Ángel
Antonio Valerio, 20, or Toño as his friends know him,
lives in Ciudad España in Honduras. He has a family and
a good job, and he performs DJ Tony. But life has not always
been this good for Toño.
Like many others in Ciudad España, Toño lost his
family home as a result of hurricane Mitch in 1998. During his
stay in the macro-shelter El Trébol, he was a victim
of the wave of violence that swept the whole nation. The violence
was particularly intense here, but fortunately Toño was
not drawn into one of the violent Mara youth gangs.
Gangs and violence
In 2002, at the age of 16, he moved to a residential complex
in Ciudad España, financed by the Spanish International
Cooperation Agency (AECI), including the Spanish Red Cross.
Here, young people were also forming small gangs, and Toño
soon became a member of the Chocobananos, rivalling other gangs
such as the Loney Toon and the Pajillas. The gangs fought for
supremacy, and each time they met there would be scuffles between
them. Fortunately for all there was no loss of life, and fortunately
for Toño he became involved in a Honduran Red Cross project
to broaden the opportunities for young people!
Programme to prevent, rather than cure
The project Ampliando Oportunidades para las y los adolescentes
(broadening opportunities for young people) is implemented by
the Honduran Red Cross with the support of the National Societies
of Spain, the Netherlands and Italy in the communities of Ciudad
España and San Francisco in the capital Tegucigalpa.
The main aims are to contribute to building a culture of peace,
and to reduce the rate of violence in society.
It is a project geared to prevent rather than cure. Actions
are aimed at parents, as the core of society, and at children
and young people who are directly exposed to violence. The project
promotes integrated prevention efforts in the areas of education,
recreation, health and family, enabling the young people themselves
to play a leading role in this process.
Developing creativity
Thousands of children and young people such as Toño are
actors and beneficiaries of the project. They participate in
activities that allow them to discover their potential in creative
disciplines such as drama, circus arts, drawing, painting and
singing, and they also benefit from health and education services.
Today, Toño has a partner and a one-year-old daughter.
He works as a bartender at a well-known night club in Tegucigalpa
and sells music CDs. With his brother Josué Valerio (DJ
Piny), he also performs reggaeton style dance music. Their songs
contain positive messages for young people, warning about the
dangers of alcohol consumption – their father died of
alcohol abuse – HIV and drugs.
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Honduran Red Cross works with children and young people
to develop their creativity and to reduce violence in
society. |
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the programmes, the participants develop their creative
sides. |
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