Future opportunities for returnees in Honduras

Poverty, unemployment, violence, political persecution, corruption and the effects of natural disasters create an environment in Honduras where people do not feel safe. As a result, many young Hondurans leave the country for Mexico and the United States. Before leaving, they often sell their belongings to pay the expensive smuggling gangs and start a new life in their destination country. Many migrants fail because of the difficult conditions at the border and find themselves in a seemingly hopeless situation when they return. Financial hardship, traumatic experiences and the stigma of failure are additional burdens.   

Together with our partner organisation CASM, we focus on supporting young adults at risk of migration and returnees. We do this by creating education and employment opportunities in their home countries. We work with youth initiatives, civil society organisations and local governments.    

We help young people and young adults to build stable livelihoods. This includes technical vocational training, education courses, advice on business plans and direct material support for economic initiatives. Training programmes include motorcycle repair, agriculture, livestock, food processing and traditional handicrafts. We also support youth networks that provide returnees with a supportive social environment and direct access to psychosocial counselling.  

We want to include returnees' personal goals and aspirations for the future and support them in building their own social and economic base. In this way, we want to create prospects for staying in the country of origin and reduce incentives for risk migration.