Raising Hope for Healing Survivors

The boy was born in Quiche, a region in Guatemala that is known for being poor.  When his father passed away he was only one and he was raised by his mother.  The problem for him started when his step-father begain abusing him physically and also verbally.  He was just a little boy.  When his mother tried to defend him she was also a victim of the violence.  

When he descided to leave home he headed to Antigua, Guatemala.  He know the city becuase he had been there before with his mother.  He had never slept on the streets but had to and he also begged for money to buy food.  Someone on the street told him about Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados.  We have a shelter for women, children and men who are homeless and need a place to stay.  He arrived at our shelter in bad shape and returned night after night.  We realiazid he had no where to go so Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados descided to help him but placing him in a foster family home.  

When we investigated his life we found out that he changed his name.  He did this to become someone else and forget the past.  It is very difficult to forget the violence from his past but at least he was safe now.

After putting his in a foster home we descided to put him in out Human Trafficking program so he could receive more help from our progam.  We reallocated him to a home in a nearby town and he is going to school.  He is happier now and like the family that he is living with.  He doesn't need to change his name to hide his life now, that is all now in the past.