As the Regional Team Leader for Latin America and the Caribbean at ICMA, I have had the opportunity to work in many countries but Honduras holds a special place in my heart as it was my first international assignment back in 1993 when I boarded a plane fresh out of Graduate School and worked with the Planning and Development Collaborative (PADCO) to help with the development of the San Pedro Sula Land Use Plan. I have been back several times since then for ICMA-related projects, including a post-Mitch reconstruction project (2000-2001), where we worked in several communities in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa.

I recently spent two weeks in Honduras to conduct an assessment of 3 cities for a pilot project which will focus on the role of municipalities in promoting crime prevention strategies and the implementation of crime prevention through environmental design techniques to create safer spaces for communities. This assessment is part of a Pilot Project funded under a cooperative agreement awarded by USAID’s Urban Program Team to ICMA in September 2011. During the trip I went back to some of those communities, or colonias, as they are called, where I used to work, but things are quite different now. In previous years, I would go out at night with colleagues to conduct community meetings with residents or inaugurate the projects we helped to build, in the case of the post-Mitch programs. Nowadays, crime and violence are prevalent and in order to go into many communities you must have one of the local leaders with you in a recognizable car. You have to roll down your windows when you enter some of the colonias if you have tainted windows on your car and it was recommended to us that we leave around lunchtime and not visit in the afternoons. 

I have to admit that this was a very different feeling for me. Nonetheless, I was never scared when I was there. We met with wonderful people who are struggling to provide opportunities for their children and their communities. There is a stigma attached to the people who live in these communities; however, which has negative repercussions on their lives – difficulty finding jobs, for example. This is something that we were told time and again. Some municipal officials and even police do not even dare go into the communities, with obvious implications for public service delivery and safety. Yet we were there with USAID and I did not feel unsafe. The media doesn’t help the situation with yellow journalism and sensationalism ruling the day. There isn’t a day that goes by without a bloody picture on the front page of a newspaper. The reality is that only a very small minority of Honduran youth are in gangs and involved in perpetrating this violence, yet one can get the impression that most Honduran kids are involved when hearing/seeing the media reports.

And there are wonderful things happening in many communities throughout Honduras. USAID has built Centros de Alcance (community centers) which provide young people with opportunities to play games, exercise, learn to play instruments, use computers, and learn a skill such as hair styling/cutting, welding, air conditioning and cell phone repair in some cases. Through the METAS Project (Improving Education for Work, Learning and Success) USAID is  providing at-risk youth with vocational training and education to help them obtain job skills, knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and life perspectives so they can access the job market, in Honduras and internationally. In addition, there is a rising consciousness that pressure needs to be exerted on the private sector to create more jobs for young people from these communities. That is easier said than done but it is critical – without jobs these kids are at risk. Community centers will only provide temporary refuge for them and training/vocational/educational programs are only useful if they are linked to real jobs. 

A well educated and trained youth will only feel frustrated if they cannot find work. That frustration can lead to even greater problems for kids. The way out of the “risk” that they live with every day is employment. All institutions at all levels of government must be focused on this and must take bold steps to encourage the private sector to create jobs – and conditions for workers which enable them to be productive. Local governments can do a lot to create an enabling environment but the private sector must do its share as well. Maquilas have gotten a sweet deal over the years in Honduras and in many cases have not provided adequate services for their workers or even an adequate (read, minimum) wage. What’s more, they have wreaked havoc on municipal water supplies and damaged the environment. At the very least maquilas and other companies must provide parents with child care and minimum wage and opportunities to learn and move up. Employment has always been a issue in Central America and many other parts of the world (including the US lately) but it is a matter of life and death for many Hondurans now, especially for susceptible young people.

It is critical that government, NGOs, the private sector, religious organizations and other groups get together to discuss how to approach these critical issues related to crime and violence in a more coordinated manner and in a way that leverages what each brings to the table. Employment is only one of many issues which are impacting these communities. ICMA has been promoting the creation and strengthening of Municipal Violence Prevention entities led by municipal governments but which incorporate all groups/sectors/organizations with a stake in promoting public safety and preventing crime and violence. As an organization which works every day to promote and support leaders at the core of better communities, I feel that this work we are doing is really part of our Mission – to ensure that the leaders from these communities are working together to improve their quality of life. In Central America, a better community is a safe community with opportunities for its residents. I’m pretty proud that ICMA International is doing our small part to promote mechanisms that can help create these safer communities and pleased that USAID has provided us with an opportunity to do this, not only under the CityLinks Program but also under other programs funded by other USAID offices. For more information about Citylinks, visit icma.org/citylinks and for details on ICMA International’s programs, visit icma.org/international.