Stepping Forward In Hope: A Timeline

December 19, 2016

Year after year, God has blessed our decision to continue to work towards his justice. Below are just a few of the key moments in the past ten years where we have seen the fruit of this hope.


2008


Homicides drop by a third after one year of ASJ (formerly knows as AJS) intervention in a violent neighborhood. In the next 10 years, homicides will drop over 80%, saving an estimated 600 lives just in that community.


2009


ASJ founds a coalition to support transparency in the vulnerable Health and Education sectors. Over the next seven years, this coalition will eliminate thousands of ghost teachers, increase days of class, and transform the way medicines are purchased throughout Honduras, improving education and health for millions.


2012


ASJ comes together with Honduran universities, churches, and dozens of other organizations to form an alliance to speak out against violence and insecurity in the country. Over the next four years, this alliance will bring the theme of public security to a national stage, leading the call for reform in the police and justice systems.


2013


The Youth and Family Project expands their community work to serve not only vulnerable children, but also their families, making entire communities stronger. In the next four years, over 700 children and thousands of family members will benefit from these programs.


2014


ASJ, invited by Transparency International to be their representative in Honduras, signs an agreement with the Honduran government to oversee five of the most vulnerable government sectors. This agreement will bring corruption and mismanagement to light, and achieve commitments from the Ministers of the sectors to implement in-depth reforms.


2015


The work of ASJ expands to Honduras’ second-biggest city to continue investigating homicides in the country’s most dangerous neighborhoods. In one year, this work will contribute to a 50% reduction of homicides in the area, and the success and bravery of ASJ staff will draw international attention.


2016


ASJ staff members are appointed by the president of Honduras to a Commission that will restructure and reform the Honduran police. In seven months, they will remove over 1,700 corrupt and criminal officers from the force, including hitmen and gang leaders who had masqueraded in police uniforms. They will lead the development of a new, reformed police that can finally serve and protect the Honduran people.


2017


ASJ steps forward in hope into this New Year, believing that God has called us to continue to bring about his vision of a more just society through the decades that are to come.


Hondurans cast their ballots during the November 30, 2025, general election, which saw historic vote
By Brian ASJ December 10, 2025
Hondurans cast their ballots during the November 30, 2025, general election, which saw historic voter turnout and a peaceful process supported by more than 12,000 national and international election observers working to safeguard transparency.
December 2, 2025
ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People,  Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US
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A call to action for Honduras
By Elizabeth Hickel November 25, 2025
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November 13, 2025
Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections
By Elizabeth Hickel November 12, 2025
Dear friend,  I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.
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