By Julian Hernandez-Webster

(https://milesdemanos.com/) 

Violence runs rampant throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), especially among young people, and despite efforts from national governments and international powers the problem remains persistent. In 2019, 43 of the world’s 50 most violent cities were located in LAC, where young men are most likely to become victims or perpetrators of violent crimes and young women commonly face threats of sexual violence and domestic abuse while femicide rates are among the highest in the world (Seguridad, Justicia, y Paz México 2020; Esmail 2019, para. 1; ECLAC 2022). Among the many national youth development and violence prevention policies or strategies that have been adopted in response, the Central American Integration System (SICA), in collaboration with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), created the PREVENIR program to bring about change in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala (The Northern Triangle). While PREVENIR included interventions for a range of factors related to citizen security, it placed an emphasis on educational reform through its “Miles de Manos” (Thousands of Hands) model and expansion of technical and vocational education training (TVET) as a catalyst for the reduction of youth violence and improvement in outcomes for students. 

(Sanchez et al., p. 7)

Miles de Manos aims to “help children and young people effectively face the challenges of daily life” and prevent violence through schooling and extracurricular learning by strengthening the educational and communication skills of parents, teachers, and students, facilitating their cooperation, and supporting a culture of unity in each community (Miles de Manos 2023). The program was implemented in Central America’s Northern Triangle from 2009-2019, employing an “ecosystemic approach” which maintained that “significant others” such as teachers, parents, and peers play a key role in the development of young people and their behaviors. At the same time, the PREVENIR program sought to establish a knowledge management system in participating schools and develop institutional capacity to broaden vocational opportunities for young people at local and national levels (Esmail 2019, para. 5). Through Miles de Manos, SICA has trained educators, parents, and students using the organization’s facilitation guides, contributing to the establishment of frameworks for coexistence and behavioral expectations, enhanced communication practices, and the implementation of a democratic, participatory approach that grants students more autonomy in defining disciplinary strategies and encourages the development of problem solving and social skills (Miles de Manos 2023). 

RESULTS

After seeing promising preliminary results from pilot programs in Guatemala and El Salvador, USAID funded an expansion of the Miles de Manos methodology into Honduras in 2014. Acting as an implementing partner, ChildFund Honduras selected 72 schools in high-risk urban settings – 36 pilot and 36 control – to test the functionality of Miles de Manos within local contexts (Sanchez et al. 2017, p. 5). The pilot program lasted 18 months, provided training to 265 teachers and benefitted 2,269 families (ibid. p. 6). Some of the most striking findings are included below:

• 20% increase in students that reported feeling safe and protected in their classroom and home – from 70%-90%
• In target schools, the monthly average incidence (reported by teachers) of…
  • Emotional and psychological violence among students declined from 199 to 81
  • Sexual violence among students declined by 50% – from 14 to 7
  • Physical violence among students declined from 82 events to 31
  • Disciplinary action declined from 306 to 138 events
• In-school vandalism dropped by 50% – from 14 to 7 events per month on average
• 34/36 pilot schools established peace and safety plans to respond to students’ needs
• Slight increase in students who report use of positive discipline from their parents, and students that know the expectations of their teachers regarding behavior and consequences
  (Sanchez et al. 2017, p. 10-11)

The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), another implementing partner, reported the following:

“Visible physical violence between young people in these schools was reduced by 20 per cent over a period of six months. Communication between teachers and students improved, and learning and behavioural issues were increasingly solved in a spirit of partnership. Between 2014 and 2016, the education ministries in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador introduced Miles de Manos in another 600 schools and school networks. A total of 9,000 teachers took part in the training, and some 120,000 students are participating.”

(Esmail 2019, para. 10). 

Additionally, the PREVENIR program developed a digital platform to promote youth employment at the end of 2015, providing young people with information about educational grants, entrepreneurship courses, job opportunities, manual training, and crucial life skills (Esmail 2019, para. 7). By the end of 2016, the program had constructed 25 computer centers, provided training to approximately 7100 youth, and created sustainable mechanisms that have enabled communities to continue the program independently (ibid.).

(Fumigalli 2018)

CONCLUSIONS

With its successful execution in several communities across three countries, the Miles de Manos model has caught the attention of massively influential international development institutions, such as USAID and NIH. As the combination of the Miles de Manos model and TVET has expanded to three Central American countries, with successes in each, the evidence suggests that the model can be replicated and has the potential for broader implementation. By providing the tools needed to establish collaborative peace plans and democratic disciplinary structures, Miles de Manos has made a positive impact on the wellbeing of students by significantly improving communication and mutual understanding of expectations, and ultimately reducing physical, psychological, and sexual violence in schools.

Despite its accomplishments, however, the program falls short in a few key areas. First, while the model was applied to schools in urban environments, rural children and youth make up a great deal of the population of students left out by current educational systems in the Northern Triangle. While providing quality education in rural areas presents a number of challenges, Miles de Manos should try to expand its outreach or alter the model to make education more relevant and accessible for these students. Additionally, while Miles de Manos embraces a framework that seeks to harness community engagement in order to cultivate cohesion and enhance the autonomy of students, similar in some ways to principles of the previously mentioned radical humanist paradigm, the methodology seems to address interpersonal relationships but largely overlooks individual reflection and development. A strategy that adds self-discovery initiatives to the model could deepen personal growth and also serve to make the Miles de Manos methodology more equitable, as parental involvement cannot be the same for every student. It is essential that all children and youth, in any community, feel that they have as much a place within it as those around them.

REFERENCES

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. (2022, November 24). Femicide or feminicide. Gender Equality Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://oig.cepal.org/en/indicators/femicide-or-feminicide 

Esmail, R. (2019). SICA: Preventing youth violence in Central America. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/13494.html 

Fumagalli, L. (2018, December 21). Training on teacher policies in Latin America. International Institute for Educational Planning. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from https://www.iiep.unesco.org/en/training-teacher-policies-latin-america-4790 

Miles de Manos. (2023). Familias y escuela: ¡Juntas hacen la diferencia! Miles de Manos. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://milesdemanos.com/index.php/miles-de-manos/#1488898488093-49198718-5af3 

Sanchez, R., Susman, K., Ramirez, D., Funez, K., Najera, D., Kocchiu, D., & Betancourt, P. (2017). (rep.). Executive Summary PUENTES PROJECT. USAID, ChildFund Honduras. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://www.childfund.org/uploadedFiles/NewCF/Impact/Knowledge_Center/ExecSummary-PuentesHonduras.pdf. 

Seguridad, Justicia, y Paz. (2020, June 2). Boletín Ranking 2019 de las 50 ciudades más violentas del mundo. Seguridad, Justicia, y Paz. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20200804121557/http://www.seguridadjusticiaypaz.org.mx/sala-de-prensa/1590-boletin-ranking-2019-de-las-50-ciudades-mas-violentas-del-mundo