Rooted in Opportunity: Building Futures in Honduras

In every community, people deserve the chance to build a meaningful life where they were born and raised. When young people can access education, skills, and jobs in their hometowns, they can transform not just their own futures, but their entire communities.

In Honduras, limited economic opportunities have forced many youth to make an impossible choice: remain in poverty or risk everything on a dangerous journey north. Without intervention, thousands more will feel compelled to leave their homes, families, and culture behind in search of basic security and livelihood.

At 23, Milton watched his brother leave for the United States, driven away by the same lack of employment that threatened Milton's future in Gracias, Honduras. He stood at a crossroads familiar to many young Hondurans: stay in a place that seemed to offer no path forward, or risk everything on a dangerous journey north. 

In rural Honduras, the scarcity of jobs and business opportunities has long fueled migration. "Many youth choose to migrate for lack of opportunities," explains Suyapa Chavez, Administrator for General Training at the National Institute for Professional Training (INFOP) in Gracias.

Milton was considering the same path as his brother when he discovered USAID's Creando Mi Futuro Aquí ("Creating My Future Here") project. Through this initiative, Milton enrolled in a motorcycle repair certification program at INFOP designed to provide practical, in-demand skills.

But USAID and its implementing partner DAI recognized a critical challenge: training youth for jobs that don't exist could generate frustration and potentially increase irregular migration. To address this, they partnered with the Conflict Sensitivity Integration Hub to develop an assessment tool that measures market demand and potential impacts of vocational training.

The assessment revealed that a careful balance was needed in the motorcycle repair sector. INFOP built relationships with local businesses, including Espinal Motorcycle Parts and Repair, whose owners Marvin and Elsa had wanted to expand but couldn't find qualified mechanics.

"We notice the difference when they are trained at INFOP," says Elsa, who has now hired seven INFOP graduates, including Milton. With these skilled new employees, the Espinals opened a second shop and are planning a third, requesting five more certified mechanics.

Today, Milton no longer plans to migrate. "I plan to keep working and learning, and later open my own shop," he says with confidence. He's one of 19,000 youth who have secured employment or launched businesses through Creando, which has also trained 20,000 young people in life and soft skills.

By investing in market-driven vocational training and employment opportunities, we can create pathways to prosperity that allow youth to build their futures at home. Supporting programs like Creando Mi Futuro Aquí doesn't just reduce undocumented migration—it transforms entire communities by unlocking the potential of their most valuable resource: their young people.

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