Intersections of Youth, Community, and Resiliency: Stories From Bluefields, Nicaragua

• In Event: We Can Do It: Valuing Families' and Communities' Voices Shaping Educational Systems

Abstract

This presentation will focus on the outcomes of a USAID qualitative scoping mission in the southern part of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. This activity provided the research team an opportunity to hear the voices of of the “unheard” and unseen populations across the Atlantic coast. Information collected enabled a process to inform both the private and public sectors on issues such as employability and job creation. This feedback loop helped form a unified network of NGO and governmental partners to address outward migration and job stability in the region. Snowball sampling enabled the team to reach a cohort of youth who provided invaluable information that is not easily accessible nor valued in the context of workforce development and education.

Authors

• Nicole Webster, The Pennsylvania State University

• Erica Beth Sausner, Pennsylvania State University