Justicia: Building a Safe Home

March 12, 2024

In recent issues of Justicia, we have shared about the melodies that inspire us to continue working for justice and why our staff call Honduras home. In this issue, we want to share with you what it means for Hondurans to build a safe home. We often see many people leaving other countries and coming to the US, searching for a better life. Although immigration is a complex topic, we understand there are always push and pull factors that motivate people living anywhere to either leave or stay in their home countries. Extortion in Honduras is one of the most pressing push factors displacing people from their homes. Gangs have been the traditional perpetrators of this crime. It’s so common Hondurans have a colloquial name for it: the “war tax.” Typically, extortionists will force business owners like bus and taxi owners, produce vendors, restaurant owners, and other members of the community to pay them a recurring fee under the threat of committing acts of violence against them or people they love if they fail to pay. Over 200,000 Honduran households are forced to pay extortion fees every year.

On my first visit to Honduras as Executive Director in January, I witnessed the tremendous beauty of the country and its people. I also learned about the challenges Hondurans face. These two realities–beauty and challenge–exist side by side. But what we hear most clearly every day at ASJ from our Honduran friends and partners is how much they love their home. Many Honduran immigrants will say they would have stayed if they had felt safe enough to stay–if they knew their businesses could thrive and they could raise their children in peace. Staying true to our mission of being brave Christians, ASJ has been investigating the topic of extortion and developing proposals for how to address it in Honduras. With our work, we aim to build a safer Honduras for people like Mario, whose story you will read in this issue. As Mario will tell you, there is no place like home, and we are honored to participate in this work of building a safe home alongside our Honduran brothers and sisters.

Mario the Bus Driver
“Honestly, I have traveled a lot of places, but I always feel out of place. Nowhere else feels like home.” -Mario
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ASJ’ Work Building a Safe Home
Brave Christians working for justice in Honduras.
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ASJ Supporting Students’ Learning in Honduras

By Elizabeth Hickel • April 29, 2025

Earlier this month, The Banner published a story written by Our Shared Ministr y by Karina Guevara and Elmer Salinas . The authors showcase the work that ASJ-Honduras is doing to help and support students in Honduras. Karina and Elmer tell the story of Genesis Garcia, an 8-year-old, whose family struggles to find consistent jobs. "Genesis Garcia Baquedano is 8 years old and lives with her older brother, Anderson, and their parents in Honduras. Her parents work hard to support their family. Genesis’s father is a painter who struggles to find consistent work, and her mother is a street vendor who spends long hours away from home." According to Karina and Elmer, although Genesis is a good student, she was struggling with reading, writing, and math. This is where the ASJ-Hondurans' program, Strong Communities , comes to be a blessing. "Through God’s grace, Genesis and her family were able to join the Strong Communities program facilitated by World Renew’s local partner, Association for a More Just Society (ASJ, because the Spanish translation is Asociación para una Sociedad más Justa). Through the program, Genesis attended academic support sessions, where she impressed her tutors with her perseverance and enthusiasm. Now, Genesis’s teachers praise the program for the significant progress Genesis has been making at school." We are blessed to be able to help kids like Genesis and her family to be able to achieve their dreams and goals. You can read the full story HERE and learn more about the ASJ-Honduras Strong communities program HERE