EMPOWER HONDURAS: INTRODUCTION

El Salvador and Honduras are reputedly the world’s most violent countries [that are not in civil war]. Honduras’s second city, San Pedro Sula, is considered to be one of the world’s most violent cities. Reportedly, in some years, it has had a homicide rate of 86.5 people per 100,000.

It is thought that the largest group of unaccompanied young men trying to cross the Mexican border into the USA are from Honduras. The four main causes for this are: fleeing from corruption, the now common occurrence of climate change disasters, unemployment, and, of course, gang violence. In 2024, one of the pastors with whom we had been consulting told us that 75 of the 350 young people with whom he had been in contact had “disappeared”, having now headed on up to the USA/Mexico border.

“…in the communities where we work, it is not an option to become a gang member, but an obligation.” - A quote from one of our Empower Board Members

OUR PROGRESS

In late 2023, we purchased and then refurbished a large run-down (6 bedroom and 4 bathroom) house located in a northern suburb of San Pedro Sula. This was just in time to take our first group of boys. But a year or so later, we had run out of room, and so we have constructed a two-storey addition (120m2 or 130ft2 in size ) so that we may care for up to 25 boys.

The property was purchased from an elderly gentleman who sold it to us for half price, USD89,000. We did not need to pay a deposit, instead we contracted to simply pay an ongoing monthly rent-to-buy payment of USD700/month until the house is fully paid off. If we were to rent a house of this quality and size, the monthly rental would be more than USD 1,000. Our Central American friends are amazed by this and see it as “God’s provision.”

Above: A lovely family. Together, they run the home. What a catch! Our house father’s vision is to see 20 homes planted in Honduras!

In Honduras, we have the same modus operandi as everywhere else where we work – partnering with local Christian leaders as opposed to sending Western personnel. Commonly, our board members are community leaders who work and live among the gangs.

Our house father spends a lot of time communicating with fellow Christian leaders so that we may find the “right boys” for the home. These are boys aged 12-15 years, ambitious, and from backgrounds that make them very at risk of joining gangs. Importantly, the boys’ guardians must see this as a golden opportunity for their kids and encourage them in it. The guys are enrolled in a private school that sees many students advance to tertiary study. The school principal - who has a great heart for mission work - loves what we are doing and has given us something like a 15-20% discount.

 Of our current 10 boys, several come from a community leader who operates in the worst area within the worst suburb (Chamelecón) in one of the world’s most violent cities, San Pedro Sula. I am told that the zone where the boys come is run by a particular gang as opposed to the government.

In this video, our boys have just watched a presentation on our work in Asia. He shares his thoughts.

Congratulations to our first batch of boys, five of whom have grade averages of 99%, 98%, 96%, 87%, and 86% for their term results. Congratulations to our boy below, who topped his grade and who we expect will become the school dux/valedictorian. See what happens when you empower people who want to get ahead?

 TESTIMONY:

Juan (not his real name) was rejected by his parents and so ran away from home. He was basically living on the street when a woman discovered him. Feeling sorry for him, she invited Juan to stay at her home. He lived with her for two years. She could not afford to send him to school, so instead he helped her husband eke out a meagre living. Sadly, her husband has become incapacitated and cannot work. Juan had been living in the operation center of a gang in a particular zone of San Pedro Sula. This zone is run by the gangs, not the government.

When this woman heard about Empower Honduras, she decided to go look for Juan’s biological mother so that she could authorise Juan to enter our project. His mother permitted this. Juan was an obedient boy who was keen to commence study in grade 7. (As of January 2026, Juan’s grade average is now in the high 90’s)

What made Juan at risk of becoming a gang member is that he came from a gang-controlled zone, he had lost his main father/male role model, he had been abused, his education had been truncated, and he had been rejected by his family. Juan was poor and spent too much time on the street. Apart from his new “mother”, nobody had cared for him. These factors made him an ideal recruit for the gangs.   

Governance:  EMPOWER Honduras is legally incorporated under EMPOWER INTERNATIONAL TRUST in New Zealand.