacto de programas de liderazgo juvenil  y con aliados locales como ASHONPLAFA, FONASIDA, OFRANEH, Alianza de Jóvenes de Puerto Cortés, GOJoven en Honduras, entre otras. Como también lazos con organizaciones regionales como Tan´uxil de Guatemala, Movimiento de Mujeres Nidia White de Nicaragua y la Coalición Panameña por EIS.

OYE Board member Walter Molinari participates in Mayan Ceremony

OYE had the pleasure of participating in the Forum 2013: Strengthening Local Leadership  for all Seattle International Foundation associates. The meeting was held from March 14^th to 16^th in Antigua Guatemala. Dunia Perdomo, our Program and Project Coordinator, and Yarli Yanes, scholarship recipient and Radio Ritmo Online Coordinator participated in the event.

Yarli was asked to be part of the panel Youth Leadership Development Programs. She shared her personal story and best the practices of our organization based on her experience on the OYE projects. Her participation in the panel earned special acknowledgment from the forum organizers.

Most of the participants expressed admiration and interest for the concept of our organization. Our model based on training leaders through a leadership building program and the integration of our kids in the Art, Radio, Magazine, Sports, and Adobe projects is an example for both local organizations and the ones in the greater Latin-American area.

The participation leaves us with greater knowledge on how to evaluate impact in youth leadership programs and new local allies such as ASHONPLAFA, FONASIDA, OFRANEH, Alianza de Jóvenes de Puerto Cortés, GOJoven in Honduras as many others. As well, we made connections with other regional organizations such as Tan´uxil from Guatemala, Movimiento de Mujeres Nidia White from Nicaragua y  Coalición Panameña por EIS.

Its a New Year! Entrega de Becas Welcomes 70 OYE Scholars to 2013

2013 OYE Scholars

I still don’t know how we pulled it all together! A day before the Entrega de Becas, our yearly welcome ceremony for OYE scholars, we were still trading stories about vacation and dusting off the keyboards. Due to unforeseen events we pushed the ceremony forward one day and it was one us before we realized!

Marisol and Dunia Supervising the decorations

Up went the decorations. Gerald, our art program coordinator, doubled as party decorador. He and his students dressed our upstairs conference hall in green and white streamers, they glued together paper globes of matching colors, and hand crafted OYE’s first ever portable display screen for our brand new projector.

We scrambled about the office and about town Friday the 11 putting the finishing touches on the ceremony. We hauled 100 plastic chairs across town and printed out the certificates. In the last 30 minutes we tested the microphones and changed from our sweat soaked tshirts into new, stylish, green OYE Maya logo tshirts that unified the staff anda ll 2013 scholarship students.

Guests of Honor

Doors opened at 1 pm and the familias of scholarship students poured in. They paused briefly in the reception to be bchecked out and for the new OYE student to receive a their their bright green shirt. As everyone filed up stairs moms, dads, brothers, and sisters filled in the back rows and a chatty sea of green flooded the front rows. The number of OYE scholars and familias grew and grew! OYE is never as fun as when its full of students and familias.

At 2 pm the ceremony began, with the opening words of Director Marisol and Vice President of the Board Eduardo Umanzor. Tragically, I took over the reception and waited for ther last few stragglers to wander in while Marisol and Eduardo eloquently pumped up the crowd with OYE’s mission and vision:

Eduardo Umanzor, Mrisol Fuentes, and Dunia Perdomo - From left to right

Mission

OYE’s mission as a community-based, youth-led organization is to develop the leadership and capacity of at-risk Honduran youth who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and might otherwise be drawn to the path of crime, violence, drugs, and/or gang involvement. OYE’s integrated development approach combines formal education, youth capacity building, and community engagement to inspire and equip young people with the awareness and skills they need to take control of their lives. OYE’s model of sustainable, long-term development focuses its efforts on the empowerment of socially conscious youth who will emerge as leaders and agents of positive change in Honduran society.

Vision

OYE envisions a society where all young people, regardless of race, gender, religion, class, sexual orientation, or abilities, are given the opportunity to exercise their leadership potential. Once they are educated and trained as leaders, OYE youth realize the positive impact that young people can have on their communities. In such a society, young people have a powerful voice and know how to effectively use it to create change in their lives and communities.

Fabiola Oro and Oriel Diaz

By the time I made it up we had arrived to the heart of the program. Oriel diaz and Fabiola Oro were revisiting the 2012 year in photos. They shed light on each of OYE’s youth led projects by presenting photos of individuals and groups from Art la Calle, Jovenes Revista, OYE Ritmo (Radio), Copa OYE (Sports), and our capacity building classes. The presentation always gets me, and many others, a little nostalgic for the good times we have shared together. Many family members get excited as they see what their son or daughter will be involved in.  The MCs of the event, Yarli Yanez and Gerald Velasquez, prepared a short presentation explaining the details and goals for OYE’s art, magazine, and radio project in 2013.

MCs Yarli Yanez and Gerald Velasquez

The MCs transitioned from history and facts about OYE to the presentation of OYE’s 2013 scholars. As their names were called each new or old scholar made his or her way to the ceremonial table to receive a certficate presented by a member of the “table of honor.” Presenting the certificates were Director Marisol Fuentes, Program Coordinator Dunia Perdomo, guest of honor Walter Molinari, and Vice-President of the Board of Directors Eduardo Umanzor. From my prospective, it was during this traditionally tedious affair that OYE really identified itself.

When I attend such ceremonies I fear the momento that we indivudally call each beneficiary  to come to the front of the room, shake a hand, receive a diploma, and take a picture-it takes forever! However, this time is was different. That is to say, it was fun! As names were called people cheered and teased and teased back. There bows and cat calls, there were hugs and chuckles, and it was the best awards ceremony I have had the pleasure of participating in. My only issue was that it was far too short – if only we had to budget to support 100 scholars and not just 70! QUE LASTIMA!

A huge thank you goes out to all of you who reached out and donated to OYE over the Holiday Season. The donations at the end of one year are very strong indicators and set the pace for the next. Your support is what allows us to introduce new at-risk youth into the OYE family and make a positive impact in El Progreso, Honduras. Now if you didn’t donate remember its never to late!

Learn about Donating

$50 is a University Scholarship

$30 is a High School Scholarship

$25 Sponsors a capacity building class of Sexual Education

$1 Because no amount is too small

$0 is too small! You can do better than that!