My name is Ana, I’m Honduran, and I’m 18 years old. 

I grew up in a family that included my father, my sisters and brothers, and my stepmother, because my mother walked out on us when my siblings and I were very small. My childhood was tough because my stepmother treated me very badly, and I suffered physical and psychological violence. I became very depressed and stopped going to school.

My father is a good man. He encouraged me to resume my studies and he supported me economically. But the depression caused by my mother abandoning us and by my stepmother’s mistreatment led me to quit school definitively and get into drugs. I began a terrible journey into drug use and addiction, and my life just started to fall apart. 

One morning, my paternal grandfather told me he had seen a program on television that talked about Casa Alianza Honduras [as Covenant House is known in Honduras]. We went together to see the place. There I was told they could help me in my process to detox and to continue studying.

Two years later, my life has changed in every way. I’m about to graduate high school and I look forward to going to college. I’ve also taken professional courses in cosmetology, computers, computer repair, and English. And I completed an internship with a private company called Lady Lee. I have totally overcome my addictions.

I’m so grateful to Casa Alianza Honduras. Thanks to all the support they’ve given me, I’m reaching my dreams and I now have a better, stronger relationship with my family.