Lutheran World Relief 46d ago

Dayana Fuentes was among the 25% of young adults in Honduras who are in limbo without a job or a marketable education. At age 19, she could not afford college, nor did she have the skills or experience to land a position that would pay her bills or lead to a long-term career. Although leaving Honduras has never appealed to her, many people — including her mother — search for opportunity elsewhere. Lutheran World Relief helps young people like Dayana develop the hard and soft skills they need to launch viable careers and make stable incomes. In this way, they avoid the dangers and instability of migration while also improving their local economies. Thanks to LWR donors, Dayana received job skills training, career counseling, mental health support and an internship that led to a full-time position. Today she works as an accounting assistant at El Baratillo Ferreteria, a construction supply store, and she is taking online courses toward a degree in finance — an endeavor her mother once started but was unable to finish. “It’s because of my mother that I stay focused on my studies,” Dayana says. “[Earning my degree] would truly be a dream come true for both of us.” Alicia Vargas, the HR manager at Dayana’s workplace, has hired more than 30 of our students, including Dayana, because they stand out from their peers. “They may not have had work experience, but their life skills were much more developed,” she says. “We also saw young people with analytical skills, conflict resolution abilities and much greater adaptability to the environment.” Vargas says mental health programming is an important element because it helps youth become better people and employees: “When young people work on … their mental health, we consider this directly proportional to the quality of their performance.”  Gerson Ábrego, who coordinated the program on behalf of our local partner RED-ITC, says, “We've generated many opportunities for these youngsters who thought of emigrating at some point, and they're now in our country contributing to their families' economies.” ABOUT THE PROJECT This program was funded by Lutheran World Relief donors and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was initiated to support more than 1,100 youth in Western Honduras, and it integrates mental health services with economic opportunities. It aims to improve life skills, employability, and community integration while addressing significant challenges such as violence, unemployment, and migration pressures. Through the Empleando Mentes (Employing Minds) digital platform, youth receive virtual career counseling, mental health support and internship placement.  More information about Lutheran World Relief’s work to support sustainable livelihoods in Latin America and beyond:    About our work in Latin America: https://lwr.org/latin-america Blog: How women chocolate makers are defying the odds in Peru https://lwr.org/blog/2024/national-chocolate-day-how-women-chocolate-makers-are-defying-odds-peru Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a05u92s8lEo Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0L3_O_AkN4&t=4s Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx0-5iQZVIk Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33hdhDByJ9M Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1sLpMm5ruk Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY9mFNUTvSU Blog: FLOWER POWER! Three places you’re helping flower farmers BLOOM https://lwr.org/blog/2026/flower-power-three-places-youre-helping-flower-farmers-bloom Follow Lutheran World Relief on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LuthWorldRelief Follow Lutheran World Relief on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luthworldrelief/ Learn more about Lutheran World Relief: https://lwr.org/ Subscribe to the Lutheran World Relief email list:  https://lwr.org/sign-our-emails Give where needed most: https://llwr.org/give