Artist Capacity

Capacity is a Word that gets thrown around the offices of OYE a lot. We have programs of capacity building and all of our students have incredible capacity, but what does this capacity mean to the people that have it?

I attended a drawing class, part of our new Arte La Calle program, and not only did I receive a great lesson in drawing, but I also had the opportunity to talk with some of the OYE students about capacity. We talked about what it was, and what it means.

By the end of the lesson I realized that its true OYE students have incredible capacity. They described to me what this word means, and according to our scholars, capacity is the potential a person has to do something. Moreover, it is the ability to apply ones self to acquire the knowledge necessary to do that thing.

After talking for a while we came to the conclusion that, while everyone has some capacity, we are not necessarily endowed with the same type of capacity. In this vein, the program of art that I attended today is a perfect example. Gerald, the OYE scholar that was instructing us has an incredible capacity for making and teaching art. When he looks at an object he sees it through the eyes of an artistic and can reproduce its slightest shadow. He can look at an image and see how to draw it with a mind for the shadows and reflections. As a teacher he demonstrates a tremendous capacity of patience with his raucous students. When all was said and done, those of us that participated in his class produced some nice works of art, even if they could not rival those of Gerald. We all had the capacity to produce art, but we might not have realized it without the guidance of Gerald.

This is the type of capacity and capacity building OYE is talking about. Capacity is simply the ability to learn to do. Capacity is nothing without the desire to act, and it is amplified when a helping hand or guidance is lent to another. As we hope to create a village of socially engaged artists through our art program, we hope to create a community of socially conscious and responsible citizens through our capacity classes.

Calling all American University students!

Thanks to the hard work of trip leaders and AU students Sophia Higgins and Sarah McIntosh, American University will be hosting an Alternative Spring Break trip to Honduras with OYE!  Check out the itinerary and recent news at http://www.american.edu/ocl/volunteer/Alternative-Breaks-Honduras-2011.cfm .


Make sure to sign up for the trip of a life time!

Convivio with San Alberto Hurtado

Saturday, August 21st OYE students joined their peers from El Progreso´s San Alberto Hurtado, a local scholarship organization, in Progreseño theater - La Fragua. Throughout the afternoon students shared the mission and work of each of their respective organizations, as well as skits and dances that groups from each organization created.

The afternoon provided incredible opportunities to connect both communities of Progreseño students. In addition the communities were able to share missions, current projects, and future activities. As the day came to close with both organizations singing and dancing together it was obvious to see that the day successfully brought the communites together. OYE and its students are excited to participate in more events like this one in the future!

Charity Poker Tournament in support of OYE!

OYE would like to thank the Ahern Family for their generous support during a charity poker tournament held in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, benefiting OYE and two other Ahern family causes. Thanks to everyone who participated in making this event such a success and a ton of fun.

Marcha de la Joventud

At 7:30 AM OYE students crowded into the office. Dressed alike in blue OYE Mi Voz shirts, they formed a sea of blue with picket signs floating in hand. At 8 o-clock the sea of youth poured out of the office to join the march. Hundreds of students from local high schools and other youth foundations convened at El Progreso's central park. Youth from accross the city came to this event, organized by Unifec and Comvida, to demonstrate their voice and promote their rights. Themes of the march included equal rights with no discrimination based on race, color, sex, language, or religion.





Furthermore, the youth participating in this event demanded that their government be responible to protect youth from physical and mental abuse, mistreatment, and exploitation.

OYE students appeared to enjoy themselves and feel very at home participating in such an event. The themes of the event mirrored many themes that OYE touches upon in our capacity programs and coincides very well with our global vision and the mission of our foundation. To see OYE students occupying public space and to demonstrate their voice, their power, and demand to be heard and respected was a awesome site.



As the event came to a close, representatives from various youth oriented organizations were asked to speak. Representatives from local high schools said a few words, a couple religious organizations shared their sentiments, and Yarli Yanes spoke for OYE.

In conclusion the event was well organized and the youth were well represented. True to the culture of Honduras' youth the event was fun with music and dancing. The youth demonstrated their potential as leaders and potential to raise their voices in unision to ask for their rights to be defended. After events such as this I can't help but think that both the future and the present look very bright for this country.