The vision for El Centro started one day in a village on a mountain outside Guatemala City. I was doing some missions work there when I met a boy sitting on the stoop outside his house. I greeted him and asked him what he was doing and he said he wasn’t doing anything. I then proceeded to ask him if he was waiting for someone, something or anything that would warrant him sitting there by himself doing absolutely nothing. He responded that he simply wasn’t doing anything. I went my way only to come back the same way 3 hours later to find the same young man on the same spot, still doing nothing.

That sparked a lot of feelings and emotions inside me, the greatest of which was the drive to do something about it. And so the dream was born; but it had no name. It wasn’t until a few years after that event that El Centro became a reality. We wanted to create a space where young people could spend their time, find shelter from their struggles and just experience a different reality; and that is where we are today.

We are located in Zone 6 of Guatemala City, which is considered a red zone, meaning it is particularly dangerous due to extreme poverty, violence and gang related activity. Our youth come from very dark and difficult backgrounds. This makes life very harsh, and makes hope even harder to perceive. We do our best to help them by first introducing them to the source of all hope and fullness. Secondarily, we do our best to enrich their lives through education, counseling and training in different useful skills.

El Centro means The Center, and we got the name from Colossians 1:17 which explains that all things hold together in Christ, and that, for us, means the core of everything we do and are, should be JESUS CHRIST. We try to instill that truth in everything we do here and HOPE that everyone that has the privilege of coming through here experiences that to the fullest.