Hope Center Pavas

A proposed bridge between two neighboring communities was rejected. But Julio and Ashley González still wanted to connect people who had resources with children who needed help.

That decision helped shape Hope Partners’ Hope Center in Pavas, San José, Costa Rica. What began with support for a small soup kitchen serving about 60 children has grown into a ministry serving over 1,000 children and their families.

This is how it began.

In 2011, Julio and Ashley moved their family from Atlanta, Georgia, to Costa Rica to start a church. They planted it in Escazú, an affluent community.

Nearby was Pavas, a community of about 60,000 people where many families faced hunger, unsafe housing, and limited resources. Children were exposed to violence and abuse. Crowded, underfunded schools made it harder for students to keep up.

A river separated the two communities. A proposed bridge would have connected them, but residents on the Escazú side voted against it.

Julio and Ashley were teaching people about Jesus. They believed that generosity belonged in everyday life. People with more than they needed could share with neighbors who were struggling.

The bridge would not be built. What could they do next?

They found a small soup kitchen in Pavas. It served around 60 children, but its leaders had few resources.

Julio and Ashley began raising funds so more children could eat. Later, they brought mission teams to serve alongside the people already caring for the children.

Meals met an immediate need. Time spent with the children and their families helped the team learn more about the challenges they faced.

Then, after a few years, the soup kitchen’s leaders asked a question that would change the work.

Would Julio and Ashley take over the center?

The leaders were in their late seventies. They told the couple they had prayed for years for God to send more resources.

Their request became the starting point for the original Hope Center. The soup kitchen became a place where children could receive care beyond a meal.

A meal could help a hungry child that day. Children also needed safety, help with school, and people who would walk with them as they grew.

The ministry developed its care around those needs. Julio and Ashley joined Hope Partners International, sharing its mission to rescue children and transform their lives through acts of compassion in Jesus’ name.

As the work grew, the ministry needed more room to serve children. The mayor of San José invited Ashley to develop a new Hope Center on municipal land made available through an operating agreement with the ministry.

This would be a separate facility, distinct from the original Hope Center that had grown from the soup kitchen.

More than two years of planning and construction followed. Completed in 2024, the new facility gave the ministry more space to serve children and their families. Financial partners, churches, mission teams, and local workers helped make it possible.

But what would that building mean for a child coming through its doors?

Today, Hope Costa Rica serves over 1,000 children and their families. Its care follows four priorities shared by Hope Partners’ Hope Centers.

A safe environment
Children need a place where they can learn and spend time with others without fear. Local staff, volunteers, and mentors help make the center a place of steady care.

Healthy meals
Hunger makes it harder to focus, learn, and grow. Meals at the center help meet children’s need for food and ease some of the pressure families face.

Growing faith
Children hear about Jesus and His love for them. Through Bible teaching, discipleship, and relationships, they learn that their lives have worth and purpose.

Education
Classes and mentoring help students keep learning and prepare for the future. The goal is to help children pursue further education, vocational training, and opportunities to support themselves and their families.

The center’s team includes more than 15 local staff members, 20 volunteers, and small-group mentors. Many of the mentors come from the church Julio and Ashley planted in 2011.

People from the two communities now serve together through relationships built around the children.

“These two communities, Escazú and Pavas, once so different, are now connected through the love of Christ,” Ashley says.

Children are dreaming about their futures. Staff and mentors are helping them gain the skills to pursue those dreams. And the work continues as more families need support.

The Hope Center is in Pavas, a district of San José, Costa Rica.

Julio and Ashley González began the work after moving to Costa Rica in 2011. Their support for a local soup kitchen grew into the vision for the original Hope Center.

Hope Costa Rica serves over 1,000 children, with care that also reaches their families.

Your gift can support the center’s ongoing care, including meals, education, a safe environment, and opportunities for children to grow in faith.

Many people have helped bring this story to where it is today. They have prayed, served on mission teams, supported children, and given toward the Hope Center.

You can help continue that care.

Partner with us to help the children of Pavas.