Saturday morning at the boys’ mountain home in Honduras. The majority of the Proniño boys wake up and do their morning chores at a slow and steady pace. Three boys, however, are found waiting at the door of the kitchen. These boys are already showered, have finished their morning chores and are dressed in their nicest clothes. They wait as the cook finishes preparing their three plates of food to eat a quick breakfast. Hop onto their bikes and they head out to volunteer for the day. This is the Saturday routine for these boys, as they donate this day to the small children of ‘Hogar Suyapa’, another home for kids in El Progreso, Honduras. They will spend the day playing tag, helping staff, and just enjoying themselves with all the children there.
These boys of Pronino all have unique and different pasts and family stories. Although their experiences vary, all of the boys share certain common traits; at one point or another, they were all deprived of love and a healthy childhood. Some lived on the streets for years or jumped from one home to another, while others have parents who are unwilling or unable to care for them.
Childhood is meant to be a fun time when one can run around carefree and enjoy the simplicity of life. Many of the boys never saw that simple and carefree side of childhood. But seeing them run around playing with the small children at Hogar Suyapa, you might think that they have found it. Kids who typically play the role of looking tough in front of the rest of the Pronino boys, are found on the swing-set or sitting with three small children chatting in the mini playhouse. Coming to Hogar Suyapa not only brings joy to the little children there, but benefits the Pronino boys on a psychological level. They are able to open up, have fun, and find a little of that childhood joy that was unfairly taken from them.
After a fun day of volunteering, the boys hop back on their bikes and ride up the mountain, to spend a week looking forward, with juvenile enthusiasm, to next Saturday.
