Guatemala: Water, electricity & peaceful mediation

August 28, 2024

1 min read

Natural resource management is a frequent source of conflict. Thanks to locally led efforts supported by USAID’s Tejiendo Paz program, a crisis was averted in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.

The Peacebuilding Project, known as Tejiendo Paz, is an eight-year USAID-funded initiative that focuses on preventing social conflict and violence, as well as improving social cohesion and peacebuilding. During the past six years, the project has worked with 133 communities in the Western Highlands of Guatemala to develop and implement locally led action plans, known as “community visions,” that identify sources of conflict and prioritize solutions.

Promoting sustainable elections through inclusive governance in Libya and beyond

July 8, 2024

By Pam Rosen

4 min read

To promote democracy worldwide, the United States and global allies must support inclusive governance to create an enabling environment for credible, sustainable elections.

The international community provides significant funding and technical support for presidential and municipal elections around the globe. But despite these efforts, the alarming trend of democratic backsliding continues to threaten political stability and human rights. The 2023 Global State of Democracy Initiative report from International IDEA shows that more countries globally experienced “net declines in democratic performance than saw advances—for the sixth year in a row,” with no region of the world unaffected.  

Notably, examples of these declines can be found in areas prioritized by the United States under the 2019 Global Fragility Act (GFA), including coastal West Africa, Haiti, and Libya, where, after the overthrow of Moammar Gaddafi, power struggles between seats of government in Tobruk and Tripoli devolved into civil war in 2014. Though the war ended in 2020, continued political power struggles and intermittent violence threaten Libya’s relative stability.  

Libya capital Tripoli skyline view. Photo by: Kurt Drubbel

After seeing international community-backed elections efforts stall in priority areas like Libya, USAID and other international donors are increasingly applying a holistic approach to elections support, emphasizing inclusive governance as a critical component of sustainable elections.

What is inclusive governance, and how does it create conditions for democratic elections?

In international development, programs that support inclusive governance address issues of equitable service delivery and representation in government and civil society that strengthen foundations for stable democratic institutions. A critical component of this representation is prioritizing the inclusion of women, youth, ethnic and religious minorities, and other marginalized groups.  

If governments and civil society effectively represent and respond to the populations they serve, including marginalized communities, these communities will have increased trust in local and national institutions and the democratic processes they promote, including elections.   

Inclusive governance can itself create the conditions to promote free, fair and sustainable elections, but support for inclusive governance must continue even after the last votes are cast.

What can inclusive governance programs achieve? 

At Creative, we’ve seen the impact of inclusion in governance projects firsthand. In Burkina Faso, our USAID Inclusive Governance for Resilience (IGR) project works to ensure that marginalized populations are included in service delivery and local governance. In particular, IGR ensures that internally displaced persons (IDPs) can access necessary public services. The program helped over 42,000 citizens in IDPs and host communities receive national ID cards to access government services and vote in future elections.

At the municipality office of Yako, Burkina Faso on November 17, 2022 Photo by: Jim Huylebroek

In Guatemala, our USAID Peacebuilding Project supports the inclusion of indigenous community members in local government institutions. The project facilitates exchanges between indigenous and government authorities to coordinate conflict resolution and prevention practices. The role of indigenous protesters in blocking efforts to undermine Guatemala’s recent presidential election results shows how critical the inclusion of indigenous populations can be to strengthen democratic elections.

How can inclusive governance set the stage for government legitimacy and democratic elections in Libya? 

In Libya, recent inclusive governance programming emphasized government legitimacy and responsiveness, with lessons learned about the importance of inclusive and accountable governance to create the conditions for sustainable elections.

Creative’s Libyan Engagement and Governance Through Applied Learning – Legislative Enhancement for Governance Support project, funded by the State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, worked with 179 legislatures and staff to strengthen their capacity for public outreach, providing training on how to incorporate public input in the legislative drafting process and design and conduct public outreach sessions.

Creative used data from our Fragility Resilience Assessment Method study, which indicated that women and youth felt excluded from civic engagement in cities throughout Libya, to inform these trainings and emphasize the importance of inclusion in public outreach efforts. A complementary Creative program, the Libya Electoral Security Planning and Implementation project, supported 12 municipal elections throughout the country, ensuring municipal governments strengthened their capacity to successfully administer elections.

The USAID-funded Taqarib project also worked to bolster local government and civil society capacity, strengthening municipal government service delivery, public participation, and policy execution and reform. Taqarib conducted surveys in 20 cities to measure the effectiveness of municipal government officials and citizen perceptions of the government’s legitimacy. Notably, these cities include several in the southern region of Fezzan, an area often excluded from national political governance in favor of the political centers of Tripoli and Tobruk. From these surveys, the program found  “gaps” in each city between government effectiveness and legitimacy, attributed to service delivery, social and economic development and others. 

In response, Taqarib conducted training and capacity building to increase governments’ effectiveness, and then re-surveyed citizens to determine if increased government capacity changed citizens’ perceptions of government legitimacy. It did. Even mid-project evaluations showed improvement in both effectiveness and perceived legitimacy in the project’s target cities, strengthening the foundation for increased civic engagement. 

What does this mean for international democracy and elections support in Libya? 

For the United States to meet the goals outlined in the GFA and support a stable, sustainable democracy in Libya, they must design and implement support that capitalizes on the relationship between democratic elections and inclusive governance, notably throughout the pre- and post-election cycles. This means prioritizing the inclusion of Fezzan in national governance efforts, including encouraging partnerships with civil society organizations with strong networks in the southern region, building cross-project collaboration requirements into project awards focused on elections and inclusive governance, and implementing electoral support projects with measurable inclusive governance objectives.  

To create the conditions vital for sustainable democracy in Libya, the international community must promote inclusive governance as a necessary precursor and follow-on of elections.

Strength in unity: LGBTQI+ groups in Guatemala create alliances to advocate for human rights

July 3, 2024

By Sara Barker

5 min read

Maverick, 27, a university student from the Western Highlands of Guatemala, is focused on finishing his thesis so that he can graduate with a degree in Agronomy Engineering for Agricultural Production Systems. He wants to use the degree to serve his community, particularly those in rural areas facing extreme poverty and food insecurity.

Maverick’s motivations extend to a larger community in Guatemala. He is openly gay and the co-founder of a local LGBTQI+ advocacy group called Comunidad Diversa Quiché (Diverse Community Quiché, in English).

When asked what motivates him the most, Maverick responds: “To feel that I am contributing to my community and working to help others.”

Even before launching Comunidad Diversa Quiché in 2023, Maverick always had the support of his family. Unfortunately, he could see that others who identify as LGBTQI+ don’t always have that same support.

“I am one of the few people in my community that is openly gay,” Maverick shares. “And I want my existence to have an impact, that others can see that they aren’t alone and that they belong to a community.”

Visibility in the face of discrimination and violence

To identify as LGBTQI+ in much of Guatemala results in discrimination and a lack of access to services, particularly in rural areas where there is a lack of knowledge.

“Making ourselves visible is something that is very important to us,” Maverick says. “Many believe that there are no LGBTQI+ people here. So, it is important to have these spaces, particularly within networks, to raise awareness and for people to know and understand that we exist and deserve the same rights. People need to know that they aren’t alone and that they have resources available to them.”

To address the range of complex challenges LGBTQI+ individuals face, particularly stigma, discrimination and prejudice-based violence, the USAID-supported Peacebuilding Project, or Tejiendo Paz in Spanish, partnered with Lambda, a local LGBTQI+ advocacy and human rights organization started by LGBTQI+ youth in 2010, to provide tailored support to emerging LGBTQI+ groups in the Western Highlands to strengthen their capacity to advocate for their human rights.   

Tejiendo Paz works to reduce social conflict and violence and to strengthen social cohesion in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, reaching 133 communities in 15 municipalities. With USAID, Tejiendo Paz is implemented by Creative in partnership with PartnersGlobal and ProPaz.   

When Maverick and his peers were starting Comunidad Diversa Quiché, Lambda approached them about receiving organizational development support, which they readily accepted.

Niray Vellafont, Lambda’s Advocacy Coordinator, has worked with Comunidad Diversa Quiché and other grassroots organizations to strengthen their advocacy skills. Vellafont, a transgender woman, emphasized the importance of providing this support through a local organization, noting that those who best know how to support LGBTQI+ individuals are those that also identify as LGBTQI+.

Vellafont becomes emotional when discussing Lambda’s work’s impact on emerging LGBTQI+ organizations. As an organization, they have never had the resources to work with grassroots organizations in rural areas, she says. Through this USAID-funded project, she has seen progress in the recognition of LGBTQI+ rights. She finds hope in seeing young activists from the region becoming more empowered in advocating for their rights and insisting on receiving respect and appropriate services from public institutions.

Alliance building and advocacy

Lambda offers training and resources on organizational strengthening and advocacy to grassroots groups like Comunidad Diversa Quiché. From there, they work with each organization to identify their advocacy priorities based on the local context.

Maverick turns nostalgic when he recounts Comunidad Diversa Quiché’s first Lambda-supported activity. He was worried that few people would come, given the complicated context. But they filled the room with the LGBTQI+ community—and allies who wanted to show their support for human rights.

Comunidad Diversa Quiché conducted advocacy with public institutions to ensure that reporting routes for crimes against LGBTQI+ individuals were properly understood and implemented. While many local delegates were supportive and open to learning new concepts related to sexual orientation and gender identity, it was a challenge to help them unlearn long-held beliefs that were discriminatory and based on a lack of understanding of LGBTQI+ communities.

Comunidad Diversa Quiché also established an alliance with the Comprehensive Care Unit of the Regional Public Hospital in Quiché, where Maverick once faced discrimination. In response to the incident, he took action. Through Comunidad Diversa Quiché, Maverick has worked with the hospital to ensure that others in the community receive the attention they need and deserve. Because of this alliance, health care attention and services for LGBTQI+ individuals have improved.

For Maverick, Comunidad Diversa Quiché’s biggest success has been working with public entities to better support LGBTQI+ victims of violence and discrimination.

Maverick also notes that this success wouldn’t have been possible without support from other grassroots LGBTQI+ organizations that understand their reality. Trabajando Unidos, a group from Huehuetenango, provided advice and emotional support when Comunidad Diversa Quiché started out. Vidas Paralelas, a Quetzaltenango-based organization, has facilitated psychological support to Comunidad Diversa Quiché’s membership, which has grown to 38 people.

Hope for the future

Henry España, Human Rights Ombudsman for Sexual Diversity, notes that the promotion and defense of LGBTQI+ human rights historically has taken place in Guatemala City, without a proper understanding of the realities of LGBTQI+ people in rural contexts. As a representative from a government institution, España values that new voices are being brought into advocacy spaces and believes that working with grassroots groups “is an opportunity to influence and obtain results that are more immediate and relevant to local context.”

According to Lambda’s Vellafont, Comunidad Diversa Quiché is just the start. While Lambda will continue to seek follow-on financial support, it will mentor and strengthen these nascent groups. Vellafont recognizes that there is still much work to be done, emphasizing that it is not just providing a couple of training sessions but rather is focused on long-term sustainability.

When asked where he sees the organization in five years, Maverick responds that he hopes they will have a physical space and will grow to be a stronger, more consolidated organization. He also shared that he hopes to be advocating in more spaces, particularly in public institutions where they have been rejected or told that they didn’t belong. Maverick is optimistic that the new Government of Guatemala administration will make real changes by creating safe spaces for the LGBTQI+ community and raising awareness about LGBTQI+ human rights.

When asked what he had learned from this experience, Maverick replied that “on a personal level, all of the effort is worth it.” He added, “At an organizational level, there is greater strength in unity.”

Alexandra Gonzalez: A young woman’s evolution as a social change-maker and LGBTQI+ activist

June 3, 2024

By Erin Treinen

4 min read

A 24-year-old Guatemalan woman from the community of San Lorenzo, Huehuetenango, stands out in the crowd. Her elaborate tattoos, jewelry, unconventional style and huge smile are the first things you notice. Her motto? “Your fight is my fight, and I hope that my fight is your fight.”

Alexandra Gonzalez is part of the LGBTQI+ community and a force to be reckoned with. She is a member of numerous social change networks and groups and an ardent defender of human rights.

Her activist spirit began to blossom from a young age, as Gonzalez participated in all types of activities, ranging from social projects to the arts to sporting events.

“Along with my sisters, I’ve always been very active in different organizations,” says Gonzalez. “That’s how I started getting to know new institutions, organizations, and people who began inviting me to meetings, workshops, or dialogues. That’s how I got involved in the things that interest me, like sexual and reproductive rights and social conflict.”

Participating in meetings was not enough, and Gonzalez wanted to develop skills to influence tangible change in her community. In 2021, she joined the Youth Voices for Peace Network, an initiative implemented by USAID and Creative Associates International through the Peacebuilding Project and the Central American Institute of Studies for Social Democracy.

A core focus of Voceros Juveniles is that youth are key partners in peacebuilding. They have an important role as agents of change able to promote harmony, peaceful coexistence and development in their communities.

“The curriculum with Voceros Juveniles is very complete. It goes from how to speak in public to how to have dialogue with authorities, because it’s not the same to speak with an authority as it is to speak with a friend,” explains Gonzalez. “I’ve also learned to use technological platforms to spread messages and share ideas with other young people.”

Voceros Juveniles is made up of 226 youth from different communities in Huehuetenango, Totonicapán, Quiche, and San Marcos. The purpose of the network is to promote and strengthen the capacities of youth like Gonzalez to carry out peacebuilding activities by building their leadership, skillsets, and their knowledge of technology and theater.

“The idea of using theater to address social problems is so you aren’t just talking at people, but you are also using audiovisual materials so that people can recognize the problem,” explains Gonzalez. “But it’s important to not use videos from Argentina or Spain or other countries when you can use stories made by people here, people who are affected by the social problem so that they feel identified with.”

During the height of the pandemic, Voceros Juveniles could not use traditional in-person theater due to social distancing restrictions, but that did not deter Gonzalez and her peers. Gonzalez and a group of Voceros Juveniles members throughout the Western Highlands created a script, recording video clips in their distinct locations and editing them together for a video entitled “The Trip” about migration. The video was shown at virtual Peace Fair events hosted by Voceros Juveniles but Gonzalez really felt the impact when she saw it shown in-person at different meetings with women’s organizations in Huehuetenango.

“Our work has come all this way,” says a proud Gonzalez.

“Being a member of Voceros Juveniles has opened the door to many new opportunities,” says Gonzalez. She has built her knowledge base in human rights, civic participation, and conflict resolution, which in turn has empowered her to defend LGBTQI+ rights in her community, for herself and her peers.

She volunteers doing human rights work for the LGBTQI+ community through Trabajando Unidos (a local nonprofit organization) and the Observatory of Reproductive Health but acknowledges the very limited safe spaces that exist for LGBTQI+ individuals in Guatemala.

“Many LGBTQI+ people prefer to stay closeted because they don’t want to be ostracized,” she says. “They say ‘I’m not going to come out as gay because it’s better to be able to put food on the table.’”

Gonzalez says that as a bisexual woman she has lived experiences of discrimination and violence, but she acknowledges that individuals of different sexual orientations and gender identity experience increased levels of discrimination and risk, stating that it is particularly difficult and even dangerous for transgender individuals and gay men to be out in Guatemala.

This has led her to the volunteer work and advocacy she does today. “It’s important to recognize that at the end of the day, we are a collective and to recognize that a collective fight is better for me, for you, for everyone now and for everyone to come,” says Gonzalez.

“If I can be part of that change, I want to be.”

Pedro Nery Gómez: A family legacy of leadership and ancestral pride

June 2, 2024

By Erin Treinen

3 min read

Ancestral authorities and indigenous community mayors in the highlands of Guatemala carry a staff (called a vara in Spanish) which represents integrity, authority and responsibility. It is a symbol of profound respect. To carry one is to hold a deep commitment to fair and just leadership while serving your community.

Pedro Nery Gómez carries a staff and along with it, the responsibility of leading his community of Poxlajuj.

“Connected to the staff are two poms made of thread, which represent authority and community. They are tied together because the two are intertwined,” Gómez explains. “When an authority walks with the staff, the poms move. This movement represents the ancestral dance that one should work in harmony, with willingness and with dignity.”

Leadership runs in Gómez’s family. Born in 1982 to a family rich in ancestral wisdom, Gómez learned at a young age that the responsibility of carrying a staff was passed down to him from past generations.

“My father was community mayor in 1990 and from him, I learned leadership and how to resolve community conflicts,” says Gómez. “He told me, ‘If at any time, you have to serve the community, do it each day as if you are doing it for God.’”

That is what guides Gómez in his day to day. A devout Evangelical Christian, Gómez was born in Poxlajuj, one of the biggest communities in the municipality. He is an auto-mechanic, a trade that he plans to pass onto his two sons, and enjoys riding his bike through the forests that cover the mountains of Totonicapán.

Gómez was elected community mayor by more than 3,000 of Poxlajuj’s residents in 2022 and served the community the best he could. He has been a strong partner to USAID through the Peacebuilding Project.

USAID and Creative support indigenous leaders to design sound development plans for their communities, improve health, water and sanitation services in indigenous communities and expand education and economic opportunities for indigenous youth.

The Peacebuilding Project implemented a training initiative for inclusive and sustainable governability and peacebuilding for ancestral and community authorities of Totonicapán’s 48 Cantones (or communities) in coordination with the Center for Research and Projects for Development and Peace (CEIDEPAZ is the Spanish acronym).

The training provided 48 Cantones authorities the tools to address conflict while upholding human rights and peace and linked national and international peacebuilding mechanisms with ancestral practices of Totonicapán. These tools helped Gómez to address conflicts in Poxlajuj and move development projects forward — the reopening of a road that had been closed for 17 years, building a town hall for community meetings and activities and adding a few more classrooms onto a school. One he is most proud of is the creation of a town regulation, which contains the community’s values and guiding principles.

“I always say, when we are divided, we have no strength,” Gómez says. “When we go off on our own, there is no power. Through this town regulation, we are one Poxlajuj and we demonstrate that with strength, unity and respect.”

Together — Gómez, the community of Poxlajuj and USAID — worked to identify triggers for conflict in the community and found that pollution was one they wanted to prioritize. In response, USAID connected the community with different government entities and facilitated an exchange with the municipality of San Pedro la Laguna, a town with a good track-record of solid waste management.

With these contacts and new knowledge, the community is working to find the best solution to the pollution problem, focusing efforts on managing organic waste and raising awareness about pollution among school-aged children in the community.

While Gómez finished his tenure as community mayor in 2023, he was proud to hand over what he calls a more united Poxlajuj to the incoming mayor, another community leader who carried the staff of authority and guide Poxlajuj with the same integrity, authority and respect that Gómez did.

Breaking down barriers to build a more inclusive Guatemala

June 1, 2024

By Erin Treinen

3 min read

Noé Velasquez has known who he is and what he believes since he was a young child. Originally from Villa Nueva near Guatemala City, Noé comes from a multicultural family with strong matriarchs who taught and inspired him.

He has been an empathetic and giving person his whole life, ever since he was old enough to receive an allowance, which he would immediately donate to people he deemed more in need. Noé is a gender-fluid gay person, a volunteer, an activist, a defender of human rights and the Executive Director of Asociación SOMOS Jovenes Diversos en Acción, or SOMOS as it is commonly known.

Despite an upbringing that could have lent itself to internalized homophobia — including religious and toxic masculine pressures from his grandmother and father plus years of relentless bullying in school — Noé instead learned to separate who he actually is from how other people see him.

“I have always fought for people to see me as a human being,” says Noé.

Seeing people without labels is one of Noé’s core values and what he tries to instill in everyone that he meets. His patience, willingness to teach, bubbly personality, and ability to draw people in has made him successful in challenging long-held stereotypes about the LGBTQI+ community.

“We all have the right to a good life, to health care, to education and to employment and it does not matter that you do not agree with LGBTQI+ issues, but [you should know] that the issues exist, that we are here and that we have the same rights you do,” he explains.

At only 31 years old, Noé is leading and empowering a diverse team of young change-makers through SOMOS, a civil society organization dedicated to ensuring LGBTQI+ inclusion and the full exercise of human rights for all individuals.

One way he has done that is through a grant financed by USAID and implemented by Creative Associates International through the Peacebuilding Project, which allows the SOMOS team to train 150 leaders in the Western Highlands on sexual diversity and human rights for LGBTQI+ people. To do this, they have adapted and simplified the trainings so that everyone can understand the concepts and use a participatory methodology that encourages questions and conversation.

“You need to bring people along step by step, teaching them what is sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender exclusion,” says Noé.

SOMOS is one of few LGBTQI+ organizations to provide sexual diversity trainings in the Western Highlands, which is a predominately indigenous region. To broaden participants’ notions of heteronormative sexuality, SOMOS intertwines concepts of duality, gender, and sexual diversity from the Mayan worldview to bridge ancestral knowledge with current LGBTQI+ realities. Through dialogue, participants gained new perspectives, recognizing that sexual diversity has been a human reality throughout millennia and within the Mayan worldview.

Noé believes the positive response to the training is because participants have acquaintances, colleagues, or friends that are LGBTQI+. And while it is a topic that has historically been taboo because of social and cultural norms, many people are now ready to listen and learn.

Noé has seen these shifts in perspective after just a few months of training.

“As an organization we have seen the most impact among Peacebuilding Project staff. Many of them are men and at the beginning [of the trainings], they were reluctant,” explains Noé. “Now these same people are so friendly, they say hi, they want to chat, they want to give you a hug — it tells me their perspective has changed … We are breaking down barriers.”

Building support for LGBTQI+ persons in traditional Maya communities

May 17, 2024

1 min read

LGBTQI+ persons in Guatemala’s Western Highlands face serious challenges and barriers in the traditional Maya communities, which are compounded by a lack of significant human rights protections. A Guatemalan NGO called Somos addresses these challenges with differentiated methodologies that focus on specific cultural traits of each Maya community. Somos is supported with a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by Creative Associates International.

Blanca Violeta López Samayoa: Forging a clear path to conflict transformation

April 10, 2024

By Erin Treinen

4 min read

Blanca Violeta López Samayoa has learned how to command the attention of a room. She has a lot to say and talks fast. Holding a conflict mediator role as a woman in spaces normally dominated by men in rural Huehuetenango, Guatemala, has not been easy, but it has shaped the way she speaks and carries herself.

“I have been in meetings in which I am the only woman,” says López. “I have had to fight for a space to demonstrate that I have knowledge and skills and that I am a thinking person that has something to contribute,” says López.

López is a delegate for the Presidential Commission for Peace and Human Rights — COPADEH is the Spanish acronym — covering eight of the most remote northern municipalities of the department of Huehuetenango. Formed in 2020, COPADEH is the government institution responsible for preventing and mitigating conflict at national and departmental levels. As a COPADEH delegate, López and her small team of two colleagues are charged with the prevention and peaceful transformation of social conflict in her designated region.

Much of rural Guatemala lacks access to government services, which can be a source of tension for citizens. The fact that COPADEH is responding to conflict in rural areas such as the eight municipalities within López’s jurisdiction — the majority of which are the farthest and most difficult to access in the entire department — is an important step.

“Social conflict mediation is an alternative method that helps people respond to situations of disagreement, which can lead to conflict, and instead gives them a peaceful resolution avoiding confrontation,” Lopez explains.

Strengthening the COPADEH and delegates like López has been a priority for USAID, who has contributed to building the commission’s capacity to address social conflict with workshops and resources. Through the Peacebuilding Project, USAID and Creative Associates International have given COPADEH the tools to address conflict before it escalates into violence, including a 12-session diploma course on conflict transformation in 2022.

“This diploma course was very important because it helped to refresh my knowledge,” shares López. “Yes, sometimes one accumulates years of learnings but if you do not use them and apply them practically, you collect experiences and eventually forget them.”

Despite having 20 years of work experience in human rights and conflict resolution under her belt, López learned new skills during the diploma course to help her professional growth.

“Through the training, I understood what my role and my position should be within a roundtable discussion because it is not the same to watch as it is to act,” says Lopez. “We worked on the route to address the conflict — a clear route that will get you to a roundtable discussion and the list of actors.”

The training helped Lopez to better structure and document each moment of the process while addressing a conflict to ensure she was taking every factor and every involved party into account. For example, creating a list of actors involved in a conflict seems like a simple process. But López explained how important it is to look at the whole picture of actors, especially the ones on the sidelines that have specific interests and goals. These outside actors can influence the resolution of a conflict, or they can ensure the conflict continues to ferment.

With these new learnings, López is now able to consider all the factors that can make or break a successful negotiation which she recently applied to successfully negotiate a conflict in Santa Cruz Barrillas between the municipal residents and an electrical company that were at odds over an illegal electrical connection and its resulting fines. When the electrical company cut the town’s electricity, tensions flared. López and her colleagues stepped in, holding roundtable discussions that successfully addressed the needs of both the residents and electrical company, negotiating a reduced fine and a five-year plan to pay it.

By helping to transform this conflict, López contributed to the overall wellbeing of families in Santa Cruz Barrillas. She knows that there are many other conflicts in Huehuetenango to resolve, and she has the energy, dedication and attitude to keep at it.

“The driving force that keeps me going in the day to day is serving,” says López. “What fills me up is when I can resolve a conflict, whether it’s big or small, and see the satisfied faces of community members. Believe me, you cannot put a price on that.”

Ernesto Jacinto Mejía: Mediating for a Chiantla in peace

April 3, 2024

By Erin Treinen

3 min read

Residents of Chiantla in Huehuetenango, Guatemala were fed up with a local rock-crushing company. The company’s large trucks drove up and down the community’s roads at high speeds around 50 times per day, deteriorating roads and creating an unsafe environment for children walking to school and other pedestrians. The community knew who to go to for help.

“With my work as a mediator, I don’t go looking for conflict, the conflict comes to me,” says Ernesto Jacinto Mejía, who holds several leadership positions in Chiantla. “People turn to me to find solutions,” says Mejía.

Recognized by his peers as an impartial, trusted mediator, Mejía facilitates dialogue between people who do not see eye to eye, aiming to mitigate conflict efficiently and quickly, using assertive communication and encouraging fair compromise between parties. Having lived in Chiantla his whole life, Mejía knows the cultural context well and has credibility among his community and within the spaces he has provided support.

Mejía is the president of the Conflict Mediator Network’s board of directors, a municipal councilman of Chiantla, and president of the Municipal Violence Prevention Commission. Within these different roles, Mejía’s end goal is always the same: to prevent and mitigate conflict in Chiantla and its surrounding communities.

A strategy implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development and Creative Associates International through the Peacebuilding Project, the Conflict Mediator Network integrates local communities, municipalities, and departments in the Western Highlands of Guatemala so together, they can use dialogue to ensure that conflict does not become violent.

The network is made up of community leaders from different communities where the Peacebuilding Project works. The focus is to provide the members of the network with the resources and tools to resolve conflict with effective and peaceful mediation techniques. Training in do-no-harm approaches, gender, interculturality, human rights, and effective communication techniques have helped Mejia and the network to successfully mediate conflict.

“When the Conflict Mediator training ended, we began to mediate different kinds of conflict — border limits, personal conflict between parties, and conflict between communities and businesses,” says Mejía.

Conflicts such as the one between the rock-crushing company and residents of Chiantla.

When the community came to Mejía for help with the rock-crushing company, they wanted the company to repair seven kilometers of road but the company owner said he could not do that alone.

Mejía offered to mediate the conflict and, after seven meetings, he helped both parties come to an agreement: the community would contribute to the road repairs and the company put up and enforced speed limits signs. They also agreed to water down sections of the dirt road that passed in front of people’s homes during the dry season to reduce the dust.

“Thanks to the training we received, we have been able to advance and solve some problems,” says Mejía, referring to the recently mediated conflict in Chiantla. “This is a great achievement for the network, for the Peacebuilding Project, and for all the residents because it is more peaceful now that the conflict has been mediated.”

Social conflict is an inherent part of human nature and can be necessary to make positive change in people’s lives. Nevertheless, if it is not managed effectively and constructively, conflict can lead to violence and crisis, affecting governability at a local and national level. Experienced local mediators are key to keeping the peace.

“The more training we have, the more experience we gain, the better off entire communities will be,” says Mejía.

Newton Barreno Rosales: Entrepreneur, leader, inspiration

April 2, 2024

4 min read

In a small community of Totonicapán, a young man named Newton Barreno Rosales has a big presence. He’s polite, direct and has an air of confidence about him that leaves you inspired and in awe. Barreno believes in himself. He knows that his voice matters and that he can use it to make change.

“Young people have so much potential,” says Barreno. “The only thing lacking is being able to tap into it. Young people must believe in themselves, that they can do it — that here, we can all do it.”

The absence of economic opportunities for young people is a trigger for conflict in many communities, negatively affecting how young people are viewed by older generations and provoking concerns over youth delinquency. It also has a negative impact on youth’s feelings of rootedness in Guatemala.

Barreno believes one of the biggest challenges for his peers is migration. He has seen numerous classmates and friends leave Guatemala, opting to make a dangerous journey north to face unknown challenges in search of new opportunities. After he finished high school, a friend even offered to connect Barreno with a coyote — a human smuggler — who would take him to the United States border.

Barreno refused.

“The best choice is to stay in your country, with your people, with your family, looking for opportunities and leveraging the potential you have,” Barreno says.

Unlocking his unique potential and honing his skills

At only 24 years old, Barreno has already begun to unlock his unique potential as an entrepreneur and leader. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, like many Guatemalans, Barreno and his brother lost their jobs. But they were not going to sit around, twiddling their thumbs. Instead, they got creative.

“We knew how to drive a motorcycle and we had one at home, but we never realized that we could capitalize on it,” says Barreno. “Instead of leaving the motorcycle parked during the height of the pandemic, we used it. We got it out on the streets and began delivering products.”

“Te Lo Llevo Express” delivery service was born in 2021 with two brothers, one vision, a motorcycle and a bicycle. They recently had a party to celebrate their two-year anniversary, Barreno proudly shares.

While Barreno’s spirit and drive are his own, many of his opinions and leadership skills have been shaped and honed through participating in the Youth Voices for Peace Network, or Voceros Juveniles in Spanish. Vocero Juveniles is implemented by the Peacebuilding Project, known as Tejiendo Paz in Spanish, a 6.5-year project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and carried out by Creative Associates International in partnership with PartnersGlobal and ProPaz. The Peacebuilding Project works to reduce social conflict and build social cohesion in Guatemala’s Western Highlands, prioritizing the inclusion of women, indigenous people, LGBTQI+ individuals and youth in all programming, such as Voceros Juveniles.

Voceros Juveniles brings together diverse youth from the Western Highlands to build capacity, develop confidence, and connect on issues that impact their future. From 15 different municipalities, the 226 young members participate in dialogues and theater performances, while also receiving trainings on conflict transformation, the use of technology for effective communication, cyber-activism, and the risks of irregular migration.

Growing his business and future from the ground up

From there, Barreno expanded his network, collaborating with Red de Redes, another USAID youth project that complimented and built upon his skills — learnings he then applied to his professional life.

“When I joined Red de Redes and Voceros Juveniles, we received training on technology. I adapted this information, and it helped me to create publicity and to use online platforms to advertise our small business,” says Barreno.

It has worked. In less than two and a half years, Barreno and his brother have grown “Te Lo Llevo Express” to six motorcycles and expanded their coverage area to reach more of Totonicapán and some of Quetzaltenango.

While this is exciting for him, Barreno’s ambitions and dreams are bigger and more altruistic. He is hungry for experience, knowledge, and a robust set of skills that will help him become a great leader to his community. A leader who is invested in the wellbeing of their neighbors and who sees and works to fulfill the needs of the community without expecting anything in return.

“One of my personal long-term goals as a community leader is to exercise my position, as they say here ‘El K’axk’ol’ (ad honorem community service), become mayor in my community and then run for the presidency of 48 Cantones to work in benefit of the population of Totonicapán and all of Guatemala,” says Barreno.

For now, Barreno is taking advantage of every opportunity he can to build his skills and make a name for himself.

“For me, the reason I participate with Voceros Juveniles and Red de Redes is because as young men and young women, we have voices, we should be heard, and we can make change happen,” he says.

2023 on film: Videos of impact from around the world

January 9, 2024

By Ashley Williams

4 min read

Locally conceived and led initiatives are transforming communities. Whether they are moving communities from conflict to peace, supporting students, backing entrepreneurs or strengthening governance, these short films provide local perspectives to on-the-ground solutions to pressing issues. Explore their stories in these 12 videos from 2023.

Honduras: Kickboxing & Jiu Jitsu Build Self-Esteem, Protect Women from GBV

Women’s networks in Honduras are empowering people by enhancing their self-esteem, resilience and individual agency through kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu. The USAID/Office of Transition Initiatives program called CARI Honduras is supporting these classes in the Honduran communities of Chamelecon and Rivera Hernandez, as well as outreach to survivors, public policy advocacy and more.

Ethiopia: Using Art to Overcome Trauma

After two years of conflict concentrated primarily in northern Ethiopia, most students were traumatized, and many were reluctant to return to their classrooms. The USAID READ II Education Recovery Activity stepped in with psychological first aid and social-emotional learning interventions. The program worked with schools to use art and other techniques to support students.

This video won three Telly Awards.

Ethiopia: Trauma-Informed Education

Originally designed as an early grade reading program, USAID’s READ II Education Recovery Activity pivoted to provide education in conflict services to students, educators and families in three regions. It demonstrated how education can be a life sustaining tool in conflict affected communities by supporting about 500,000 children to return to learning and continue their education.

This video won two Telly Awards.

Mali: Artisans for Peace

Artisans for Peace is an initiative designed to teach youth traditional techniques that they can use to start small businesses. Funded by the USAID Peacebuilding, Stabilization and Reconciliation project, this activity is led by the nonprofit Aid to Artisans.

This video won a Telly Award.

El Salvador: How Beauty Is Confronting a Beast

El Salvador has some of the highest rates of gender-based violence in Central America. The USAID CARI program works with an NGO in Santa Ana, El Salvador to counter gender-based violence by leveraging beauty salons to reach women with messages of empowerment, self-care and more.

Youth Supporting Youth in Guatemala

The USAID Tejiendo Paz (Peacebuilding) project works in the Western Highlands of Guatemala to support peace initiatives. Ana Cristina Toma, a social worker and student, discusses the factors in her community that influence irregular migration among youth and how family, education and societal efforts help young people remain in their home communities.

Benin: Wrestling for Peace in Malanville & Karimama

USAID/OTI’s Littorals Regional Initiative leverages popular wrestling competitions to reach youth with peace and social cohesion messages in northern Benin. Throughout the tournament, spectators heard from wrestlers and grantees explained the role of youth in encouraging peace and community resilience against violence.

Mali’s Online Sleuths: Preparing Citizens to Counter Aggressive Misinformation Campaigns

USAID’s Peacebuilding, Stabilization & Reconciliation program supports efforts to promote credible, reliable information in Mali. Working with established organizations, the program has trained hundreds of journalists, youth and citizen sleuths to better understand the origins of misinformation and how to fact check before sharing content.

Regional Challenges, Local Solutions

USAID’s Reacting to Early Warning and Response Data II (REWARD II) program provides grants to local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Benin, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Togo to help prevent and mitigate electoral violence and promote peace social cohesion.

A Win-Win for People and Environment

Coliba Sarl is a Côte d’Ivoire-based company connecting households and small businesses with informal waste collectors. Through its co-investments with USAID’s West Africa Trade & Investment Hub, Coliba is integrating informal waste collectors into its business model, allowing collectors to participate in formal training to help them build better businesses.

Burkina Faso: Co-Creation Workshops

The USAID-funded Inclusive Governance for Resilience supports initiatives that improve citizens and organizations to advocate for their needs and constructively communicate with officials, among other goals.

Building an Inclusive Economic Model

Traditional financial tools are often unavailable to Guatemalan women, indigenous people and rural area residents, forcing them to rely on remittances. The USAID Central America Regional Initiative is supporting Quiché, Guatemala to study remittances, financial inclusion and levels of economic development of women and young people who are family members of migrants.