Each year, Honduras loses thousands of acres of forest and hundreds of thousands of trees to its more than 720 annual forest fires. In response, the government has hired more firefighters, like Melissa Raquel Trejo, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Empleando Futuros (Employing Futures) project beneficiary. Prior to the pandemic, Melissa focused mostly on fighting fires, responding to floods, providing first aid and recuing animals. As the impacts of the pandemic have grown, she now dedicates more time to the country’s COVID-19 response.