The Essence of Home

by Sam W. Burnette

October 2009

When Jovenes en Camino was an early idea, it was envisioned as a Christian based mission to get a few of Honduras’ homeless boys off the streets, alleys, dumps and other known hideouts. Once safe on site, the fundamental mission of JEC is to break the cycle of homeless, helpless and abused street children through love and intervention with these young men. Starting a project of this magnitude presented many programmatic and operational questions. Determining the number of boys that could be taken in and the location went through multiple scenarios before the actual site selection and campus design started. One goal with the program, however, never changed. That goal was that Jovenes en Camino would not be designed as, operated as or called an orphanage. It would be a different home for young men who previously knew home as a place without loving parents, a roof, a bed, warm and edible food and a sense of security from other street inhabitants.

Establishing and maintaining that goal from the onset allowed other objectives to clearly develop and establish a residential campus for 82 boys to presently call home. Many of our current sponsors and supporters know these objectives and can recite them to other potential supporters of JEC. Some of the most noteworthy ones to mention are in the following summaries:

 A Home -- not an Institution

JEC will look and feel like a group of homes -- not a cluster of project housing or institutional structures. Each home was designed to accommodate up to 32 boys and a houseparent’s apartment. There are eight rooms which house up to four boys each. The JEC site, a long and narrow former ranch property, would handle up to four residential buildings, a central dining/meeting facility, small multi-purpose building and recreational fields at the back half of the property. The front half of the property includes the administration building, a vacated barn used for storage and future classrooms, an orientation house and library, and the guard building. An existing swimming pool was kept for recreation and baptisms. The central section of the site between the two clusters of buildings was reserved for fruit trees and light agricultural use prior to the fortunate purchase of an agricultural site just down the street from JEC.

There are currently three residential buildings housing 82 boys. At this time, there are no plans to increase the number of boys until the need for additional staff is implemented. The fourth residence may be built to lower the ratio of boys to house parents as a result of this program improvement. The placement of all new structures is done in a loose, irregular pattern with a series of paved walkways interconnecting to the central dining facility as the key, social gathering place. The concept is to establish a village with residential building patterns and scale. Flat roofs and rectangular building shapes, while simple to construct, would not have supported this objective. From the first impression upon approach, it should be apparent to the JEC visitors they are entering the site of a home and not an institution.

Secure, yet not a Detention Center

Anyone who has been to JEC will notice the property fence, the guard building (and guards), and metal gates at the residence courtyards. Some of our readers even helped build the fence. These are necessary features to keep people out, not to keep people in. Unfortunately most of Central America is within a region of extreme poverty levels. Maintaining the safety of the boys from intruders, and protecting the JEC property warranted these security features.

Safe like Home Should Be

As children growing up in our own homes, we needed to feel close to our parents at night. We also needed to have a safe way to exit for fires or weather related emergencies. The JEC homes are designed to accommodate both of these needs. The two story homes are arranged in a simple U-shape with boys` rooms located to either side of the two level houseparent’s apartment. The house parents can access either level of the building quickly through their apartment, which also serves as an additional fire exit from the second level. The building walls and exterior walkways are constructed with concrete, block and other non-combustible materials. In the rare, but possible case of a fire, the exit paths are clear and highly visible to the interior courtyard of each building.

The Essence of Home

Beyond the building materials and codes related terminology, JEC was always meant to establish a sense of home. Its mission is to be a safe retreat from the destitute and lonely origins of these boys` former lives on the streets. Memories of home, even a home without natural parents, can be filled with thoughts of love, friendships, moral upbringing, security, positive role models, good food and a happy place to return after a day of school work. Although this is no small task, it has and will continue to be a key goal of Jovenes en Camino.

Buildings can only house the essence of home. However, it`s the love and skills of the JEC staff that can promote and teach this culture. In turn, the boys learn to pass it on to their peers and future families. Your continued support, both financially and with prayer, ensure the boys and staff at JEC will help change this cruel cycle in Honduras.