The Purple Palace

Children of Promise (El Pozo), Tijuana (Los ninos de la Promesa, A.C.)

Tyler and Connie Youngkin had children who had all married and moved to different areas. At 50 years old, they started taking intense Spanish lessons in Costa Rica and worked in an orphanage. The Purple
Palace

They were not sure where they would go after finishing Spanish school and what exactly they would be doing to help people, but their hearts were open.

A year before going to Costa Rica , Connie would work with some Tijuana locals to help moms and their children who were very needy. They always ended up in the Red Light district of Tijuana. This area remained very vivid and strong in Tyler and Connie's hearts and they knew God was leading them to start working with children in the Red Light district (La Zona Norte Tijuana, B.C.).

In 2001, we began renting a big warehouse in the heart of the Red Light district for $1000 dollars a month. We had volunteers renovate this warehouse to become a pleasant place with a dormitory for boys, 2 living areas, a dining area, a kitchen and 2 bathrooms. , We had 20 boys.These boys were ones that roamed the streets all night , would be raped, some were doing drugs and selling them, some would sell little girls to pediphiles for $10 each. When they were bored, they would find drunks on the sidewalk and take their alcohol , El Pozo

pour it all over them and then light them on fire. They were cold, dirty, hungry (when they got money they would buy candy and not much else), and very rejected. They used dirty language, robbed, beat up others ,were beaten up and would challenge any authority and they were not in school. Their mothers are in jail, died of AIDS, or are prostitutes, high on illicit drugs who rarely care for their sons.

The first of the boys with all these problems and in the worst situations, were found by Connie and Jesus Guzman , the director ,walking around Zona Norte and getting to know the boys and their "families''. Eventually they were able to have the boys feel confident and comfortable with them and then they asked if they could live with us at EL POZO ( de Agua Vida). This is the name we gave our home. We started out with 5 boys in 2001 and now we have 20 boys. They are so thankful for the good food and shelter they received and more.

Little girls were also being raped, beaten, used for prostitution, and deserted. Some lived in vacant lots, and most roamed the streets at night. We opened in 2003 a dormitory for the girls! We rented the shop next door for $500 dollars a month. We now have 13 girls living there and it is painted in purple and pink with pink carpet! They are so happy to be there.

The children can leave this program anytime they want. This is not a closed institution, but it is like a family home. To stay with us, they need to go to school and obey the rules.