August 31, 1999

Reinventing Honduras

The College of Business Administration has joined with area universities to reinvent and revitalize the Republic of Honduras economy and infrastructure following the devastation of Mitch, the storm that tore the country apart last year.

Loyola's School of Law joins the CBA along with the University of New Orleans, Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and the Louisiana State University's Agricultural Center. Together, the schools have developed a proposal to bring Honduras back to its pre-Hurricane state and, more importantly, a plan to thrust the country into the 21st century.

With the backing of the academia and MetroVision, the multiparish nonprofit organization that fosters economic development, the strategic plan calls for a 20-year investment in the country and focuses on a number of critical areas, from bridge building to water conservation, from overhauling the legal system to privatizing portions of the healthcare system.

The comprehensive endeavor was announced on June 7 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where representatives from the universities, business community, and city of New Orleans joined Honduran officials in signing the final plan called the Honduras/Louisiana Strategic Alliance. The Honduran government invited the consortium's proposal that emphasizes the long-standing ties between Honduras and Louisiana. Although the destruction wrought by Mitch made the signing of the agreement more pressing, organizers stress the plan is a culmination of a five-year effort and will continue for as long as two decades, long after the cleanup is complete.

Unlimited potential

The benefits for Honduras from the successful implementation of the plan are obvious, but equally apparent are the tremendous impact the venture could have on the universities involved and the entire state of Louisiana. Approximately $9 billion has been pledged to rebuild Honduras and to garner even a fraction of that sum would translate into a tremendous economic opportunity.

While the partnership does not guarantee that business contracts and grants will automatically be awarded to Louisiana businesses, political and business leaders applaud the consortium's pro-active initiative.

Specifically, Loyola's College of Business and the School of Law will examine Honduras' banking industry and legal system, with the goal of making the country attractive and competitive in the global economy.

"Loyola's involvement in this project clearly has the potential to assist the people of Honduras in a significant way," CBA Dean Patrick O' Brien affirmed. "Equally important, however, it provides an opportunity for Loyola to strengthen its educational programs by providing its faculty and students the opportunity to work directly with the people of Honduras. Our faculty and students can surely learn from Hondurans as much as they assist Hondurans. What we learn can be brought back to our classrooms here in New Orleans."