Grupo Elektra, Latin America 's leading specialty retailer and
financial services company, has joined IOM and the Honduran
government to provide assistance to irregular migrants returned by
air from the United States.

The Centre for Assistance to Returned Migrants project (CAMR by
its Spanish acronym) has been assisting migrants that are returned
from United States since March of 2000. 

According to the National Migration Forum of Honduras (FONAMIH
by its Spanish acronym) between 800,000 and one million Hondurans
live outside their country, the vast majority in the United States
(800,000 to 850,000).

In 2005, 18,941 Hondurans were repatriated from the United
States with 20,318 migrants (16,937 men, 2,860 women and 521
minors) being returned so far this year.

IOM and its partners meet the returning migrants at Tegucigalpa
and San Pedro Sula airports and provide initial assistance such as
shelter or onward transport to their places of origin, food,
medical care, clothing, as well as legal and psychosocial
counselling.  The project also helps those who wish to return
to school or to join vocational training programmes, micro credit
schemes, and assist them in their job search.

Assistance from Grupo Elektra includes computers,
telecommunications equipment, office furniture, clothing, bags and
other personal items.

Elektra’s support comes on the heels of an agreement
signed this month between IOM, the Honduran Director General of
Migration, the Catholic Scalabrini Sisters, and the Honduran
Professional Training Institute, to increase the coordination and
assistance provided to the returned migrants.

For more information, please contact:

Evelyn Andino

IOM Honduras

Tel: 504.220.1104

E-mail:  "mailto:eandino@iom.un.hn">eandino@iom.un.hn