Shelter Allows Girls to Escape Exploitation

By Hilda M. Perez

A short, thin girl with tightly woven braids runs through a sunlit hallway and into her room. She is looking for her backpack, which sits on the white-tiled floor, filled with patterns, scissors and red cloth. She says good-bye to one of her roommates and heads to vocational school. She is learning to make a skirt. Her dream is to be a designer.

At 13 years old, Andrea*—now 14—left her home in Honduras to escape six years of physical abuse by her stepfather. "I had no sense of what it was like to be a child. I had enough."

Andrea, the eldest of five girls and three boys in her family, fended for herself for a month until an uncle tracked her down. He threatened that if she didn't go with him, he would tell her stepfather and she would be returned. He offered to help and take care of her.

"I thought he would help me. He told me so. I was naïve to think he would. I would have been better to stay and continue being beaten."

It took 15 days for Andrea's uncle to drive them to Chiapas, Mexico. When they arrived, he took her to a church and asked the local priest to bless her. When the blessing was over, they stepped out of the church and her uncle tried to shove her into a taxi. He was selling her for 20,000 pesos (about $1,800) to a 50-year-old man who wanted to live with her permanently and to exploit her sexually.

"I refused and did not get in the taxi. I ran back to the hostel where we were staying. My uncle was so mad, he beat me and raped me."

Andrea has been living at the Hogar de Querubines (Cherub Home) for nearly a year. The house—located in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, supports girls ages 12 to 18 who have been sexually exploited, physically abused and trafficked. It is the only such center, not only in Honduras, but in all of Central America. Catholic Relief Services Honduras provides funding to Hogar de Querubines through the Casa Alianza (Covenant House).

Innocence Found

At the center, the girls receive food, clothing, schooling and training in vocational skills in addition to spiritual, psychological and emotional support. "We aim to give them back the rights that have been taken away from them. We give them the childhood, love and assistance they should have had with their families," says Bessy Valle, director of Hogar de Querubines.

Andrea was able to tell the authorities what happened and they arrested her uncle. "He said I lied. He said I had agreed. I was scared. He threatened to kill me when he gets out of jail.

"But being in this home, I feel safe. They have oriented me. I have dreams and I hope I can continue to move forward. I hope to God that nothing has happened to my sisters," says Andrea.

It is estimated that in Honduras alone, between 8,000 and 10,000 girls and boys are the victims of sexual exploitation. Honduras serves as a source and transit country for girls trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. Honduran girls are trafficked internally as well as to the United States, Mexico, Guatemala and other Central American countries for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Jose Torres, project coordinator at Casa Alianza, explains, "Poverty is the biggest factor. Once they are [exploited], the children figure they must keep doing it and are fed false promises.

"We hope to reconstruct their lives. It's a slow and long process. It is such a damaging situation. We hope they don't fall or relapse after they leave the home so we work with them for two years after, working closely with the community and families to ensure they succeed."

*Name has been changed to protect her identity.

Hilda M. Perez is an award-winning photojournalist based out of Orlando, Florida. She recently traveled to Honduras and Mexico to write and photograph stories for CRS.