Ambassadors Of Change In Their Communities

September 28, 2020

For years, ASJ (formerly known as AJS) has been equipping parents, grandparents, and students to stand up for change in their communities through social auditing. Now during the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen how these social auditors truly have become leaders for justice in their communities.

What is social auditing? It is when citizens come together to monitor, evaluate, and follow up the management of local institutions, like schools and health clinics. Ultimately, social auditing leads to stronger institutions that transparently and effectively serve the community.

Social auditors like Keybi show up at local schools and health clinics to build stronger systems. They ensure that teachers are showing up at their children’s schools and doctors have critical medications on-hand for patients. This critical work not only addresses corruption at the local level, but it means that even those living in the most marginalized neighborhoods of Honduras have access to quality, affordable education and medical care.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit Honduras this year, life for Hondurans completely changed – especially in the vulnerable neighborhoods where we work. Many community members lost their jobs, and the strict lockdown contributed to feelings of fear and uncertainty.

A recent survey in the neighborhoods where we work found that 46% of respondents had a family member with a suspected case of COVID-19 – showing how the pandemic impacts poor communities.

In the midst of uncertainty, though, our social auditors have stepped up to lead their communities through a time of crisis.

Our social auditors have become health ambassadors to their communities – sharing information about COVID-19 symptoms with their neighbors, educating them about how to protect themselves from COVID-19, and showing up at health centers to hold doctors and nurses accountable to best practices. In fact, many of those same neighbors have started coming to our social auditors when they receive substandard medical care, so that the social auditors are able to advocate for change.

The students we work with are also stepping up as leaders during COVID-19. Honduras has closed schools and asked them to provide virtual classes, but many students receive little to no instruction from their teachers or can’t access internet. These students have used the tools of social auditing to hold their schools accountable – monitoring how often teachers give homework or provide feedback. As schools consider reopening for the new school year in 2021, our social auditors are committed to advocating for a safe reopening – working with school officials to make that possible.

While COVID-19 has changed life in so many ways, it has not deterred our social auditors’ commitment to standing up for justice in their communities. Their leadership makes it possible to respond to Honduras’ greatest needs.

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ASJ-US and ASJ-Canada Joint Statement on Honduran Elections

December 2, 2025

ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People, Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US

Artisans of Fraternity, Guardians of Hope

November 28, 2025

A call to action for Honduras

November 2025 ASJ-US Statement about Honduran Elections

By Elizabeth Hickel • November 25, 2025

The Association for a More Justice Society-US Supports the Network to Defend Democracy; Calls for Free and Fair Elections in Honduras November 25, 2025

Context Updates on the 2025 Elections in Honduras

November 13, 2025

Honduras’s Institutional Crisis Deepens Ahead of the 2025 Elections

HOPE

By Elizabeth Hickel • November 12, 2025

Dear friend, I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.