- Perspectives -

How a Youth Organization in Honduras is Shaping a New Generation of Changemakers

by Nathalie van Duijvenbode on January 21, 2025

When I ask you to imagine a change maker, what do you envision? Perhaps a politician, a diplomat, or someone with a high level of authority – sitting in a conference room, making important decisions and shaping policies. But why is it so hard for us to imagine young people in this role?

Nowadays, change doesn’t always come from where we expect. Sometimes, it comes from young people coming together to take action in their own communities. This is the case for Sustenta Honduras – a youth organization based in Honduras challenging the traditional image of a change maker by showing that a genuine passion for advocacy is what it takes to drive meaningful change. Focused on climate change adaptation through youth empowerment, the organization aims to promote public participation in sustainable development.

For Sustenta Honduras, success isn’t measured by their own accomplishments, but by the work of their young volunteers, who they aim to equip with the tools and knowledge to make change happen beyond the organization’s reach. Last month, the youth group set out to Lamani, a small rural town in Honduras, to install two of our outdoor air quality monitors as part of their Aire Limpio Honduras project funded by the French Ambassador to Honduras. This marked their first installation of many planned across the country, aiming to make air quality data more accessible.

The installation of the outdoor air quality monitor in the town of Lamani.

To further understand the experiences of the youth volunteers, I had the opportunity to speak with Andrea, a dedicated member of the organization. Her insights not only offered a closer look into the many successes, but also the challenges the volunteers faced during the installation process.

The decision to kickstart this project in Lamani wasn’t a random one – it was a deliberate choice rooted in both environmental and community factors. The town has a vast forest surrounding it, providing an ideal setting for people to observe and measure noticeable differences between the air quality in rural and urban areas. Another important factor was the warm acceptance they received from the town’s community. The mayor of Lamani expressed her interest in the project and was the first one to welcome the initiative. For the community, this wasn’t just a simple installation; it was an event that was to be celebrated.

The children of Lamani performed during the event to welcome the Susenta Honduras team and the French Ambassador.

The success of their first installation shows that the youth are always willing to be part of impactful projects. For many young people, caring about environmental issues isn’t the problem – it’s knowing where to start. Oftentimes, the reality is that they just don’t have access to this knowledge. This is where youth organizations like Sustenta Honduras help bridge the gap.

“Once they realized the actual cold hard facts that we have in Honduras, it becomes an issue and a worry, and that need to want to help comes from within.” – Andrea Aranda of Sustenta Honduras

In many cases, these volunteers have shown that they are more than capable of stepping up and being hands-on once they’re equipped with the proper knowledge and tools. Their dedication to the project goes beyond the installation event, as they continue to ensure that the community can fully understand and interpret air quality data. This has been done through the set up of workshops and landlines that are open for the community to contact at any given time.

One particular instance that showcased their readiness to handle any possible challenge took place after the installation of the monitors. A power outage hit town, and since Lamani is about two hours away from the capital, Tegucigalpa, the team had to assist them and provide technical support through text. Because of this incident, they took the initiative to draft their own manual on how to reboot the system in case something similar would happen again. This is something they plan on disseminating to the mayors of the towns they’re going to install air quality monitors in. This kind of initiative and willingness to continuously learn is something that we often underestimate in young advocates.

While technical challenges like power outages were met with creativity and resilience, the real hurdle wasn’t about equipment—it was about earning trust in a world that often underestimates young people’s capabilities. When I asked Andrea about what advice she had for any youth groups who wanted to replicate similar initiatives, one key point stood out to me the most – it was to always be emotionally prepared.

“It happened once that during our installation, an older man approached us to ask mainly [about the project]… and I don’t think he had the positive attitude that many other people did have, but mainly because he didn’t understand it. So be prepared to be doubted – that could really take a toll on your emotional health…”

Emotional preparedness isn’t usually something that is considered in technical projects like these. But for Sustenta Honduras’ youth volunteers, it proved to be just as important as the technical and logistical side of it. Unfortunately, not everyone in the community will immediately understand the work being done. Andrea also highlighted the importance of always being in the know, stating that people will always have questions, opinions, or even criticisms that might make you feel like your efforts aren’t enough.

“It’s very important to us to have the most happy experience, something that will leave you wanting more – more than it drains you… It can be really draining, because it’s a youth project, so people are going to be having questions. They’re going to be wanting to give you any kind of comments so that you feel like you’re not doing as much as you’re doing but you are.”

Being a young change maker isn’t easy, as you’ll come across people who will question your authority. While it may be true that young people often don’t possess formal titles or credentials because of their age, the truth is that they don’t need this to prove themselves or their ability to make a difference.

What’s truly needed is for older generations to recognize that the youth are not only ready to take on these responsibilities – they’re already doing it. Instead of measuring credibility by titles or formal positions, we should focus on what really matters: a genuine willingness to help.
What they need from us isn’t more doubt or hesitation, but trust – which I realized was the biggest problem when Andrea thanked me for writing this article.

“Once people know that it’s not just us being like ‘Yes we did this by ourselves!’, having the back of AirGradient is something that makes them feel reassured that we’re not just making up stuff.”

When she expressed this, it got me thinking: why do the actions of these youth organizations need to be validated by bigger organizations? Why can’t we rely on them when they’re already standing on their own, using their platforms to mobilize change? Large organizations like the United Nations have launched advocacy campaigns that urge people to let the youth lead, but what does that actually look like in practice? Here are a few practical ways we can support young leaders and change makers.

  • Hear them out: While this may seem pretty straightforward, it’s actually the most important thing to do. Leave all of your preconceived notions behind and be prepared to listen to what the youth have to say. Engage in respectful conversations, approach them with an open mind, and take the time to truly understand their advocacies and purpose.

  • Engage in their work: The youth put a lot of time and effort into creating informative content and campaigns. Take Sustenta Honduras, for example, who have a large online presence. Set aside some time to read the articles they write, watch the videos they create, and if you’re active on social media, follow their social media platforms and share their content. By doing this, you’re helping them reach a wider audience, which gives them the opportunity to grow and be heard.

  • Encourage joint advocacy efforts: If you’re part of an organization or a company, consider exploring ways to collaborate with youth-led organizations. This can be through joint advocacy efforts in the form of co-hosting events or running campaigns together. In addition to that, financial support is another potential way to help. Considering that youth-led initiatives often run on limited budgets, grants, sponsorships, or donations can help them access the resources they need to push through.

With that being said, we look forward to further supporting Sustenta Honduras and other possible youth organizations that continue to use their platforms for clean air advocacy. We hope that the dedication and hard work of the Sustenta Honduras team and its volunteers will inspire more youth-led initiatives to expand projects like these on a global scale. More importantly, we urge you to look around and take the time to see what advocacies the youth in your community are initiating and leading – you might just be surprised at how widespread this movement has become.

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