Think Creative - Issue 4

Creative Life a mission-driven community 28 | Think Creative | Fall 2018 Creative Associates Internation- al has launched two subsidiary companies, CREA Consultores, in Honduras and El Salvador that build on its robust experience implementing sustainable pro- gramming over three decades in Central America. Inaugurating the Honduras office in Tegucigalpa on Aug. 14, Creative Chief Operating Officer Pablo Mal- donado noted the organization’s history in the country—beginning in the mid-1980s when it assessed the training needs of Honduran women in business. He described CREA as a continuation of that long-standing commitment. “Our promise is to work arm in armwith our Honduran col- leagues, empower Hondurans and find new solutions to the many problems that we face,” he said. “I think that together we can do important work for the benefit of this beloved country.” The Honduras and El Salvador subsidiaries will draw upon the evidence-driven expertise of Creative in the region and serve as agile, flexible and innovative implementers of development programs, collaborating with a variety of donors and partners to tackle the region’s most pressing challenges. As Creative opens and closes offices based on the life cycle of programs, CREA will lend a more permanent presence and allow Creative to continue to build its relationships in the region. Leading CREA Honduras is Susana Ferrera, an economist and experienced international development practitioner who has worked extensively in workforce development initiatives with a va- riety of donors, NGOs and private sector partners. “As CREA, we have the mission of Opening of subsidiaries builds upon decades of work in Honduras and El Salvador Photos by José Granados (top); Rene Urrutia (bottom) CREA-ting History supporting people, their com- munities, their countries and the entire Central American region so they can achieve the develop- ment and positive change that we all want,” she remarked. “And we have the responsibility of bringing the principles, the quality and the experience of our parent company Creative.” Maldonado opened the CREA Consultores in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Aug. 16 with an event attended by some 75 people. CREA Consultores El Salvador is spearheaded by Harold Sibaja, who has decades of experience working with Creative in the region. “Creative is in El Salvador to contribute with its experience of more than 40 years in more than 90 countries, to work with local organizations, private sector, universities, the government and a variety of donors,” Sibaja said. “Creative is in El Salvador to stay and to remain here for decades to come.” Sibaja noted that Creative has worked in El Salvador since 1990 through some of the country’s most crucial transitions, including projects working on communi- ty development for displaced families; demobilization of former combatants and security forces af- ter the 1992 peace agreement that put an end to a 12-year civil war; strengthening democracy and civ- ic participation; and the current efforts to tackle gang violence and promote peace through commu- nity-based violence prevention approaches. Creative is currently implement- ing seven projects across the region, including in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and the Caribbean. These projects focus on preventing crime and violence, improving technical Creative COO Pablo Maldonado (center) cuts the ribbon on the new CREA Honduras office with Salvador Stadthagen and Susana Ferrera. CREA El Salvador’s Harold Sibaja welcomes guests to the office inauguration. Guests snap a #SomosCREA selfie at the CREA El Salvador launch.