Covenant House Nicaragua (Casa Alianza)

Volunteer Opportunities: Yes

History

For the past fifteen years, Casa Alianza Nicaragua has responded by not only providing a safe haven through shelter, but also ensuring that the children learn valuable skills to survive and then to thrive.

Currently Covenant House Nicaragua has two residential centers: The Hilton Home that provides shelter for close to 80 boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18. These children come from extremely difficult situations of abandonment, substance abuse, poverty, violence, sexual abuse and exploitation. All of these children are provided with our holistic approach to protection and care, which includes social work support, health and medical care, family reintegration services, psychological support, legal services, a substance abuse programs and recreational, cultural and sporting activities. Our other residential house is the Home for Teenage Mothers which cares for up to 14 teenage Moms and 14 babies, as well as teenage girls who are pregnant. The majority of residents are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, human trafficking, domestic violence and many have substance abuse issues. The staff at this Home provides the same multidisciplinary model of protection and care as in the Hilton Home. In addition, they provide parenting classes for the moms, baby supplies for their children including diapers and formula, and daycare for the infants so that the Moms can continue their education.

Covenant House Nicaragua offers the same wide range of services and programs that all of our Covenant House sites in Latin America offer. Along with these services, Covenant House Nicaragua also has special programs such as our Small Business Creation for Mothers where our young girls participate in vocational training classes that include baking, sewing, jewelry making, hairdressing, and other kinds of skills that will help them to obtain gainful employment in the future. We also have a Community Development program where personnel from our Street Team and Addictions Team conduct outreach work in communities and neighborhoods that are extremely poor, dangerous and not equipped to support and protect their kids groups. They go into these neighborhoods, create sports league and youth leadership programs, and provide training and workshops for teens and parents on a multitude of topics including violence prevention, trafficking, and care for the environment.

Casa Alianza Nicaragua is also a well-respected voice for children in Nicaragua and has worked for change with the government in policies and practices that affect youth. They have trained hundreds of judges, prosecutors, and police in anti-trafficking measures and collaborated in launching the first website where citizens can report trafficking crimes anonymously.

Mission

“We who recognize God's providence and fidelity to His people are dedicated to living out His covenant among ourselves and those children we serve, with absolute respect and unconditional love. That commitment calls us to serve suffering children of the street, and to protect and safeguard all children. Just as Christ in His humanity is the visible sign of God's presence among His people, so our efforts together in the covenant community are a visible sign that effects the presence of God, working through the Holy Spirit among ourselves and our youth.”