Revista Jovenes; Mayo y Junio

Vacations are Over

Greetings faithful Blog Followers,

The familiar buzz has returned to the offices of OYE! Youth are loitering with intent to learn! This Saturday is the apertura (first day of operations) for OYE's 2013 Capacity Building Classes. On top of the charlas (workshops), OYE's art, radio, magazine, and multi-media project were in full swing today. After 1.5 lagging months of planning the storm of excited youth re-energized the office. It's nice to feel alive!

What were you up to over winter break?

Luis Castro - New Scholarship Student

Luis Castro:

"Over winter break I was working as an assistant at a bakery. Bakery Gladys behind the OYE office."

Returning scholarship student Sthefanie Matute

Sthefanie Alejandra Matute Velasquez: "Every year around  Christmas I organize a marble  tournament in my community, La Mendieta. This year over 25 kids competed in the tournament and even more volunteered to help. In addition to the marbles, we played soccer.

Returning Scholarship student Kevin Cruz

Kevin Cruz:
"I was in Yoro working during vacation. We were harvesting coffee, and finished just a few days before school started back up."

Returning scholarship student Sandra Fiallos.

Sandra Fiallos:
"Over vacation I read. There were two books. One was Porque las Mujeres Aman Demasiado (Why Women Love to Much). Es un libro muy bonito."








So now that everyone has cut their coffee, baked their bread, read their books, and played with their marbles the offices feel alive. The students are jumping into their community engagement projects and joining Dunia Perdomo for capacity building classes. Dunia, who is a former OYE scholar, is the newest team member. As Program Coordinator she has worked hard to prepare this years Capacity Building Curriculum.

Capacity Building Classes

This year OYE has divided its scholars into three distinct levels based on age and experience. Each level convened as a small focus group to select the themes most important to them. Under the leadership of Program Coordinator, Dunia Perdomo, the following themes were selected:

Level I

Valores	23-Feb
Autoestima	2-Mar
Desintegracion familiar	9-Mar
Violencia intrafamiliar	16-Mar
Noviazgo	23-Mar
Sexualidad I	6-Apr
Sexualidad II	13-Apr
Primeros Auxilios I	20-Apr
Primeros Auxilios II	27-Apr
Redes Sociales	4-May
Realidad nacional I	11-May
Realidad nacional II	18-May

Level II

Valores	16-Feb
Autoestima	23-Feb
Adicción a las drogas	2-Mar
Noviazgo	9-Mar
Sexualidad I	16-Mar
Sexualidad II	23-Mar
Embarazo en adolescentes	6-Apr
Primeros Auxilios I	13-Apr
Primeros Auxilios II	20-Apr
Profesionalismo	27-Apr
Redes Sociales	4-May
Influencia de los medios de comunicación	11-May
Política I	18-May
Política II	25-May

Level III

Inteligencia Emocional	16-Feb
Liderazgo	23-Feb
Sexualidad I	2-Mar
Sexualidad II	9-Mar
Historia de Honduras I	16-Mar
Historia de Honduras II	23-Mar
Cultura hondureña	6-Apr
Primeros Auxilios I	13-Apr
Primeros Auxilios II	20-Apr
Técnicas de estudio y creación de un curriculum	27-Apr
Oratoria	4-May
Derechos humanos	11-May
Política I	18-May
Política II	25-May

Special Thanks to KM2

 To a Great Future with KM2 Solutions!

Walter Molinari hands OYE director Marisol Fuentes a
donation of 26,977.60 Lempira, on behalf of KM2 Solutions

OYE is proud to announce the growth of a strong relationship with KM2 Solutions. Beyond the monetary support, OYE is looking forward to building a great relationship and a great future with KM2 Solutions.

KM2 has demonstrated a real desire to contribute to OYE’s philosophy of integrated development and make a difference in its community. This means they are giving more than money. Walter, KM2’s public relations manager, has taken the initiative to reach out to OYE in dynamic ways. We look forward to innovative collaborations with KM2 staff and facilities to bring our capacity building classes to a new level. Ideas for future alliances include incorporating Ted-talks into our capacity building program to touch on pertinent themes and stir a dialogue that will be moderated by professionals form the offices of KM2.

Although KM2 is a multinational organization its staff is principally composed of native Hondurans that have expressed an interest in giving back to their communities.  Although we cannot thank KM2 enough for the financial donation of $27,000 Lempiras, the real story here is the excitement about this vast expansion of OYE’s family here in Honduras.

To the individuals that compose the work force of KM2, we want to give each of you our most sincere gratitude.  Perhaps independently your donation seemed like a small sum or a small sacrifice but together your donations are converted into the hope, self-esteem, and future of at-risk Honduran youth. Your donations will be directly invested into OYE’s programs ensuring that our 50 scholarship students will continue receiving an integrated education that encourages and empowers them to become the voices and leaders of their communities.

Check out KM2 Solutions on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/KM2SolutionsHonduras

Thanks!

Seattle International Foundation Awards OYE with $25,000

The Seattle International Foundation has just approved a grant of $25,000.00 to the Organization for Youth Empowerment (OYE)! Specifically, $20,000 has been allocated to support OYE's work promoting education, youth leadership and youth community action in El Progreso, Honduras. In addition, $5,000 will go to support OYE’s coordination and leadership to convene Seattle International Foundation partners working on youth leadership for a retreat to share best practices and build alliances. This means that OYE will serve as the home base for a powerful conference on youth empowerment involving youth actors from across Central America. OYE extends its warmest gratitude to everyone at Seattle International Foundation, and we accept the honor of hosting the Central American youth retreat with enthusiasm and graciousness. Thank you again for your support, and we look forward to working together this year.

La Fundación Internacional de Seattle acaba de aprobar una subvención de $ 25.000 a OYE Adelante Jóvenes! En concreto, 20.000 dólares van a apoyar el labor de OYE con respecto a la promoción de la educación, el liderazgo juvenil y la acción comunitaria en El Progreso, Yoro, Honduras. Además, $5.000 apoyarán un retiro para los socios regionales de la Fundación Internacional de Seattle que trabajan en el liderazgo juvenil para compartir las mejores prácticas y formar alianzas. OYE servirá como la base de operaciones para una conferenciade de gran alcance sobre el empoderamiento de los jóvenes con la participación de los actores juveniles de toda Centroamerica. OYE extiende su agradecimiento a todos en La Fundación Internacional de Seattle y aceptamos el honor de ser la sede del retiro para los líderes juveniles de Centroamerica con entusiasmo y amabilidad. Gracias de nuevo por su apoyo y esperamos poder trabajar juntos este año.

OYE Scholars Tackle Gender Diversity

This past weekend the becados had a capacity building class on Gender Diversity. This was the second week they had a class on this topic, taught by staff member Michael Solis, who has a master’s degree in human rights law and who has worked on gender diversity issues for years.

The first course on gender diversity focused on representations of gender across religions and cultures. OYE kids examined representations of masculine gods, feminine goddesses, and gods that comprise a fusion of the genders from the religions of India, Japan, ancient Egypt, and ancient Greece, among others. The class continued with a discussion of key terms, like gender identity, sexual orientation, gender conformity, the gender spectrum, and stereotypes, as well as an analysis of two diverging conceptualizations and interpretations of gender.

Hapi, the ancient Egyptian god of the Nile     

Ardhanarishvara, the fusion of Shiva and his consort Shakti 

Masculinized representation of God, or El Señor.

Gender Diversity as seen in modern day pop life. 

This week, the Gender Diversity class took on a new role: debate. OYE students engaged in a guided debate on a controversial issue that arose recently in the United States: Ellen DeGeneres and J.C. Penney. J.C. Penney recently asked Ellen, a lesbian, to be the new spokeswoman for their company. This caused a huge debate because a group called 1 Million Moms felt that Ellen should not be the spokeswoman for J.C. Penney due to her sexual orientation and her “non-traditional values.” (For more information, watch Ellen's response to 1 Million Moms).

The scholars divided into two teams. One team argued as 1 Million Moms and the others argued in favor of Ellen being J.C. Penney's spokeswoman. After ten minutes of discussion, the teams faced each other in the debate. Team 1 introduced their arguments, followed by Team 2. Judges assessed the quality of the debate and named the winning team as Team 2 (pro-Ellen).

The debate was a challenge for the Team 1 students, many of whom were in favor of Ellen being the spokesperson but who had to argue against her. For them, the debate was an exercise in entering the minds of people who think differently.

OYE scholar Adonay Reyes arguing his team's stance before the judges.

The class ended with a reading of the translated Rolling Stones article “One Town’s War on Gay Teens,” assessing the topic of bullying in schools, team suicide, and the lack of leadership in parents and the school system. OYE scholars compared US-based bullying to sexual orientation-based bullying in their schools and brainstormed ways that students, family members, school officials, and politicians could make schools a safer place for all students, regardless of sexual orientation.

Workshop with Dunia Orellana on Sexual Diversity in Honduras

Dunia Orellana's icebreaker for her workshop on "Diversity in Honduras"

OYE received a visit from Dunia Orellana, a 28-year-old human rights activist, film student, and journalist from La Prensa (Honduras’s most widely read newspaper). Dunia came to speak with local youth about the topic of diversity in Honduras, with a focus on sexual diversity. Dunia began the workshop with an icebreaker in which each of the participants split up by month of birth and shared their interests to the rest of the group. The icebreaker went to show how different each and every person was at the workshop and proved why diversity is such an important topic of conversation.

After the icebreaker, Dunia was very explicit in explaining the forum was one for openness and dialogue where all people of whatever religious or political backgrounds were welcome to share their opinions and beliefs. She initiated the dialogue on sexual diversity by detailing certain relevant rights in the Honduran constitution, such as the right to the sanctity of life and the freedom of expression.

Dunia getting to know local youth from OYE and Comvida

"All people have the right to express their sexuality openly, just as they have the right to choose not to express their sexuality,” Dunia said. “And we have to be respectful of whatever choice they make.” 

Dunia mentioned that Honduras is an at-risk country for transgender people, since a disproportionate number of transgender individuals have been murdered over the past five years compared to homicide rates in other countries.

Participating youth launched into a conversation about a topic that is covered almost daily in Honduran media – the debate over whether or not to allow Ricky Martin, an openly gay popstar, to enter the country to give his concert in Tegucigalpa on October 16, 2011. The Evangelical Church submitted a request to the state to deny allowing Ricky Martin to enter the country, arguing that his presence could have a negative impact on Honduran youth. The government has since stated that not allowing Ricky Martin to perform would be "an act of intolerance and a condemnable act of homophobia."

Dunia and local youth engaging in dialogue about sexual identity and diversity

Dunia helped participating youth analyze the issue from a constitutional perspective, using the freedom of expression to show that an artist does have the right to express his or herself freely in Honduras. Youth agreed, with some arguing that because Ricky Martin has been giving concerts around the world ever since he was a teenager (and well before he “came out”) that it would be unfair to misconstrue his impact as an artist simply because he is now openly gay.

The dialogue shifted to other topics, including discrimination in schools, the failure of parents to have serious and adult discussions about sexuality with their children, and the beauty of diversity in varying contexts in Honduras and around the world.

More icebreakers with Dunia! 

Overall, the workshop was a fantastic opportunity to hear from a local and promising leader who fights on daily basis to make her country a more equal and more democratic place that respects the rights and liberties of all people, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, or any other social status. Many thanks to Dunia for coming to OYE and for providing the youth of El Progreso with such and enriching experience.

A day of thought and dialogue among young Honduran leaders.