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Since 2006, Aura Margarita Ramírez has dedicated her life to the sustainable development of Livingston, her community in Guatemala. Through the "Cayo Quemado" Women's Committee’s "El Manglar" Restaurant, located in her village, she has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those around her.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit her community hard. The restaurant had to close its doors to the public for several months, resulting in a financial crisis. Operating expenses, such as monthly electricity costs, continued to accumulate, until the debt exceeded 3,000 quetzales (equivalent to about $400). Later that year, the situation worsened when hurricanes ETA and IOTA caused severe flooding, rendering all the restaurant's furniture and equipment unusable.
“If it hadn't been for the Regional Coastal Biodiversity Project, we would have been unable to do anything except pay the bank, because we lost everything,” says Aura Margarita. Thanks to this project, they received essential supplies, including furniture to reopen the restaurant and solar panels to generate energy. They also obtained 15,000 quetzales (approximately $2,000) in seed capital that serves as a revolving fund to improve the operation of the business.
In addition to generating income and jobs for the 18 committee members, they are tenants within a protected area, a concession granted to them by the government under the condition of carrying out mangrove conservation actions. They use biodigesters for waste treatment and solar panels to reduce the emission of more than 12,200 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, reducing the impacts of pollution. A biodigester is a system that biologically digests organic material, either anaerobic (without oxygen ) or aerobically (with oxygen).
The project also provided Aura and the committee members with training to boost their business, including the management of social networks as a tool to attract more customers. "For us, advertising was something we had pending. In addition to the training and office equipment, the project paid for six months of Internet, allowing us to promote ourselves, and that's how we were contacted by the tour operators G-Adventure and PlaneTerra," she explains.
Today, thanks to these efforts, the restaurant receives between 30 and 60 people a week, generating monthly an income of around 1,000 quetzales.
“Before, instead of receiving an income, we had to contribute our money to keep the restaurant operating. That is why several members left, but today, thanks to God and the Regional Coastal Biodiversity Project, we are fulfilling the dream of having our daughters and granddaughters work with us. My dream is to see a sustainable business with the capacity to generate more jobs -- so that the ‘patojos’ (young people) no longer have to go anywhere, because if they have a good job they don’t leave,” she concludes.
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USAID Launches Regional Trade and Investment Project to Boost Economic Growth in Central America
USAID launched its new “Regional Trade and Investment Project,” a $26 million initiative designed to foster export-led economic growth and economic integration between El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
This project will boost economic growth, regional integration and job creation in Central America. By attracting foreign investment and encouraging local investment, it will increase the region's productive capacity, especially under the nearshoring trend, which connects Central America with key markets such as the United States. This strategic approach, accompanied by trade facilitation and the strengthening of intra-regional value chains, will build greater competitiveness and sustainable growth, and generate new job opportunities.
The four main pillars of the project include: deepening the customs union and regional integration; strengthening the digitalization of trade processes, improving trade policies and modernizing regulations; increasing the competitiveness of the private export sector; and improving access to financing and investment in the region.
USAID’s technical assistance includes activities to improve border management and coordination, streamline processes, and build the capacity of government agencies that regulate trade. The project also funds small-scale infrastructure projects to reduce congestion and bottlenecks at major border crossings.
Over five years, expected milestones include training 600 customs officials, a 30 percent increase in exports by participating companies, and the mobilization of $100 million in investments, $30 million of which will be earmarked for clean energy projects. The project will help reduce trade costs and time, boosting economic growth and job creation throughout the region.
USAID is working with the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) and the ministries of Economy and Customs authorities of the three countries to implement the Central American Regional Trade Facilitation Strategy and the Deep Integration Process between El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
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25 People Trained in International Cuisine and Bartending
A total of 25 people received diplomas after participating in technical training in international cuisine and bartending in Santa María Mizata, El Salvador. From the group, 12 have started businesses and 13 are prepared for formal employment in nearby hotels and beach restaurants.
The training is part of the activities of the USAID and International Organization for Migration (IOM) Integrated Responses on Migration from Central America program, in partnership with Fe y Alegría.
The participants, who range in age from 18 to 57, are mostly single mothers interested in developing their own businesses and improving their living conditions.
“For us this course meant a life transformation and the opportunity to create a stable future and a better family economy,” said Blanca Lidia Ortíz, who has already obtained a formal job in a beach hotel after completing the training.
The training also included tools and information to start and manage new businesses, and innovation and creativity in entrepreneurial projects; skills and strategies to improve labor market insertion, including job search techniques, preparation of résumés and development of professional competencies; as well as psychosocial care and soft skills. The program will provide seed capital to those who choose to become entrepreneurs.
USAID’s Regional Director for Central America and Mexico Programs, Chris Cushing; IOM’s Deputy Chief of Mission, María Paula Quintero, and Fe y Alegría’s legal representative, Fabricio Riasco attended the graduation ceremony.
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Presentation of Registration System to Improve Care Services to Guatemalan Returnees
On September 27, USAID, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Guatemalan Migration Institute (IGM) presented the Registration System for Returned Migrants (SISRET). Through this system, data is recorded to improve services that migrants receive upon returning to Guatemala, with the ultimate goal of contributing to their reintegration into the country.
IGM staff are currently using SISRET at the Reception Center for Returned Migrants in Guatemala City, with plans to expand to other key locations.
SISRET has two main applications: the first is a desktop application for data entry, and the second is a web application for generating and consulting detailed reports. This tool will facilitate decision making based on reliable information and evidence.
SISRET is an initiative of the Integrated Responses to Migration from Central America program implemented by IOM with USAID support in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama.
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Providing Mental Health Care for Returned Migrants
Commemorated on October 10, World Mental Health Day raises awareness of mental health issues to mobilize efforts to make mental health care a reality for all people. Globally, nearly one billion people–1 in 8 individuals–live with a mental health condition.
Mental health encompasses emotional, cognitive, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how humans think, feel, learn, work, make decisions, and build relationships. The importance of mental health to individual well-being, as well as to social and economic progress, is becoming more widely recognized.
Watch this video to learn about the use of the “Tranquila-mente” kit in reception centers for returned migrants in Honduras, a psychosocial tool developed under the USAID and International Organization for Migration Integrated Responses to Migration from Central America program. Returned migrants from Guatemala and El Salvador have also taken advantage of this tool to self-regulate stress and anxiety and learn to identify and manage emotions.
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Entrepreneurship is a form of empowerment for returned migrants to control the meaning they will give to the new stage of their lives in their countries of origin or, in the case of migrants, in their host countries.
Recently, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the support of USAID, presented the “Entrepreneurship Guide for Economic Reintegration,” a useful tool for migrants living in El Salvador who wish to make that country their medium or long-term residence, as well as for Salvadorans who have returned to their country after having migrated.
The guide presents detailed information on how to start a business as a migrant; recognizing personal skills; preparing the business model, legal and financing strategy, and sales and marketing plan; after-sales management and customer service, as well as understanding migration governance and how to register a business in El Salvador.
Download the guide here.
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