Put on your running shoes for the first Race 4 OYE event of 2014.

Since 2010, OYE supporters have organized Race 4 OYE events all over the country, capitalizing on their love for running to promote social good and raise thousands of dollars to support OYE's mission.

Saturday, May 3rd, marks the first Race 4 OYE event of 2014. A team organized by Patrick Ahern, father of co-founder Ana Luisa, will be showing their support for OYE at the 16th Annual Manna 5K Fun Run/Walk at East Potomac Park - Hains Point in Washington D.C.

If you live in Washington D.C., we encourage you to join the Ahern family and friends by registering for the race. While your $30 registration fee goes to support Manna, a NGO dedicated to providing quality housing for low-income persons and families, any additional funds raised go directly towards OYE's scholarship program, which provides over 60 at-risk Honduran youth with the opportunity to continue their high school and university education.

For all of you out there who believe in OYE's mission and the potential of our youth, regardless of whether or not you are a runner or whether or not you are a DC'er, we hope you will join us by making a contribution to this effort. It is because of the support of people like you that we are able to continue with our mission to empower the at-risk youth of El Progreso who benefit from our integrated educational, leadership and community action programs.

Just last year, three Race 4 OYE efforts raised over $9,000 USD for OYE's programs.

• May 2013 - MANNA 5K Team organized by Patrick Ahern raised $2,775 USD
• October 2013 - NY Marathon ran by Sam Vigersky raised $4,315 USD
• November 2013 - Richmond Half-Marathon ran by Matt Trybus and Mary Clay Thomas raised $2,225 USD

Help us kick off 2014's Race 4 OYE fundraising efforts with a successful first campaign. With your support, we can surpass last year's fundraising by miles. (Pun intended.)

To join the Ahern family and friends at the race, you can register HERE.

To make a financial contribution to support this effort, visit our CrowdRise campaign HERE.

Welcome back, UW Oshkosh!

On March 22nd, OYE had the pleasure of once again hosting our friends from the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh. This year, we welcomed nine new student volunteers and welcomed back their student advisor, Chelsea Redger.

As with all volunteers that pass through OYE's doors, we strive to provide a well-rounded experience that leaves our volunteers with a better sense of Honduran reality and the feeling of being a part of creating positive change in Honduras. We accomplish this by offering a variety of academic, cultural and community engagement activities, all of which promote cultural exchange and interaction between the volunteers, OYE scholars and the local community.

Get Ready! Only four days until Indiegogo Campaign Launch for OYE's Scholarship Program.

As many of you know, OYE initially started out as a small-scale scholarship program to give Honduran youth of El Progreso something that neither their government nor their families could provide: the opportunity to pursue high school and university-level education and break the cycle of poverty in which they lived.

While OYE has expanded its programs in recent years to include capacity-building and leadership workshops and five diverse community engagement projects, our academic scholarship program continues to be a pillar of OYE’s work with at-risk youth in El Progreso. Without this scholarship, many of our remarkable youth leaders would not be able to continue their pursuit of education and would rather be forced to prematurely enter the labor force to provide to the family income.

In the interest of promoting our scholarship program, we are excited to announce the April 8^th launch of a campaign (via Indiegogo) to raise $2500 for the scholarships of four of our youth coordinators. Without the initiative and dedication of our youth coordinators, OYE would not be what it is today.

ETA: Our Indiegogo campaign is now live. Click HERE to donate now!

In preparation for this campaign, I asked each of the four featured scholars to provide a short biography – focusing on their education, family and their experience in OYE. Here are the results.

Meet Heyli. Heyli is 18 years-old and in her final year of high school. She lives with her aunt and cousin in El Progreso, while the rest of her family – including her parents – live two hours away in the town of Siguatepeque. After four years in OYE, she has distinguished herself as a leader among her peers and currently serves as co-coordinator for OYE’s newly formalized sports program, Deportes.

To Heyli, OYE is so much more than just a scholarship program. Through her time in OYE, she has gained confidence in herself, cultivated her interpersonal skills, learned and developed new skills, and become more extroverted in many aspects of her life, which has allowed her to feel more at ease in social settings and relate better to her peers and those around her.

In her 18 years, Heyli has experienced many challenges and disappointments, yet she refuses to let these experiences define her and her future. In her words, “Life presents us with many challenges, but if we know how to face and overcome these challenges, they become our accomplishments. Of all my accomplishments, I am most proud of becoming a strong leader, student and person.”

This year, Heyli is on the cusp of accomplishing one of her dreams, graduating from high school with honors and a positive self-image. With your donation, we can provide the economic means to support Heyli’s dream of graduating high school.

Meet Erick. Erick is 19 years-old and currently in his second year at a private technological university in San Pedro Sula where he studies electronic engineering. Hailing from a small nuclear family, he lives with his mother and older brother in El Progreso. After eight years in OYE and participation in a variety of community engagement programs, including the mazagine and design programs, Erick has distinguished himself as co-coordinator of OYE’s sports program, which found its origins in OYE’s annual soccer tournament. Erick lives and breathes fútbol, which made his selection as co-coordinator of the newly formalized sports program a clear and natural choice.

Considering OYE has been a significant part of his life since his early adolescence, Erick’s appreciation of and affection towards OYE is undeniable. In his own words: “OYE is a second family to me. It is a place where I share experiences with my peers and learn important skills that serve me in different aspects of my life.” Through his time in OYE, Erick has come to appreciate the value of working with peers with different personalities and interests and overcome his fear of speaking in public and leading his peers. In addition to university and OYE, Erick maintains a part-time job as a teacher at a local school to contribute to the family income, which he considers one of his greatest achievements to date.

Meet Jefry. Jefry is 17 years old and started university this year at the national public university in San Pedro Sula, where he studies mathematics. Jefry lives with his mother and his six siblings, three older and three younger. In his fourth year in OYE and in the art program, Jefry was selected as one of the three youth coordinators of Arte La Calle, specifically coordinating one of OYE’s longest standing and most visible initiatives – murals.

Looking at his paintings and mural work, you would never guess that Jefry was not a “born artist.” Recalling his first months in OYE, Jefry confesses that he was one of the last first-year scholarship students to pick a project. While he ultimately chose the art program, his inclination was based not on any previous experience or penchant for art, but rather because of his preference for the leadership style of a former art coordinator, his predecessor and one of OYE’s finest leaders. During the past four years, Jefry has spent countless hours at OYE before and after classes practicing and honing his artistic skills. This dedication did not go unnoticed as he was selected by his peers and OYE staff as one of OYE’s eight youth coordinators this year.

Jefry humbly acknowledges OYE’s positive impact on his life. He recalls a time not long ago when he was nearly forced to drop out of high school because he simply could not find the money to continue; however, with his OYE scholarship and the support of his faithful friends and peers, Jefry was able to finish high school and is now pursuing a university education.

Meet Claudia. Claudia is 19 years old and currently in her second year at the national public university in San Pedro Sula, where she is pursuing a degree in educational administration. She lives in El Progreso with her parents and two sisters. Like many of her peers, Claudia’s father is employed at a factory and her mother takes care of the home. After four years in OYE as a participant in the art program, Arte La Calle, Claudia has risen to become one of its three youth coordinators, specifically coordinating the production of art pieces to exhibit and sell to promote auto-sustainability of the program.

While OYE’s scholarship program serves as a motivation to continue her studies, Claudia’s experience in OYE transcends this simple fact. Through the various capacity-building workshops OYE offers, her work as receptionist and her community outreach experience in the art program, Claudia has developed her leadership and organizational skills and learned the value of sharing and serving the community around her. A testament to the value of the capacity-building and leadership program, Claudia states: “These workshops have allowed me to expand my knowledge on a variety of topics that are of great importance as we are able to apply so much of what we learn in our daily lives.” Claudia herself perfectly exemplifies this statement. Furthermore, she does not only apply the knowledge and skills she has acquired in her personal life, but she has also truly given the best of herself to OYE, most recently becoming a youth coordinator of Arte La Calle, one of OYE’s most successful and celebrated programs.

In Honduras, only a small percentage of youth have the opportunity to attend university and an even smaller percentage graduate. With your donation, we can provide Claudia with the economic support to continue to pursue her degree in educational administration and become one of a hopefully ever-increasing group of university graduates.

We are calling on YOU – former and current volunteers, staff and committed supporters – to help US give these four individuals the opportunity to continue their pursuit of higher education and create positive change in their lives and communities.

To show your solidarity for OYE’s mission and your support of our youth, we invite you to join us in this campaign. Upon the campaign launch on Tuesday, April 8^th, we encourage all of you on Facebook to change your profile picture to our campaign logo (above) and promote the campaign among your friends, family and coworkers. With your help, we are confident we can achieve this goal and provide the hope of another year of education for four of our youth coordinators.

The Super Becados - A Team that Works

If you’ve worked or are social with people who work at NGOs you’ve heard the age-old adage “overworked and under-paid.” That’s precisely how an NGO should be running because at the end of the day as much of the money flowing in, in our case largely from individual donors’ pockets is earmarked to go directly towards the organizations mission.  Many people in the field take on impossible loads of work and responsibility that would be handsomely rewarded were the projects producing a monetary profit instead of social good. However, the opportunity to know that one’s work is viewed both qualitatively and quantitatively as improving societal outcomes or contributing to development is a very positive externality, attracting people to the heavy workloads and sacrifices of small non-profits.

OYE is no exception. Like any great NGO, OYE funnels your generous donations as directly into its programs to empower at-risk Honduran youth as possible. In 2013 OYE operated with only three full-time staff members and one part-time accountant. In 2014 the team has changed just slightly, bring our account Carlos Galeas on board full-time (congrats Carlos!). With such a trim streamlined team how does OYE run a scholarship program, personal and professional capacity building classes, an art program, a sports program, a magazine program, a graphic design program, and a radio program?

The answer is very creatively. 

As OYE approaches the midway point of January 2014 it is midway through an iterative training process for new youth leaders. These leaders, or project coordinators, are the key to OYE’s ability to achieve so much with such a limited professional staff. So let’s take a look at how this works:

OYE has adopted a philosophy that permits our actions to be both a means to an end and an end in themselves. That is to say that OYE’s mission is to create socially conscious youth leaders that serve as agent of positive change in their communities, but to achieve that we must rely on OYE’s own socially conscious youth leaders, our youth coordinators. Patrick Ahern, a long time OYE volunteer, has affably dubbed these youth coordinators “Superbecados.”

Superbecados are the youth that demonstrate strong leadership qualities and a commitment to see OYE’s youth projects grow. We have been blessed with incredible Superbecados over the years like Yarli Yanez, Gerald Velasquez, and Fabiola Oro who have taken the Radio, Art, and Magazine projects to new astounding new heights.
In 2014 we are proud to introduce a new group of Superbecados. These are youth that have excelled as leaders and members of their respective projects. With no further ado OYE is proud to present OYE’s keys to success in 2014-its civic engagement project coordinators or Superbecados: 

•  Sports – Erick Estrada and Heili Aguilar
•  Revista Jovenes (magazine) – Fabiola Oro
•  Design (Adobe) – Oscar Osorio
•  Radio Ritmo Online – Heydi Reyes
• Arte la Calle – Jefry  Yoel, Yosseth Pacheco, and Claudia Pavon 

Dunia, our Program Coordinator, has dedicated the month of January to developing the skills these youth will need to succeed as Superbecados. She has developed a comprehensive training program including modules of leadership, conflict resolution, assigning roles, developing profiles, OYE’s internal politics, and the development and administration of projects.

Stay tuned to see these Superbecados guide their projects into new uncharted waters expanding OYE’s impact and empowering other at-risk Honduran youth.

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.

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.

OYE el Cambio: Summer 2012 Newsletter

Open publication - Free publishing - More art

Check it out! OYE´s latest newsletter is hot off the presses! (or internet)

OYE's New Mural - El Nuevo Mural de OYE

OYE's Newest Mural

By Chris Benedict

My inspiration for the design came from the work of Shepard Fairey, who is most famous for his widely popular “HOPE” posters during Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.  Fairey, however, is also known for his “Obey Giant” campaign in which he “attempts to enable people to see clearly something that is right before their eyes but obscured; things that are so taken for granted that they are muted by abstract observation.”  Just as his campaign seeks to arouse curiosity and a search for deeper, perhaps hidden meaning, the individual defines the meaning of this artwork, free from any predetermined significance.  “Imaginen Su Futuro,” or “Envision Your Future,” might be intended to encourage the discovery one’s potential, working towards a goal, or any number of things depending on the viewer, things that are right before their eyes though possibly unclear, things OYE can help accomplish.

Volunteers Jenlain Coyle and Chris Benedict

Mi inspiración para el diseño vino de las obras de Shepard Fairey, que es más conocido por sus carteles extensivamente populares de “HOPE,” o “ESPERANZA,” durante la campaña presidencial de Barack Obama. Fairey, sin embargo, también es conocido por su campaña de “Obey Giant,” en lo cual él “intenta posibilitar que la gente vea algo que esté directamente enfrente de sus ojos pero escondidos; cosas que son tan tomados por hecho que son ocultados por la observación abstracta.” Igual a como su campaña busca despertar la curiosidad y encontrar un significado más profundo o, posiblemente, escondido, el individuo define el significado de esta obra, libre de cualquier definición predeterminado. La intención de “Imaginen Su Futuro” podría ser fomentar el descubrimiento del potencial de uno, trabajar hacia un objetivo, o cualquier cantidad de cosas dependiendo del observador, cosas que están directamente enfrente de sus ojos pero posiblemente poco claros, cosas que OYE puede ayudar a realizar.

OYE - ¡VIVE SALUDABLE!

El pasado sábado 7 de Julio, 2012, se llevó a cabo en OYE, un seminario acerca de la nutrición y el ejercicio, para fomentar buenos hábitos en cada uno de los becados, asegurando así la alimentación y la actividad física ideal para una vida sana y larga.

Se comenzó el seminario con una dinámica explicando el peligro que conlleva el hábito de tomar bebidas gaseosas y jugos artificiales. Cuando se les explicó que cada botella de Coca Cola contiene más de 11 cucharaditas de azúcar, los muchachos se sorprendieron.

La sorpresa fue aún más grande cuando se les explicó que el jugo “natural” del Valle que toman normalmente para cuidar su salud, contiene aún más azúcar que la Coca-Cola, y que las bebidas energéticas que suelen tomar para levantar ánimos, en realidad son muy dañinas para la salud.

La mezcla de ingredientes que contienen las bebidas energéticas es muy peligrosa, ya que las cantidades de azúcar, cafeína, ginseng, guarana y demás químicos, suben la presión por 15 minutos, haciéndoles pensar que tienen más energía. Pero el sentimiento solamente dura por unos 15 minutos. Luego las personas se sienten más cansadas, con hambre, y con muchas ganas de beberse otra para volver a sentir energías. Estas bebidas se han comprobado que causan enfermedades del corazón, diabetes, y hasta infartos. Deben alejarse de estas.

Si realmente necesitan energías, opten por una taza de café negro con un poco de canela en polvo. Sabe muy rico y es muy saludable. Si necesitan endulzar su café, no usen cremora. Solamente agreguen media cucharadita de miel de abeja o el endulzante bajo en calorías llamado “Stevia”. No utilicen marcas como Splenda, Sweet ‘n’ Lo, Equal, etc. ya que estas están ligadas con ciertos cánceres.

Otra manera aún más saludable para darle al cuerpo y mente energía durante el día es comiendo una manzana. Está científicamente comprobado que una manzana da más energías que el café, ya que contiene una buena mezcla de fructosa (azúcar natural de la fruta), fibra y vitaminas que le dan al cuerpo lo necesario para empezar el día con mucho ánimo.

Otra de las cosas que se mencionaron es que el desayuno es el alimento más importante del día ya que es el responsable de darle al cuerpo la energía apropiada para comenzar el día. El desayuno debe consistir de un balance de proteínas, carbohidratos complejos y grasas saludables.

Un ejemplo de un buen desayuno completo puede ser:

• Una taza de avena hervida con agua. Agregar frutas y canela.
• 2 claras de huevo con vegetales, como espinaca, brócoli, cebolla, ajo, apio, etc.

Otro de los tips claves que se mencionaron es el de siempre leer los ingredientes de cada producto antes de ingerir. Si hay ingredientes que no se pueden ni mencionar, mejor no ingerirlo. También, si uno de los primeros 3-4 ingredientes es azúcar, es mejor no tomarlo/comerlo. Otro de los ingredientes que se deben de evitar es el llamado “high fructose corn syrup”. Si leen esto en algún producto, se aconseja que se vuelva a poner en su lugar.

La forma correcta de vivir una vida saludable es alimentarse bien, NO dejar de comer.

A continuación, se les comparte una lista de comidas ideales para SNACKS o MERIENDAS:

• Una manzana en pedacitos con ½ taza de cuajada, le agrega 1 cucharada de canela en polvo. Luego se pone en el microondas por 30 segundos. Y voila! Tienes la perfecta merienda para después del ejercicio, o cuando tengas ganas de algo dulce, pero saludable a la vez. No me crees que es deliciosa? Te reto a probarla! J
• Almendras enteras, sin sal. Una porción serían 16-20 almendras.
• Apio con crema de almendras.
• Apio con Hummus.
• Ensalada de frutas.

Quiéres hacer un Hummus más saludable?

• Intenta usar crema de almendras en lugar de la crema de ajonjolí al prepararlo.

Te encanta comer sándwiches con crema de maní y jalea?

•  Intenta utilizar crema de almendras y prepara tu propia jalea! Puedes licuar fresas, moras, frambuesas, o la fruta que quieras, agregarle ½ cucharada de jugo de limón, y un paquete de Stevia para endulzar. Luego ponerlo en el pan 100% integral junto con la crema de almendras.
• La crema de almendras no contiene ningún otro ingrediente más que la almendra. La crema de maní contiene aceites, sodio, y azúcar agregada. Con esta información, ahora pueden escoger la mejor opción! J

Sabes que la actividad física es clave para vivir una vida saludable?  Ha sido comprobado que 30 minutos al día ayudan a evitar enfermedades cardíacas.

NO tienes que ir al gimnasio para ejercitarte. Puedes salir a correr, jugar deportes, subir gradas, bailar, jugar, hacer sentadillas, etc.

La clave es moverte. Cuando movemos nuestros cuerpos, se evitan los problemas de circulación, cardíacos, enfermedades como la diabetes, ciertos cánceres, obesidad, etc.

Y la última clave SUPER IMPORTANTE es:

TOMA AGUA! Nuestros cuerpos están constituidos de 80% agua. Esto significa que debemos suplirlo con la cantidad de agua necesaria para el correcto funcionamiento de todos nuestros órganos vitales. El mejor consejo es evitar tomar gaseosas, jugos y tés artificiales y tomar SOLAMENTE agua.

Sabías que…

El 90% de los dolores de cabeza son a causa de deshidratación del cuerpo? La próxima vez que tengas un dolor de cabeza, te sugiero tomarte un vaso grande de agua y esperar 20 minutos antes de tomarte una pastilla. Recuerda, la pastilla solo esconde los síntomas. El agua puede ayudar a tratarlo y mejorarlo.

Compra tabletas de VITAMINA C Y VITAMINA B12. Estas vitaminas a veces no se ingieren suficiente en nuestros alimentos. Por eso, es sugerido tomarlas aparte, para darle sustento al cuerpo.

• La Vitamina C es muy necesaria ya que ayuda a fortalecer el sistema inmunológico, apoya la oxigenación de la sangre, acelera el metabolismo y la movilización de grasas en el cuerpo, apoya la reparación de los músculos en personas que hacen mucho ejercicio, etc.
• La Vitamina B12 es muy importante y en especial para las personas que no comen mucha carne roja. Esta vitamina ayuda a mantener el cerebro sano. A veces los dolores de cabeza son causados por falta de vitamina B12 en el cuerpo.

Así que a tomar Vitamina C y B12 se ha dicho! J

Toma mucha agua, aliméntate correctamente y haz ejercicio y verás que te irás sintiendo mucho mejor día a día. Tu ánimo y autoestima estarán muy altos y te sentirás y verás espectacular.

Cualquier pregunta que tengas, no dudes en escribirme a: vanefaraj@gmail.com

Vanessa Faraj, Ejecutiva de Reclutamiento y Mercadeo de KM2 Solutions, es Licenciada en Mercadotecnia y tiene certificación en nutrición y entrenamiento personal. Algunos de sus pasatiempos son ir al gimnasio, jugar futbol/volleyball/tennis/basketball, cocinar, leer, ver películas, aprender algo nuevo cada día, ayudar a los demás, entrenar a sus amistades en el gimnasio, y mucho más!