Phase II Expansion of YouthBuild model in EL Salvador
Since 2007, YouthBuild International has worked with Catholic Relief Services and a four-country (El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras) network of six NGO implementing partners to adapt the YouthBuild model. In these countries, youth unemployment is 1.6 to 3 times the national average for adults, and nearly half of all youth abandon school before sixth grade.
With initial support from the Citi Foundation, YBI ran two pilot projects in Guatemala and Nicaragua. The programs’ strong outcomes facilitated the expansion to an additional two countries and six sites, with funding provided by the entra21 program of the Inter-American Development Bank. An independent evaluation of these programs found that the “JÓvenes Constructores Project… can be considered a space for real and effective opportunities for youth with connections to gangs and at-risk youth.”
In El Salvador, USAID provided two contracts to expand the model to 10 more sites, including a pilot that would position the model as re-entry alternative for youth exiting the prison system in San Salvador.
The name means: Young Builders
Key Implementing Partners: Catholic Relief Services, Fundación Quetzalcoatl, Fe y Alegría
Strategic Partners: Inter-American Development Bank, USAID, Open Society Institute
Start Date: 2007
Impact: The program will benefit over 1600 young people in five San Salvador-based implementation sites
Scaling: With funding from USAID, the model will scale to 10 additional locations.
Core program focus Vocational training certificate in diverse fields, including computer maintenance and repair, auto mechanics, baking and bread making • Gang intervention and conflict mitigation
Design adaptations
- Focus on group savings and microfinance
- Adapted services to the unique needs of gang-involved youth