Casa Alianza - Homeless Youth Opening Doors for Homeless Youth

My name is Eugenio Alberto Lopez, I am 16 years old. I am currently in my first year of a vocational course in baking and pastry making.

I am from the city of San Pedro Sula, and am so happy to be part of Casa Alianza Honduras, where I have been helped so much for the past year and six months. When I came here I was on the run, escaping from my own home, where my family had refused to accept me for my differences.

A friend of mine, who knew about what I was going through and had been a resident at Casa Alianza HondurasCasa Alianza, because I couldn't continue living the way I was. My parents didn't understand or accept me, I was being constantly rejected, and I was starting to find myself in very dangerous situations because of it. It was affecting me psychologically, to the point where I prepared myself to take my own life.

I came to Casa Alianza Honduras on January 5, 2010, and since the day I moved in, all of the staff worked with me to help me build up my physical and mental health. I enrolled in school. At the start my behavior was awful, but the support and training I received from everyone working at Casa Alianza helped me to sort myself out and understand how to behave properly.

I really don't know what would have become of my life it I hadn't decided to join Casa Alianza. I know it would not have been a happy story.

Casa Alianza Honduras has provided me with training in a number of different areas, including HIV/AIDS, reproductive and sexual health, domestic violence, handling peer pressure, self-esteem, gender and sexuality. I have graduated as a specialist trainer (someone who counsels other at-risk young people) in sexuality, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive health. In my spare time I am a volunteer at the organization PASMO, which works with children and teens to prevent HIV/AIDS.

I also received business skills training, and Casa Alianza got me involved in a number of different vocational courses, including baking. My talent as a baker has been confirmed by the number of people complementing the bread I make. Thanks to the habits of hard work and discipline I have learned during this time, I am getting great grades in all of my baking courses.

My short term goals are to complete my first year of baking courses, but not just to finish -- to finish with pride, with high grades and top quality products.

I would then like to study journalism and train to be a respected writer and journalist. In doing so, I hope to write wonderful stories about Casa Alianza. I know I will be able to fulfill these ambitions with the help and support of my parents and of Casa Alianza. It is through Casa Alianza that I have been able to restore my relationship with my parents. They have now come to understand me, and accept and value me for who I am.

And so, with God's will, I will keep on the right track, knowing that with hard work and discipline it is possible to realize all of my dreams.

Ultimately, I hope to have the money to be able to return the love shown to me and to help the poorest and most disadvantaged children in my country, not by giving them food, but through the example of Casa Alianza, providing education and employment, so that they are no longer dependent on others. I hope to train children around the country, so that by following this calling and working together, we can build a better nation.

I ask God to never let me lose my hope and belief. I know now that if I set my mind to it, I can achieve great things. I truly have been touched by an angel, and I hope that as many children as possible can share in this experience, and become aware that if we make the effort, we can go as far as becoming the next President of Honduras -- one aware of the risks and dangers facing children and teens living on the streets.

I thank God, Casa Alianza, and all of the national and international donors who make it possible for so many children and teens to have another chance at life. Thanks to them, we can be part of an organization that can really help, instead of continuing life on the streets or in gangs, where we would add to the statistics of the "lost" youth of Honduras.