Success Stories
Success in Guatemala
When surveys were conducted showing that nearly 30 percent of the 2,000 people polled in at-risk areas in Guatemala had been victims of crime during the last year, USAID's Youth Alliance Program staff became convinced that a new approach was needed to help neighborhoods reclaim their streets and their children.
A recent USAID-funded study, the Central America and Mexico Gang Assessment, discovered that youth fleeing gang life were actually hiding out in churches trying to escape the gangs they had become involved with. This finding led to the concept of convincing faith-based partners to serve as intermediaries and service providers to work with these troubled youth.
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One "ex" who was interviewed just last week on TV about his involvement with this program said that when they first approached him about participating he was wary: he thought that the program staff was trying to collect information on him to have him eliminated. He just couldn't believe there were people who were actually trying to help him. Now he is recruiting gang members into this program himself and sees it as atonement for his involvement with gangs in the past!
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The Youth Alliance Program recently opened three outreach centers in partnership with three different churches to help at-risk youth survive their childhood and prevent them from joining gangs. The faith-based partnership concept is not new. What is new to Guatemala is the level of community-based volunteerism that is now being experienced. One center is located where the notorious MS-13 gangs control the neighborhood. Another was formerly the favorite dumping site for dismembered bodies, and the third center is in a town 35 kilometers from Guatemala City where two rival gangs demobilized and turned to the church for help.
In less than two-months of operation, the three centers combined have logged over 2,000 hours of volunteer time from more than 85 volunteers. Youth are encouraged to go to the center immediately after school to participate in sports, learn computer skills, complete homework and enjoy other activities. As you are probably aware the time after school is the critical time of day that youth are the most vulnerable to gangs and involvement in delinquent behavior. The older youth use the centers as a refuge or "safe place" and learn new skills for employment. Each center relies on different skills and abilities that volunteers are coming to the center to offer.
Recruiting, training, and working with volunteers is handled by the program staff who in addition, are working to place ex-gang members in businesses. In just a few months they have been able to place 56 ex-gang members so far. Most of the ex-gang members are nominated by local churches, then screened and placed with businesses. About a year ago, most businesses wouldn't even consider hiring an ex gang member - if they found that the applicant had tattoos - a sure sign of gang involvement there - they would reject them on the spot. But after a local TV station did a show about the difference the Youth Alliance Program was making, there was a change in attitude and several companies came forward. Most of the ex-gang members have done well, getting promotions in a short time.
The USAID Youth Alliance Program has discovered that everyday citizens are willing to help solve serious social problems that seem intractable to donors and governments. Guatemala's youths are their future and volunteers are making a difference in their lives. There is a growing recognition that NGOs can often move faster and more effectively than government agencies, unburdened as they are by heavy bureaucracy.
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