2009 News
New Center for Youth at Risk Inaugurated
The U.S. Government, through the Regional Youth Alliance of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Central American Integration System (SICA) recently inaugurated the Outreach Center “For my neighborhood,” located in the 13 de Enero community in Zacamil, Mejicanos, San Salvador.
Regional Youth Alliance USAID-SICA is a juvenile violence prevention program implemented in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The new Outreach Center of El Salvador –the fourth inaugurated in the country and the 24th in the region– is the result of an agreement signed by USAID-SICA and Creative Associates International along with the Fe y Alegría Association. The main objective is to provide youths with learning options during their spare time to improve their quality of life and avoid being recruited by gangs.
Beneficiaries include approximately 500 youths from the 13 de Enero, Raúl Rivas, Emmanuel I y II communities and Colonia Lincoln, among others. The Outreach Center will provide training in computer applications, cosmetology, jewelry confection, and repousse as well as school tutoring.
With support from the Fe y Alegría Association, community members organized a group of volunteers who pursued this initiative to promote peace in their neighborhoods.
The inauguration ceremony of the Outreach Center was presided over by Larry Brady, USAID/El Salvador Director; Juan Daniel Alemán, SICA Secretary-General; Salvador Stadthagen, Director of Regional Youth Alliance USAID-SICA; Saúl León, Deputy Director of the Fe y Alegría Association; and Delmi Chávez, President of the Board of Directors of the 13 de Enero community.