Rescued from the streets
A volunteer with Mision Rescate talks to boys living on the street. The volunteers spend time building relationships with the boys in an effort to rescue them from the harsh life on the street.
“Thank God and you for all your help,” said Jesus Alejandro, above, a former street child who now lives at Mision Rescate.
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras – For Jesus Alejandro, the rough concrete of the city sidewalks made for a poor pillow, but he had nowhere else to go.
Forced out of his home at the age of seven, Jesus Alejandro quickly learned that survival was the life of a street child. To satisfy his constant hunger, he searched through dumpsters for discarded food, but it was never enough to ease his hunger pangs. Eventually, Jesus Alejandro began using drugs to dull the pain.
When volunteers from Mision Rescate (Rescue Mission) found him, Jesus Alejandro, now 14, had been living on the streets for seven years. The volunteers gave him food and helped treat his wounds. It wasn’t long before he began showing up at Mision Rescate for meals, baths and clean clothes.
Eventually, Jesus Alejandro agreed to live permanently at the shelter.
“Before, I did not have a place to have some food, and now, I am going to school and about to graduate from sixth grade,” he said.
His life has changed, thanks to Mision Rescate. He smiles now and plays soccer with his friends; he is enthusiastic about the future.
“I am interesting in having a career, working, and taking charge of my own life,” he said.
Jesus Alejandro has no intention of returning to the streets, but there are still thousands of children just like him sleeping on sidewalks and sifting through dumpsters. An estimated 20,000 children are on the streets of Honduras, many of them right there in San Pedro Sula. They can be seen washing windows, shining shoes, selling candy, and begging for money.
These children earn up to $20 a day doing this, but most of the money is spent on alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and other attempts to numb their pain. In fact, an estimated 90 percent of street children struggle with substance abuse.
At least two nights a week, volunteers from Mision Rescate hit the streets, building relationships with the children they meet. Their mission is to help these children by rehabilitating them physically and psychologically.
Operation Blessing supports Mision Rescate with food, learning materials, medication, sports supplies, and more. Already, several boys have come through the rehabilitation and restoration program and some have even reintegrated back into their families. Jesus Alejandro even wants to use his experiences to reach others on the street.
“Thank God and you for all your help,” he said. “May God multiply his blessings because of what you do for us. Neither myself nor my friends would think of wasting this opportunity.”
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Operation Blessing is helping to transform the futures of children like these by providing clean water, education assistance, nutritional feeding programs, medical care and more.
Please make an online contribution toward OBI's orphan care programs today and help us continue to reach those in need.