As a precursor to this blog - I just want to say it has been more than a year since I have tried to write journalistically, and as I am not allowed to include the name of my town/ municipality it was a bit awkward. To top it off, i was too shy to ask ppl the questions I had to really make this an actual article, but I gave it a go anyway. Hope you enjoy.
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With posters held high and pom-poms in hand 40 adolescents, ages 12 to 25, marched to the mayor’s office for the first meeting of local officials and youth from the surrounding communities. What began one year ago as 625 adolescents meeting to decide the needs of their respective communities of Lempira, came to a new stepping stone today as the local officials signed their proposal for five new initiatives deemed important for improving this municipality.
As the Honduran national anthem began at 10 a.m. Thursday March 19, 2011, a historic event was in the making, as it also marked the first annual open government for Honduran youth in this municipality. After three days of preparation the 40 youth participants, 2 representatives from every community, were making their mark on history.
The youth in Honduras have the most to lose. If things don’t change to decrease the poverty of Honduras, the youth will be then ones to suffer the consequences. For this reason, the municipality of Lepaera began an initiative with adolescents in May of 2005, to open the doors to the local government and to give their two cents on how things could be improved it their communities. This process is now making its way across Honduras with the hopes of reaching the national level.
With the help of Plan (an organization founded more than 70 years ago that works in 48 developing countries, promoting child rights and lifting millions of children out of poverty), Coneanfo (Comision Nacional para el Desarrollo de la Education Alternativa No Formal), The ETEA Foundation for Development and Cooperation, and Union Europea, this group of young people was brought together to join the fight to be part of the discussion on decreasing poverty and improving ways of life in Honduras.
Using the open field near a water park as a campground, these 40 adolescents along with representatives from Plan and the other three supporting organizations, camped for three days, preparing to meet the local government officials. With support from the four organizations, they youth pin-pointed the five most important problems, prepared their proposal, elected seven representatives - President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and three representatives or the people, and got to know one another on a level that only living in tents together for three days can provide.
The five most important problems the youth of this municipality identified and presented today to the local officials, and the members of congress who came to witness the event, were: drug and alcohol use and trafficking, the lack of medicine and staff in health centers, the quality of streets and the amount of garbage usually occupying them, the destruction of forests, and unemployment.
After a representative of the group of youth read the proposal to the local officials, they took a five minute recess to have a private meeting. Upon returning the mayor gave the youth their decision, saying the five problems they identified were of course very important and that the local officials have no problem working with the adolescents to find solutions and begin solving the problems. Each of the local officials signed the proposal, who were then followed by the member of congress attending this monumental event, the governor of the department of Lempira, and finally the seven elected officials of this group of adolescents.
After deeming the day a success, the group of adolecents made their way back to the water park to debrief with their facilitators. The heat of the day was getting to everyone, so they decided to take full advantage of their location and went swimming to celebrate the piece of history they had just taken part in.
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