Alejandro Chirinos’ story begins with a sign at his community health center. One year ago, the 30-year-old came across an advertisement for Empleando Futuros that said, “Get Employment Training.” Now, he works as a sales assistant at Punto Farma, one of Honduras’ largest pharmacy chains.

Last year, Alejandro was living in Flor de Campo, a high-risk community in Tegucigalpa, Honduras that is largely affected by gang violence, when he saw the ad for Empleando Futuros. He entered the program as an older participant but with the same dreams of changing his life as his peers. During the project’s community-based training in Flor de Campo, Alejandro learned life skills and basic labor competencies, as well as participated in cognitive behavioral therapy group sessions. After two months, he transitioned to a vocational center, where he completed training to become a pharmacy sales assistant. 

Contact: Louie Alexander