Children may end up on the streets for several reasons. They may have no choice — they are abandoned, orphaned or disowned by their parents. Or they may choose to live in the streets because of mistreatment or negligence or because their homes cannot provide them with their basic needs.

The majority of street kids live in the capital city of Tegucigalpa or in the second-largest city of the country, San Pedro Sula. Most fled from homes where abject poverty, violence, alcoholism and familial disintegration are the norm. In order to survive, they steal, dig through trash, shine shoes, or do other odd jobs.

Sadly, an estimated 90 percent of them become addicted to toxic “yellow” glue and paint thinner, which is highly addictive and extremely damaging to the human body, causing kidney failure, irreversible brain damage and, in some cases, death.

The reality is that many Honduran street kids do not make it to their 18th birthday because of the dangerous living conditions that prevail in the country.

Instead of going to school, the children are engaged in some kind of economic activity, ranging from begging to selling things like bubble gum or sweets, so they have no hope of escaping the cycle of need.

As child advocates, those at Compassion Honduras work to ensure that the children in every community have a voice and that their needs are met. The only qualifications for being an effective advocate are concern, compassion, commitment and action. This is the case of Pastor Pinto, a man of faith and vision who has been directing the Santidad church for nearly 20 years. He also directs the Catalina Student Center in the community of El Bosque in Tegucigalpa.

For many years this man has watched his now- 500-member congregation grow in number and quality. For a time he thought that he would continue doing it without any worries, just working with a great staff and servant leaders to continue with his ministry. But God had another plan for him.

Pastor Pinto has always been burdened with the problem of the street children in the country. On many occasions, street children have approached him in his car as he waited at traffic lights. Pastor Pinto felt a big concern for  society’s indifference toward these kids, wondering, “Why does nobody care about them?”

When God started to work in his heart, he at first resisted the idea of getting involved because he was comfortable with his position at church. But with time, he started to open up to this idea. He began by talking with kids and later on invited them to church where they were fed and advised with love.

This started to bear fruit among the children, and with time and God’s blessing this action became a vision of love, named “Manuelito Project,” a special program destined to rescue children from the streets.

“Manuelito” is a common name that represents any kid who lives in the streets and needs help and love. And the fact is that Pastor Pinto also was a fatherless kid.

“I never knew my father, and my mother got married with another man when I was like 9 years old … I was placed along with my older brother in a special center for poor children where I lived for eight years, so as you can see it was a personal struggle in my life and now God has called me to look after these kids.”

The Manuelito Project is now helping 40 children in two special centers, one ofwhich is located within the church, called the transition home. Here the kids have rooms, and receive school classes, meals and love.

“What we do here is to recruit children from the streets. We bring them here, which is quite difficult because they do not want to come. We also educate them and teach them good hygiene habits, and we help them through counseling in order to overcome the addiction to drugs, especially shoe glue.”

There is also a field center located in the community of Talanga, 45 minutes from the capital city.

“We send a child to this place because they have improved a lot and have overcome the addiction to drugs.”

The Manuelito Center in Talanga is a beautiful place with a lot of space and great facilities for the children. In this place the children continue with their studies, learn computers, English, and how to work the land. The spiritual component is also very important for these children, who receive Bible teachings and the support of the center’s staff.

Children are very important for the kingdom of heaven; Pastor Pinto knows that it is a great responsibility not just for him, but for his staff and family. As a servant of the living God, he feels optimism and believes that something great will happen in the lives of these children.

Perhaps the best achievement for this man of faith is seeing these children free from drug addiction and becoming involved in the church ministries.

“It has not been easy for us. Each child is different with his or her own conduct patterns, but the Lord is with us so we cannot fail. We have many kids from the Manuelito Project who are now participating in the youth group, worship ministry and as Sunday school teachers.”

There is still so much to do, but for Pastor Pinto it has been a life-changing experience. He is confident that nothing is in vain and that the good seed that is being grown in these kids through the student center and the Manuelito Project will bear good fruits in time.

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This exceptional group of women at Centro de Desarrollo Gracia y Poder student center in Honduras benefited through a workshop carried out through our Complementary Interventions programs.

 

The seed fund was for $3,000 to teach these women, who didn’t know anything about sewing, a skill that could help them generate an income. The training lasted three months, and the participants learned how to create bed comforters and bed sets, curtains and tablecloths.

This activity was a life-changing experience for Gladis A., who didn’t just learn a new skill, but also opened her heart to Jesus through this workshop.

This young sewing mama is a hardworking woman who has been through difficult times. She is a single mother raising five children who depend on her for everything. Determination to provide for them led her to move away from her children so she could look for better job opportunities in San Pedro Sula, five hours from the capital city, Tegucigalpa. Life became long hours of hard work in a factory. She says:

“It was hard for me to leave my children only with my mother, but I had to do it for them. While I was away, I remember that every night when I was going to bed I used to stare at the pictures of my children on the wall and cried out to the Lord as I wanted to get back with them.”

Almost four years passed by and Gladis was still looking forward to the day when she would definitely move back to her home. Finally the day came, and she praised the Lord for this response.

 

“ I remember that my children cried when they saw me with my things, and I hugged them. God has been good to me even when I was not Christian at that time. He always takes care of me and my children, and I’m so grateful for it.”

Gladis came back to her home with new hopes and she brought along with her the last paycheck for her service in the factory, which she invested to buy a sewing machine and providing some needs for her family.

“I thought of buying a sewing machine because I wanted to generate an income at home since I was alone with my children. But the blessings really came through because my child, Ricardo, is part of the Compassion child development center and that is how I got to know about the wonderful work that they do. I was called by the pastor’s wife, and she invited me to join the group for the workshop and I really liked the idea.”

Being part of the workshop represented an even greater experience for her as she decided to commit her life to Jesus. Her friends shared the gospel with her while she was at the meetings, and she was invited to church.

It didn’t take long for Gladis to open up her heart to the Lord. Now Gladis has been attending the church for about a year and is even working as a tutor for the 6- and 7-year-olds at the student center.

The sewing workshop has produced other good fruits for the women. None of the participants had previous experience in this field, but they were open and willing to learn about creating the bed sets.

“We did a great job and made good products. We had the opportunity to display them at church and we have sold many of them,” the group states vigorously.

Today Gladis and the other sewing mamas embrace the dream of creating a small business together. After the months of training, nine women have decided to continue on their own and are determined to succeed.

For Maria, this workshop represented a good opportunity to generate more income and give something back to her family. Maria is a Christ-centered woman who is part of the church prayer group and also works as a nurse in the health area at the student center.

She has been part of this congregation for 12 years now and never misses the church meetings with her 15-year-old daughter, Dayana, who is part of the worship ministry.

Maria has faith that God will bring back her husband to church. Her husband works in a mental hospital. In the meantime, she keeps persevering in God’s path and working with her friends in the elaboration of bed sets.

“We are confident and this group will become a micro-enterprise because we have good products and we have had so many orders. I think we can start to dream big.”

All the women come at least twice a week depending on the demand, and all of them are committed to making this dream come true. They have done so well they decided to give a special offering for the church’s second-floor construction.

Maria explains,

“It has been a great blessing for all of us. God has been good to us and we feel committed to give something in return, and we know that this will be very useful for our church.”

For Gladis C., being part of the workshop opened up better opportunities for her and her family. Mother of one 17-year-old boy and a child of 1-year-old, she is always willing to serve the Lord as a tutor for children and also managing the library at the development center.

Her husband is serving in the music ministry. The sewing workshop caught the attention of Gladis, who thought this could be an opportunity to help her husband, who was working long hours in a gasoline station.

“I can tell you that this was a very important initiative that was born from the heart of the pastor’s wife in order to support mothers who lack economical resources.”

The church managed to get an instructor, and approached the Compassion office to seek support for this activity.

Compassion’s Complementary Interventions program has been crucial for the realization of this workshop. The group is committed to succeeding, and all of the sewing mamas embrace the dream of becoming a small business that might allow them to improve their economical resources as well as their living conditions.

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