We can support the House of Hope.

Day 5: How can we help?

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Praying

You can support us by praying for us and the boys regularly.

Giving

We have a website that tells you more about the boys’ stories and how to donate if any of you would like to make a one-off contribution or regular monthly giving.

You can gift aid and reclaim tax through Stewardship. (Give.net)

www.casa2esperanza.com

Following

There is also a Facebook page with current activities such as outings, graduations and birthdays of the boys.

Facebook: Casa de Esperanza A.C

Words

If any of you have words for us and the boys, please pass them on. We need encouragement on a regular basis.

Visiting

if any of you want to visit this beautiful pacific coast idyll, please feel free to contact us. You’ll be welcome to come for a holiday and to see the boys.

Hopefully you’ll be as in love with them as we are!

There is lots more to do.

Day 4: What is the vision for the future?

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

There is a desperate need for a girl’s house, as the police say there are more girls involved in drugs, trafficking and prostitution in Manzanillo than boys.

Of course, we need to be sustainable in what we’ve already started before launching a new home.

We have four other boys ranging from 8-15 who have all been with us for a year by the end of this month.

Unless they are restored back to their families, which is highly unlikely, we are committed to them for the next 10 years plus university.

We cannot realistically see our future here without these six boys being a part of it, as well as others that could be sent to us.

It costs £200 a week per child supporting all their needs.

Prayer points:

• Please pray that our faith continues and we believe for the manna each day to keep the project viable.

• Without another £2000 more a month we are not sustainable.

• Again: we need daily miracles for the boys and for finances.

This work is needed because the alternatives can be tragic.

Day 3: What can happen when things go wrong?

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Probably the worst case we’ve come across is our 11-year-old, Luis. He came to us via the official channels because he’d just witnessed the murder of both his parents. The mother was decapitated in front of him.

He was working well with our psychologist and was making good friends.

After a few weeks a family member requested he stayed with him. The authorities agreed.

As usual, in these cases, the family were unstable. Within a few weeks he was out on the streets where he was found and beaten so badly, he is now permanently brain damaged. He will never be able to care for himself. We pray for a miracle.

We asked for him back several times but we were not heard. Tragic.

Prayer points:

• Please pray for a miracle for Luis and for other boys in violent families and on the streets, for their protection, that we can be actively supporting them and changing their lives.

• The equivalent of social services called DIF, will do proper assessments in future. So often the children are sent back to unstable family settings. We know of several girls who have been sent to family members only to end up in drugs and being trafficked.

What are Casa de Esperanza’s recent successes?

Day 2: Hope and a future for two teenage boys

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Casa de Esperanza has had some wonderful success stories.

Two boys, Juanito and Angel, who were 13 and 15, respectively, when they came to us are graduating their Preparatoria exams to start university next February.

Juanito had been working in a car wash 19 hours a day from the age of 10, paying for his parent’s drug habit. Naturally he got involved in drugs to cope.

When he came to us, he had trench foot from the water he had to stand in for hours, daily. He had not completed his primary education. He is now looking at engineering in the best military university in the country.

Angel is looking to be a doctor studying at the same university but in a different city.

We are so proud that their final exams have allowed them access to this standard of study.

Incredible. God has given them a hope and a future.

Prayer points:

• We have learned, that with their family histories, of drugs, as well as their own use in the past, that it is highly likely they will be refused entry to their chosen university. This is because the Marines are sensitive to issues of potential corruption and can’t afford for the cartels to gain a hold through them or their families.

• Please pray for a miracle that the boys will get the exact university placement for each of them.

What is Casa de Esperanza and why is it needed?

Day 1: Vision and need for our project

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Casa de Esperanza is a beautiful home for up to eight boys, under the age of 18, who have problems with addiction. These are usually alcohol, marijuana and Crystal Meths, which are the main drugs used by people in Mexico.

The need is great as there were no rehabilitation centres for under 18-year-olds in our State of Colima until we opened ours, four and a half years ago.

We have had 31 boys come to us during that time.

Because of the port, our town Manzanillo, has become the fentanyl capital of the world (BBC World News)

Although Fentanyl is not made in Manzanillo, they import the base products used to make it and export to The States and Canada.

Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin!

Cartel activity among street children and violence in homes due to drugs has a strong hold here.

We see our project as more than rehabilitation, it’s a home of restoration where we give the boys a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Prayer points:

The boys all come from broken homes. We provide a loving family environment.

• Please pray for a deep healing and restoration as they receive this love from the house parents and us, but also Jesus.

• Please pray for their relationship with Jesus.

Today’s situation

Casa de Esperanza is a home in Manzanillo, Mexico, for young men under 18 who are suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction, led by Iain and Sheila Crofton Briggs.

Please pray about their Mexican Charity status.  As there is so much money laundering in Mexico, to attain a charity status to give receipts is very difficult. They need this for Mexican donors and also to be a registered charity in the UK, so money can be received directly from the UK. 

Today’s restoration story - Raul (above)

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Raul came to us following a nine month rehab spell, having left the local orphanage Casa Hogar de Angelitos. He was too old to be part of the project as he was over 18.  Instead, we accommodated him to became a trainee employee and then as a worker for two years. He gained a paramedic certificate and now, at 24, is working as a paramedic in the port in Manzanillo. A prestigious job in this area.

Today’s situation

Casa de Esperanza is a home in Manzanillo, Mexico, for young men under 18 who are suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction, led by Iain and Sheila Crofton Briggs.

Please pray for funding and overseas relationships with the UK, Canada and USA. Casa de Esperanza are very dependent on two donors and need to increase their donor base.

Today’s restoration story - Angel (above)

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Angel was 15 years old when he came to us and had been living on the streets as Dad is a crystal meths addict and the relationship with his mother has broken down.

He has now been with us for over a year and has also recently celebrated his 17th birthday.

He has caught up with his education and doing very well in his Preparatoria exam. He is a real success story educationally. He will be our first graduate and we are looking to his future and the support we can offer him.

Mum and Dad divorced recently and Dad blamed Angel for their problems, which was very cruel. However, with the help of our psychologist, we got him through it.

He is such a fine young man. We are very proud of him and all he has faced to achieve the changes he has made.

Today’s situation

Casa de Esperanza is a home in Manzanillo, Mexico, for young men under 18 who are suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction, led by Iain and Sheila Crofton Briggs.

Once the boys are 18 they have to leave the house. Please pray for how the Casa de Esperanza team can look after them once they leave.

Today’s restoration story - Brandon (above)

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Brandon came to us aged 13. His mother had died several years before and he was struggling at home and resorting to drugs to cope. He has an older brother with cerebral palsy and he was the main carer. However, the relationship with his father became so bad that the authorities took him away from the situation. He has really responded to being in a loving family environment.

He has celebrated his 14th birthday recently. For Christmas and New Year 2021 he spent with us and our five-year-old grandson. It was a fun time.

Although he does not love education he is changing and doing better. He has now been with us for four months.

Today’s situation

Casa de Esperanza is a home in Manzanillo, Mexico, for young men under 18 who are suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction, led by Iain and Sheila Crofton Briggs.

Being teenagers, many boys don't want to commit to being residential so Casa de Esperanza wants to start a structured day program. Please pray for wisdom and how to do this for girls and boys.

Today’s restoration story - Nachito (above)

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Nachito was 10 years old when he came to us and had been living with his mother and her boyfriend who used and sold crystal meths. He had been out of school and spending his time on the streets for over a year. He was using marijuana and crystal meths. He was very thin but otherwise well. He too had been abused and so we had a psychiatrist and psychologist help to address the corresponding issues.

He has an aunt who is very supportive and caring of his three brothers and two sisters but due to his disruptive and aggressive behaviour she could not take him into her home.

He was with us nearly a year. He changed a lot in this time and was much happier and really enjoyed the family environment. In the end he left to return to his aunt and his siblings. This was an excellent outcome for him a real restoration story.

Today’s situation

Casa de Esperanza is a home in Manzanillo, Mexico, for young men under 18 who are suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction, led by Iain and Sheila Crofton Briggs.

The Police tell them repeatedly there are more girls than boys who need their services, so please pray that they can find a way of helping the girls.

Today’s restoration story - Merari (above)

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Merari was aged 13 when he came to us. He has been using Crystal Meths heavily for 3 years. He lived with his mother and grandmother who both are addicted to Crystal Meths. All mother's male friends also used Crystal Meths. His father left many years ago and has a new family now. He spent most of his time on the streets stealing to fund his habit. He was at least three years behind in his schooling and could not read or write.

He stayed 4 months with us and allowed us to help him with his addiction and education. Due to the abuse he had received he had significant mental health problems. Mother took him away but the good news is he is with an uncle and now in a much more stable environment. We have heard that he is still drug free.

Today's situation

Casa de Esperanza is a home in Manzanillo, Mexico, for young men under 18 who are suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction, led by Iain and Sheila Crofton Briggs.

They are making progress and building a reputation with the local community and authorities but it is taking time. Please pray that more boys who need their services are sent to them.

Today’s restoration story - Arturo (above)

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Arturo was under a psychiatrist for anger and behavioural problems and in an adult rehab, but that is illegal for adults and under age children to be together. So he came to us aged 15. He has Noonan's Syndrome and has several visible deformities and has suffered considerable social abuse. His mother is alcoholic and grandmother, who was his carer, now has cancer. His drug problem was self-medicating on marijuana.

He is a lovely young man who does have significant problems but he integrated very well and allowed us to help him. He was with us for over a year. He is back with his mother, we are told the situation at home has improved.

Today's situation

Casa de Esperanza is a home in Manzanillo, Mexico, for young men under 18 who are suffering from drug and/or alcohol addiction. There is no state provision for under 18s to receive residential rehabilitation, but Iain and Sheila Crofton Briggs moved from Bristol to Mexico a few years ago with skills to treat these people and established Casa de Esperanza to enable recovery and provide education, hope and a future to those who need it.

The home needs a minibus to get the boys to school and pick them up after school activities and trips. Severn Vineyard has given £3,000 towards this, but more is needed.

Today’s restoration story - Juanito (above)

Iain Crofton Briggs writes:

Juanito came to us at the age of 13. Since the age of 10 his family made him work to pay his way including rent and money to fund his father's drug habit. He was working 19 hours a day in a car wash, starting at 9 am and finishing at 4am. Child labour!  He had also developed his own drug habits. 

He was very thin and tired when he arrived and had missed lots of schooling. We have managed to help him catch up nine academic years and he has become an academic success. He has started his Preparatoria exam which will enable him to go to university if he wishes.  He would like to become a dentist.  

He has a real gift for art and he has been taught and encouraged in this by Jean Scheifele. In fact, in December, we published a 2022 calendar of his art work, which has been received with plaudits.

He has engaged so well with the program and is an important part of the family now, having been with us over two and a half years. He recently had his 16th birthday and we had a great party with cake and presents but sadly, nobody from his family came or even contacted.

He is a credit to himself and what can be achieved with hard work, a desire to change and the facilities and opportunities we provide in the project.