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San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Honduran gang members wander into new life


After two years of involvement with a Honduran Mennonite outreach program, members of the Wanderers street gang in Punta Caliente neighbourhood still hang out together – but now they play soccer and pick up trash rather than shooting at other gangs and robbing.

Paz y Justicia (Peace and Justice), a program of the Mennonite Church of Honduras, has worked since 1999 in two neighbourhoods in San Pedro Sula. Through sports, community service, instruction and spiritual assistance, Paz y Justicia has helped end most criminal behaviour of gangs in these neighbourhoods. A Mennonite Central Committee volunteer previously worked with this program, and MCC plans to fill the position again by January 2002.

On a weekday morning in Punta Caliente neighbourhood, eight former members of the Wanderers gather with Denis Mata, a Paz y Justicia employee. Most of the young men, ranging in ages from 16 to 24, have gang-related tattoos, from amateur-looking hearts and “W”s, to elaborate angels. Several men cannot attend because they are working; another is in school. Thirteen members of the Wanderers have left the gang, calling themselves “Youths in Recuperation”. Seven others are still in the gang. Other former members have either moved away or been killed.

The young men give different reasons for working with Paz y Justicia. One says a soccer team the group sponsored gave him something to do. Another credits talks on non-violence from Mata and MCC volunteer Ricardo Torres with opening his eyes to the lack of a future he had with a gang. A third, named Elwin, speaks of Christian salvation that Paz y Justicia taught. The professional-looking tattoos across his chest and arms are mementoes of his time in prison.

“The gang offers nothing,” he says. “Only Christ offers salvation.”

As these Wanderers left the gang, they began other activities such as playing soccer, making outings to a swimming hole, offering their time to the neighbourhood council and picking up trash along a highway.

In Gracias a Dios neighbourhood, the Vatos Locos gang has ceased to exist thanks to Paz y Justicia and other forces. Again, soccer and other activities attracted the members. Since that program began, the youths have periodically cleaned a park and a cemetery, and they have also sponsored Mother’s Day and Children’s Day celebrations.

Neighbours are glad to see the changes. Angel Vasquez, owner of a small store, who says the gang problem had made business difficult. “Truck drivers with milk, meat, gas tanks would not come in,” he says. “We had to push carts several blocks away to get the things.” He credits Paz y Justicia with calming the neighbourhood; police and a vigilance committee established by store owners also helped, he says.

Dominga Alba, who owns a small kitchen nearby, agrees that the gang program has improved the neighbourhood. “When the supply trucks could not come in, it hurt my business too because I could not buy food I needed,” she says. “But our boys are not the problem anymore.” However, outside gangs still cause trouble in the area, she says.

Juan Carlos Mendoza, owner of another small store nearby, adds, “The mere presence of gang members makes it hard for me. Customers don’t want to come around when they see that.”

He agrees that the situation is much improved after the work of Paz y Justicia. He also thinks that a number of deaths within Vatos Locos limited the gang’s influence.

“Many of these kids don’t really know what a gang is when they join it,” Mata says. “They just see guys wearing nice clothes, and looking tough with their tattoos. When they realize what the gang requires – carrying weapons, selling drugs, getting in fights – many want to leave.”

 – Eric Timar, an MCC worker in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

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Last modified November 13, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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