Support Girls Leading Change in Honduras

Dear Friends,

Amidst the continued coronavirus lockdown, our work continues and is more important than ever.

With support from our community, OYE has continued to provide monthy scholarship support to 60 adolescent girls and young women (and 45 boys and young men) to help cover their basic needs and support at-home learning during the pandemic. Each month, members of our staff distribute scholarship checks by neighborhood, providing an opportunity for quick and socially distanced face-to-face check-ins. While there have been reported and suspected COVID cases among our staff, scholars and their immedate family members, we are fortunate to share that there have been very few serious hospitalizations and no deaths so far.

There is still so much uncertainty about how and when this school year will come to a close. In the meantime, our young scholars and leaders receive ongoing support to keep up with their schoolwork, participate in workshops to promote their mental and physical health and continue to develop critical 21st century skills through virtual arts, media and sports workshops and sessions every week. Through an initaitive of the Girls' Voices Movement, over 20 of our adolescent girls are participating in a free online videography course alongside girls across the globe to build their digital storytelling skills and share their experiences in this unique and challenging time.

In other news, adolescent girls of "Las Niñas Lideran el Cambio" (Girls Leading Change) launched a social media campaign on World Sexual Health Day (September 4th) to continue their push for the passing of a local public policy on comprehensive sex education. In a short video, 15-year-old girl leader and advocate Mariela expresses that while it is understandable that local government priorities have shifted to respond to the the pandemic and needs of the population, problems like adolescent pregnancy do not stop and are on the rise. We stand with, support and encourage our adolescent girl leaders as they advocate for a local change that will equip their peers and young people in our community with the knowledge and tools to make healthy choices about their sexual and social relationships, prevent unwanted pregnancies, and recognize and defend themselves from sexual violence and abuse at home and out in the world.

As always, thank you for being a part of this community and supporting our work to educate and empower girls and young women in Honduras.

In appreciation,
Amanda

P.S. This summer we launched the Adelante Circle, a global community of monthly donors who believe in the transformative power of education. For those if you who are already monthly donors, thank you! For more information, I invite you to visit our website.

Dear Friends,

On March 8th, we joined the world in conmemorating International Women's Day. A day to reflect on the struggle and achievements of generations past and inspire new generation of activists to continue the movement. A day to recognize how far we have come but also how far we still have to go to achieve gender equality.

To conmemorate the occasion, a team of gender and sex education youth promoters - accompanied and guided by the youth leaders of our gender, sexuality and masculinity programming - organized a series of activites to reflect on the situation of girls and women in Honduras, the challenges they face and the struggles they undertake to defind their rights and build a more just and equitable world for all. They:

• Wrote and dramatized a spin on popular tales, specifically Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood, to exemplify violent relationships and street harrassment.
• Told stories of Honduran women activists, including the late environmental and indigenous activist Berta Cáceres, and later painted their reflections and key messages on paper
• Shared national statistics on gender-based violence and femicide and highlighted how mainstream media downplays and reports on violence against women.

In every space, the youth promoter team asked questions to promote deeper thinking and reflection among participants.

Soany, age 23, shared the following reflection: "We shouldn't romanticize anyone. That is an error. Sometimes we believe that for love we should put up with anything and think that someone is perfect. No. We should be realistic, see their flaws and try to work through them. And if we can't, then each person should go his or her direction. Because if we can't talk through things and understand each other, things will always end badly."

Earlier this year, in January, two young women leaders represented OYE at a convening of Global Fund for Children grantee organizations. At the same time, two of our adolescent girl leaders participated in the first generation of Rise Up's initiative 'Girls' Voices" in Honduras. For the first time, Rise Up invited adolescent girls to participate as fellows alongside mentors from their respective organizations for a week of girl-led and girl-centered advocacy training. At the end of the training, OYE was invited to submit a proposal for a local advocacy project on an issue affecting girls in our community. Our girls decided that they wanted to finish what they started and continue to advocate for the passing of a local public policy to make comprehensive sexuality education mandatory in public schools. You can read more about this initiative in previous reports.

Also in January, after a three-step selection process - including a written application, interview and home visit, - we welcomed 21 aspiring adolescent girls and young women scholars (and 11 adolescent boys and young men) to our signature "Adelante Jóvenes" Scholarship Program. We can't wait to see and share how they grow as scholars and leaders over the course of the coming year.

As always, thank you for being a part of this community and believing in the potential of girls and young women to change their lives, families and communities for the better.

In appreciation,
Amanda

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