Turning Away from MS-13 and al-Shabaab: Analyzing Youth Resilience in Honduras and North East Kenya

This report analyzes survey data from 200 participants in USAID-funded, EDC-implemented youth programs in North East Kenya and Honduras. The report uses the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-28, a tool developed and tested by the Resilience Research Center) to measure youths’ resilience—loosely defined as their ability to find resources that sustain their well-being given the contexts in which they lived.

Key Findings

• Total CYRM-28 results indicate limited variation between the global results and the EDC results in North East Kenya and Honduras.
• Participants from North East Kenya had statistically significantly higher scores on the peer support and spiritual subscales.
• Overall, females scored higher than males in Honduras and lower than males in North East Kenya.
• Honduran respondents noted the important and positive roles of the church and community cohesion, and females in particular were proud of their neighborhoods and keen to help other youth. Honduran respondents were gravely concerned with gangs, organized crime groups, and general insecurity in their communities.
• Respondents in North East Kenya noted significant pride in the Somali cultural and religious heritage but also noted that differences in beliefs and attitudes have led to clashes.