OPC, USAID promote sustainable youth development in Honduras

David Medina, Creating My Future Here/USAID Project deputy director,  with Evelyn Leiva, OPC CSR and sustainability manager, at the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Institute in Puerto Cortés last 10 April. They were joined by Juan Carlos Zuniga, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Institute director. More than 150 school kits were distributed to young students in the institute to encourage them to finish the school year. 

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Creating My Future Here project, is collaborating with Operadora Portuaria Centroamericana (OPC) to promote youth development in Honduras.
 
Creating My Future Here is a USAID initiative that increases employment opportunities for young people who are at risk of migrating. The project increases access to quality education, whether in the formal or nonformal educational system. 
 
From 2021 to 2026, the project will have benefited 500,000 at-risk youth nationwide, enabling them to contribute to the economy and society. To achieve this goal, Creating My Future Here establishes partnerships with companies and organizations from the private sector, the government at the central and local level, and educational institutions. 
 
On 10 April, OPC and the Creating My Future Here project benefitted hundreds of vulnerable and at-risk youths with the donation of school kits, teaching materials and other supplies to educational centers. The partnership will also organize guided tours of OPC’s facilities to motivate young people who are at risk of dropping out of school to continue and finish their studies. 
 
Under the Creating My Future project, OPC will link its corporate volunteering program with educational centers to develop corporate social responsibility initiatives, training ang other activities. OPC will also share employment opportunities via job fairs and other similar activities to help young people find work.
 
Additionally, OPC and USAID will support young leaders in the development of community projects under the Creating My Future Here/USAID Central American Services Corps program.