Last March, I gave a talk at the Seattle Art Museum for Kids In Need of Defense. I am proud to have been on the board of KIND since its inception and over the past decade have helped them any way I can. 

KIND was started a decade ago by Microsoft and Angelina Jolie to ensure that no child who comes to this country alone goes to immigration court without legal representation. KIND has recruited 31,000 pro bono lawyers across this country to help. Unfortunately, half of all children who arrive to the U.S. by themselves still go to immigration court without a lawyer. For me, seeing a 7-year-old shaking like a leaf with fear in a Los Angeles immigration court, provided the push to go from journalist--observer and chronicler--to advocate. 

How could our judicial system ask a child--often toddlers stand before judges by themselves--to fill out dozens of legal forms in English, get expert witnesses, get police reports from corrupt police departments several countries away? How could this sham be happening in America? More than 7 in 10 children with a lawyer win the right to stay in the U.S. legally; without a lawyer, 9 in 10 lose--and face deportation to some of the most violent countries on earth in central america. 

Readers of Enrique's Journey have followed in my footsteps and stepped forward to help, volunteering their time and money. Equally satisfying, I have had many students hear me speak about this travesty. A half dozen have contacted me years later. They say: I decided in that moment to become a lawyer. I went to law school. And now I represent unaccompanied immigrant children. Yay! At KIND's 10 year anniversary gala, three KIND clients--Alex, Ismael, Alejandra--talked about how a lawyer meant the difference between safety and fear. WATCH HERE and GO HERE TO HELP.

Two years ago, I went to Honduras to report a piece for the New York Times about how the U.S. was working in the most violent neighborhoods in Honduras to reduce gang and narco violence. Their goal was to reduce the push factors that force people to migrate. I went to what had been the most violent neighborhood in what for four years in a row was the murder capitol of the world, San Pedro Sula, Honduras. In that neighborhood, Rivera Hernández, Pastor Daniel Pacheco inspired me and kept me alive. Pastor Pacheco repurposed a former gang house into a "Casa de la Esperanza," or House of Hope, and prevented murders by providing Honduran youth with positive outlets, like sports. He is working to dry up the lifeblood of gangs: new recruits. In November, I returned the favor. In a week, the Pastor had been shot at twice by the Honduras' Military Police for being a human rights defender. He came to LA for two months to learn from violence prevention experts while the U.S. Embassy in Honduras worked to rein in those trying to do him harm. 

Pastor Dany now has a network of folks in the U.S. who support his mission. A doctor, Anne Skaron, sends him $500 every few months. A Minnesota lawyer, Sam Myers, sent him 50 league-worthy soccer balls. Polytechnic School in Pasadena heard Pastor Dany speak, and has rallied to send him computers for his youth group and plans to sponsor a couple of soccer teams with equipment emblazoned with the school's name. And then there was Claire Buchi, a girl from Chadwick School in Palos Verdes Peninsula, California, who like so many students read the Pastor's story and was moved. She organized a pizza fundraiser for Pastor Dany at California Pizza Kitchen, and urged her friends to eat there on April 11. The event raised $250, which Pastor Dany is using to finish the roof on a structure he will use for youth meetings.   HERE'S HOW TO HELP PASTOR DANY.