Jonathan is Unstoppable

Jonathan defines his young life as a “series of opportunities” — an attitude you might not expect of a young man whose adolescence was marked by hardship. He says he owes his success today to two things: His determination to build a good life for himself and the unwavering support he has received at Covenant House Mexico.

“This is a place where you can find your way and develop your abilities, your emotions, too. It’s a place where you can become someone in life,” Jonathan says of his experience as a CHMX shelter resident and now in our independent living program.

“Covenant House Mexico is a place where you will always find support, where someone is always there for you. And they’ll support you in the ways you want to be supported—If you want to study, if you want to work—here, they’re going to support you. That’s it,” he says.

‘There is Nothing You Can’t Achieve’

Jonathan, 20, is in his second semester at the prestigious National Polytechnic Institute, where he’s studying computer engineering. He’s also been working for over two years at a company that organizes business networking events across industries and across the country, something he both enjoys and finds challenging.

“It seems tough, and it is tough sometimes,” he says about juggling his responsibilities at the university, work, and caring for his apartment, “but there is nothing human beings can’t achieve.”

Jonathan is living proof of that statement.

He left an oppressive home in Honduras and traveled alone to Mexico when he was just 15. At one point, he thought he could make it work with his family, and he went back to Honduras, only to find it impossible.

By the time he got to Covenant House Mexico, Jonathan was 16. He had only a primary school education, and he carried the weight and the grief of family separation.

But he always knew he wanted better. And at Covenant House Mexico, he finally found the support that matched his determination.

A New Beginning

“Everything restarted for me here. I was able to complete middle school and high school,” he says. “It was hard. I had trouble concentrating, and I was easily distracted. But little by little, I adjusted.”

Jonathan took every course he could to better his chances of achieving the kind of future he longed for: job readiness workshops, electronic device maintenance, even basic English classes. “I told myself learning another language is another way of opening doors,” he says.

He points to the daily support he received from residence advisors, on-staff psychologists, teachers, and independent living specialists as key to his growth in self-confidence and the development of his purpose.

“The psychologists could always tell when I was sad and remembering dates that were important to my family,” Jonathan says. “My teachers here were the ones who noticed I would be good at engineering, that I had a talent for mathematics. The director [CEO], too, was very important to my journey. And the advisors, although they were a little strict with me, it was because they didn’t want me to stray from my path.

“All of them have been fundamental to the path I’m on today,” he underscores.

Purpose and Determination

But Jonathan, too, was his own best advocate — because he knew what he wanted and would not be deterred.

“I believe that when someone doesn’t have a plan for their future, they make decisions without thinking. If you make your way and you know where you want to go, you’re not going to make decisions like that,” he says.

There have been moments, Jonathan adds, when his confidence did flag, when he felt like, no, he couldn’t do it.

“But then, I always saw reason, and I said, ‘Yes, I can do it,’” he recalls. “And the thing is, here at Covenant House Mexico, I’m surrounded by people who also are telling me I can do it because they know my strengths, and they know I’m capable.”

He adds, “I’m grateful because I believe I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for Covenant House Mexico.”

Advice for Young Residents at CHMX

For the new and younger residents at CHMX, Jonathan advises, “Don’t limit yourself when it comes to discovering your strengths or developing your abilities because, like I said, we’re all capable when we put our minds to it.

“Give it everything you’ve got and don’t give up,” he continues. “Even though life tests you, and tests you hard, be smart, and you can make it. Slow down and you can do it.”

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Covenant House has programs in 34 cities across five countries: the United States, Canada, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. The children and youth at our Latin America sites are the youngest across our federation, at just 12 to 18 years old.

Your donation is the most immediate and impactful way to support Covenant House’s work in Latin America.