Mobilizing Young People to Invest in Their Home Communities in Central America

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Mar 15, 2022, 09:00 ET

The Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Glasswing International partner to develop a service corps of young Guatemalans and Hondurans to choose transformation at home over migration to the U.S.

NEW YORK, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Glasswing International today announced a $13.2 million grant from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to pilot a youth service corps in Guatemala and Honduras to harness the power of young people to drive change and prosper in their own communities rather than migrate to the U.S. Inspired by the AmeriCorps program in the U.S., Glasswing's Central American Youth Corps will enable young women and men, ages 15-22, to have a first job experience in local community organizations, public schools, clinics, environmental groups, municipalities, and other entities working to strengthen communities in Guatemala and Honduras.

Young people from Comitancillo in the department of San Marcos in Guatemala begin a new lesson plan in collaboration with local implementing partner Tierra Nueva.

Young people from the community of Cofradia carry out an intervention at a public school in the Cortes department of Honduras with the support of artist Denis Berrios in collaboration with local implementing partner FUNADEH (Fundación Nacional para el Desarrollo de Honduras).

Generating greater community rooting, developing leadership potential, and sowing awareness in youth are an essential part of this important initiative that is being implemented in Central America.

The support from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation will provide youth participants a six-month paid work experience accompanied by a parallel, year-long learning program that will strengthen their social and emotional skills and financial competencies. Upon completion, participants will become part of a youth network, through which they can access ongoing learning, vocational certifications, cultural and recreational opportunities, and personal and professional development. This direct investment in youth from neighborhoods experiencing poverty and violence seeks to reduce stigma, provide opportunities, and increase young people's sense of belonging, leadership, and pride in their communities. Glasswing is implementing this initiative in partnership with four other local organizations in each country that have decades of grass-roots experience with youth and families.

"Too many young people in Central America have few good options to improve their lives other than to join a criminal gang or take enormous risks to migrate to the United States," said Howard G. Buffett, Chairman and CEO of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. "We should be investing in these young people and helping them create better opportunities in their home communities. If we can show success with this model, our Foundation is committed to providing an additional $36 million to scale the program."

The challenges young people face in Central America are enormous and growing. Along with the devastation and recovery from the 2020 hurricanes, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to two years of school closures, resulting in millions of children in Central America falling behind academically and dropping out of school.

"Many participants of this program will help address challenges in education, including providing learning support to young children, as well as supporting public health and environmental initiatives," said Celina de Sola, co-founder and president of Glasswing International. "We are grateful to the Howard G. Buffett Foundation for making this initiative possible by being the sole donor of this innovative pilot that seeks to create better possibilities and futures for young Central Americans."

Over 1,300 young men and women are already enrolled in the pilot, which will train and mobilize more than 2,800 participants in its first year alone. Pending results from this initial investment, the Foundation is hoping to expand the program to include another 10,000+ young people from the region.

Media Contact:
Jaime Horn
[email protected]
202-308-8810

About The Howard G. Buffett Foundation
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation is a private family foundation working to catalyze transformational change to improve the standard of living and quality of life for the world's most impoverished and marginalized populations.

About Glasswing International
Glasswing International was founded in El Salvador in 2007 to deliver innovative, local solutions to address the region's challenges in health and education. They now work in Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago. They've impacted over 1.5 million lives in the region through their mission to address the root causes and consequences of violence and poverty by empowering young people and local communities through education and health programs.