We can make sure that the good work being done continues and that hope and opportunity for a better future is met with a better life!

Hello my name is Kristen Young! I came to Casa del Buen Trato Hovde (casadelbuentrato.org) through the Young Adult Volunteer (youngadultvolunteers.org) program, fresh out of college with little knowledge and few expectations, but committed to eleven months of service at this shelter that has served as a home for so many, including me.

One of the things I've been most grateful for while serving as a volunteer has been time. Over time I developed relationships and friendships with each of the girls and got to learn more about them and a little about their pasts. I realized that even though we come from very different backgrounds, we are alike in more ways than we are different. With time, the shelter became a sort of home for me too and I slowly learned more about the shelter, how it operates, about my coworkers, the team of people who make it possible for the girls to be there.

I've learned that the shelter is a lot more than a temporary place of refuge. Casa del Buen Trato Hovde is a home where girls can connect with other girls like themselves; where girls see women as directors, psychologists, lawyers, social workers, pastors; where girls are empowered through encouragement and education; where girls are truly given a chance to have a better life. It is a place not only of protection, but of restoration, growth, and hope.

Each and every girl and boy I've met at the shelter has truly made a lasting impression on my heart. In my time there I saw a number of girls leave and even more girls arrive. I was reminded that the shelter is constantly changing and even though every person who has the opportunity of being present there for a period of time like myself has memories and experiences with different children, we have all seen and felt the love, light, and warmth that is somehow always present.

When we have the chance to witness love and justice in action, especially as foreigners abroad, it becomes our duty to share the good we've encountered with people back home. After spending almost a year of my life going to the shelter, getting to know the girls, learning what the shelter does, and learning its needs, to let my time there be nothing more than a memorable experience in my own life would be a waste.

As a volunteer at the shelter, I was asked to work in the area of promotion and funding. The more time I spent at the shelter and the more I learned, it became easy to want to advocate for the shelter. Not only does the shelter protect, provide, and care for the young survivors while they live at the shelter, it also strives to assure that when each survivor leaves the shelter, she is able to continue healthy development in an appropriate environment—all of which comes at a great financial cost. Working in this area has reminded me that the shelter depends on a lot of outside support and generosity to fully carry out its mission (http://casadelbuentrato.org/que-hacemos/).

There is so much good work being done all over the world that we can take part in. We're not always able to see it for ourselves, but I can tell you that in this little part of the world, at Casa del Buen Trato Hovde in Huánuco, Perú, there is work being done and there is a lot of work to do. From wherever we are in the world, by simply sharing what we have, we can make sure that the good work being done there continues and that hope and opportunity for a better future is met with a better life.

Just a small donation will go a long way to helping me meet my goal for PEACE AND HOPE INTERNATIONAL