Educate First-Generation Students in Honduras

Dear Friends,

Since we last checked in, so much has changed around here! 

In July, we completed a small remodeling project in our space in the center of El Progreso to maximize our indoor and outdoor spaces and prepare for gradual reopening. Eager to return to in-person work and programming, and following health an safety protocols, we opened our space to staff and youth leaders in mid-July. Since then, we have started to gradually reopen our space to our network of young people in their families, providing individual academic and emotional support services and facilitating circle discussions and workshops in small groups. To put this all into context, schools in Honduras remain closed and will likely not start a gradual reopening process until early 2022 at the earliest.

In August, in celebration of International Youth Day, we launched our new logo and look. We started the rebranding process back in early 2020. If we are being perfectly honest, it was not an easy road. We explored and came back to the drawing board several times before finally landing on something that truly represented the vitality, boldness and resilience of our young people to transform their lives and our deep connection to and sense of community. This is represented through our custom bold typeface, eagles in flight and oceanic textures that connect us to our roots, ascending lines that weave through our letters and come together to form an arrow as a symbol of transformation and resilience, and a color palette as vibrant and full of life as our young people, organization and community. We also launched our brand new website, which makes it easier than ever to learn more about our work and how you can be a part of it. 

While we may have a new look, physically and digitally, the essence of what we do, why we do it and how it is possible remains the same.

We empower young people to overcome adversity and transform their lives, families and communities. We do it because young people deserve to enjoy their rights and their leadership and participation is critical to create a better world for all of us. And it is possible because of the creativity and generosity of our incredible community of young leaders, staff, volunteers, partners, donors and people like you.

As we move into the holiday season, we hope you know how grateful we are to have you in our community.

In appreciation,
Amanda

Dear Friends,

2020 was a universally tough year, but especially in Honduras, where many communities - including ours - are still recovering from two major hurricanes on top of the continued effects of the pandemic. As we reflect on last year and move forward, we continue to be grateful and humbled by the support of our generous community. Because of you, we had one of our most successful year-end giving campaigns to date!

We also continue to be inspired by the resilience and solidarity of our young people amidst so much adversity. Even as they face challenges of their own, they have been showing up for their community. Last December, in the aftermath of hurricanes Eta and Iota, a group of our young leaders led activities for children and young people in temporary hurricane shelters at local schools, including one where one of our scholarship students was staying with her family after severe flooding forced them to evacuate their home. Another group of young people joined other local organizations to clear out the mud from houses in a nearby community that was hit especially hard by the hurricanes. These are just a couple examples of the many ways and days that our young people have stepped up to support their peers, families and communities in need over the past several months.

We are also happy to report that 35 of our 36 scholarship students in their final year of high school graduated in December! The one remaining student is now completing her schoolwork and is on track to graduate this month. This is an incredible accomplishment in any year, but especially in 2020 where limited devices and Internet connectivity presented significant complications to distance learning. And in January, we hosted our first-ever virtual scholarship welcoming ceremony, where we welcomed 20 new scholarship students and their families into our community. This is always a special time, when everyone is buzzing with excitement for the year ahead. With some spots remaining to be filled and several students still awaiting their university entrance exam results, we will be reopening our application process next month and welcoming even more new scholarship students this spring.

While our space remains closed for the time-being, our staff and board are hard at work developing a plan for gradual reopening that will bring us some much needed face-to-face time while protecting the health and wellbeing of our young people and staff, their families and our broader community. With so much uncertainty still ahead, please continue to keep OYE, our young people and Honduras on your mind and in your heart.

In appreciation,
Amanda