By Amanda Hall | Development Coordinator
Dear Friends,
The last time we checked in with you, we lamented the situation unfolding at the U.S.-Mexico border, where migrant children were being separated from their parents and protectors. Over the past month and a half, a new migration situation has emerged - the caravan.
Fathers, brothers, friends and neighbors of our scholars are among the migrant caravan. They looked on as entire families deserted left their homes behind and have followed their journey from northern Honduras all the way to Tijuana, Mexico.
Living and working on the ground in Honduras, it's not hard to understand why people leave. Despite the central government's rhetoric of change and development, the majority of Honduran youth and families live in poverty and experience violence in their communities. Their struggle to survive is a reality that we live and breathe every day.
What makes the difference between OYE scholars and the young people in the caravan is opportunity. The opportunity to graduate from high school. The opportunity to go to college. The opportunity to hope. The opportunity to turn that hope into action.
You make this work possible.
As so many young Hondurans continue to lose hope of better days at home, our work to educate, empower and engage young Hondurans to become agents of change is more urgent and important than ever. We hope you will continue to support our work moving forward.
In closing, I wanted to take a moment to share an excerpt from a reflection about a dialogue on migration we facilitated with our youth last month.
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We believe that the vast majority of people among the caravan are honest and hard-working men and women, many accompanied by their children, who are desperate for a safer place to live and the opportunity to provide a better life and future for their famiies.
Among the caravan is a 40-something father who hadn't worked in months and carried the burden of providing for his family. A 30-something brother who was a consistent presence in social and religious gatherings. A 20-something best friend who left without saying goodbye.
While many of our scholars do nothave a close family member or friend traveling in the migrant caravan, they have all experienced, at one time or another, the pain and loss of leaving a place, or being left behind by someone they loved. As the dialogue circle progressed, their sadness transformed into empathy; and their empathy transformed into a sense of responsibility and commitment to use the resources and opportunities they have, through OYE, to drive change and create opportunities for others.
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As always, thank you for your commitment to our young people, families and communities. As this year comes to a close, we hope you will give generously to give hope and opportunity to young people in Honduras.
Happy holidays to you and yours!
In appreciation,
Amanda
P.S. We are proud to share that last October 19th, OYE received the local government's top award, named in honor of El Progreso's first mayor "Guillermo J. Baín," in recognition of our commitment to education and youth development in our community.
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