Bridging the Border
October 2021 | Issue 8
A U.S.-Mexico collaboration bringing factual news and critical resources for families on the border. Click here to view our past issues!
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San Juan Bosco Shelter Updates
Gilda and Juan Francisco Loureiro founded the Juan Bosco Migrant shelter in Nogales, Sonora in 1982 to address the human suffering they witnessed among the migrants who passed through their town. Nearly 40 years later, without having closed for even one day, over 1 million people have passed through the shelter on their way to or from the U.S. There, they have access to warm meals, showers, compassion, and a bed that, pre-pandemic, they could occupy for up to three nights.
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Thank you donors! Thousands Raised in Response to Crisis at San Juan Bosco Shelter
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Children enjoy a meal at the San Juan Bosco Shelter on Mexican Independence Day (9/16).
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Two migrants find repose at the San Juan Bosco Shelter.
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Your generosity and incredible support with the emergency campaign launched in late July (click here for the last issue) has been a source of relief and hope for the families residing at the San Juan Bosco Shelter. Struck by the combined crises of an unchecked pandemic, a historic surge in the number of families with small children arriving at the Nogales sector of the border, and a sudden overwhelming monsoon rainfall that inundated homes, swept away cars and caused several deaths, the Juan Bosco migrant shelter was overwhelmed!
Then you responded. The campaign launched by FESAC Nogales and our partner US organization Border Community Alliance (BCA) raised over $50,000. Over 140 individuals from 16 states and a number of foundations donated.
A portion of funds have been used to address the immediate needs of migrants and asylum seekers residing in the shelter. Food, hygiene products, personal protective equipment, and cleaning supplies are among the needs met by the campaign response.
BCA’s executive director, Celia Bavier expressed that “The Border Community alliance was honored to work with FESAC recently to raise funds for the San Juan Bosco shelter, during the July flooding emergency in Nogales. We love our partnership with FESAC and all the wonderful organizations doing such great work in our community."
Your generosity has impacted individuals and families facing a variety of hurdles along their journey towards safety and stability. The remaining funds will be secured for future unprecedented increases in family arrivals and the regular maintenance of the shelter.
We look forward to our future collaboration with supporters like you to continue nourishing the Nogales border community!
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Tablets and Teachers (T&T) Program
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Sponsored by the Mexican community foundation FESAC, the Teachers and Tablets (T&T) campaign started in February of 2021 with the goal of providing asylum-seeking children with a safe space for learning. Student interns from Stanford, the University of Alabama, Columbia and Mills College gave hundreds of volunteer hours to create an online campaign that brought to light the plight of children without education in shelters on the border. FESAC Nogales’s first online campaign helped raise over $13,000 to launch this project.
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With support from foundations and individuals, partner organizations Deijuven and Casa de la Misericordia have been able to meet the needs of children seeking shelter and refuge in the Nogales border community. When the program began, most children who enrolled had not had formal instruction for two years.
Right: Student uses a tablet to complete an assignment on endangered animal species.
Thanks to your support, the first phase of the program has accomplished the following:
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20 iPads and school supplies have been purchased and are in use at education sites, Deijuven and Casa de la Misericordia.
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Three local teachers have been trained and are funded by FESAC’s ongoing campaign.
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250 students total have been enrolled in the program.
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70+ families are participating in the program.
- The first cohort of students (60 total) at Deijuven and Casa de la Misericordia received 9 months of education and made it safely into the US.
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Transitioning Into the Next Phase
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Students at Casa de la Misericordia hold up the Mexican flag in honor of Independence day.
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Students at Casa de la Misericordia listen intently to their teacher.
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The first stage of the campaign was responding to a crisis. As noted by Gilda Loureiro, the director of the Juan Bosco Shelter, border communities saw a dramatic increase of children, mothers, and pregnant women seeking asylum at the US/Mexico border in 2021.
Most of the students in FESAC's T&T program are from families seeking asylum. The data on refugee children show that more than half are not enrolled in school.
This lack of access to education is a global crisis. According to the UNHCR1 refugee children are five times more likely to be out of school than their non-refugee peers.
- Of the 7.1 school aged refugee children in the world, 3.7 are not in school. That’s 52% not in school.
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Students listen intently to their teacher.
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Students complete classwork.
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Looking to the future, the priority for the FESAC education campaign is building a sustainable education program for asylum seeking and migrant children. We will meet students where they are and create a space for them to thrive. Academic, social, and emotional success are critical for youth learning at FESAC’s partner organizations.
Since the fall of 2020, Alma, Bob Phillips (FESAC Sr Advisor) along with interns Kerry McCulloch, Nancy Lopez, Catherine Born, McKenzi Thompson, and Nina Theisen have been working together virtually to support asylum seeking families. In October, three members from the FESAC Nogales team will join executive director Alma Cota de Yanez at the border. The next phase of the project will include supporting Casa de la Misericordia and Deijuven on-site with resource development, media content development, and interagency coordination of the educational program.
The November bulletin will contain information on the progress made by the FESAC Nogales team on-site. We look forward to your continued support for this important work.
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Spotlight: Maternal Health at the Border
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Left: The San Juan Bosco Shelter has seen an increasing number of mothers, pregnant women, and children seeking asylum in the past year.
As asylum-seeking families with young children come to the US/Mexican border during the COVID-19 pandemic, access to maternal and child health care is a critical concern. Such care is often not accessible due to current conditions on the border because of the pandemic and the scale of migration. The extreme poverty experienced by migrants and asylum seekers has left many families and communities with limited resources. The impact of COVID-19 is exacerbated in these extreme conditions.
Specifically, high-risk pregnant women coming to the Mexican border are especially impacted by COVID-19. For these women, the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is increased by 56.8%. COVID-19 was confirmed to be the cause of 22.93% of those cases. Given that the mortality and morbidity of pregnant women is potentially preventable, this large increase in the MMR highlights their limited access to healthcare resources at the US/Mexican border.
A glimpse into the traumatic circumstances many pregnant asylum-seeking women face during COVID-19 was shared in a TIME magazine article released this past March. In the article, Xiomara, a pregnant asylum-seeking woman from El Salvador, discusses her struggle to reach the US and her lack of prenatal care due to limited financial means. Prior to arriving at the border, Xiomara had not been seen by a doctor. Luckily in Juarez she met a physician who offered her pro bono care.
Not all pregnant asylum-seeking women have an opportunity to receive care at no cost. It is estimated that there have been thousands who were pregnant or became pregnant that are waiting to cross into the US within the last two years who have no access to care. There are many different factors that hinder access to care such as cost, cultural differences, prejudicial treatment and lack of transportation that impede a migrant’s ability to navigate the Mexican health care system. Although Mexico has a universal health care system, insufficient funds and lack of health care coverage in practice are ongoing issues. In addition, healthcare is only provided for those that have proof of citizenship or legal residency. Thus, there is a need to fund health visits and other prenatal necessities for the growing number of non-resident migrants in Mexico to avoid dangerous complications that pregnant migrant women face.
In future articles on this topic along with in person interviews with mothers and pregnant women in border shelters that FESAC interns will be conducting starting in October 2021, Bulletin readers will gain a personal perspective on the ways that Nogales NGOs are using to bring care to these women and their children. Feel free to contact us with your questions.
References
McKenzi Thompson
MPH Graduate Student, FESAC Intern
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Given that this crisis will go on for months, a regular monthly contribution will give FESAC a predictable income stream. If you know people who may be interested in this cause, send them to the FESAC contact on this bulletin or direct them to FESAC Sr Advisor Bob Phillips at [email protected] for further information. Your contribution is tax deductible. It will make the families at the border know that they are not forgotten and that their lives matter!
“Teachers and Tablets for Children at the Border” is focused on providing educational opportunities to migrant and asylum seeker families’ children. To support our current campaign, please click the button below. You will be directed to our GoFundMe webpage and find more detailed information on Teachers and Tablets for Children at the Border. We work closely with Border Community Alliance (BCA), a US Nonprofit based in Tubac, Arizona, to bring resources, education and hope to the Nogales community. Help us provide quality education to children in border communities so that they can recapture their future!
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A short documentary follows Alejandra Pablos, a Nogales native.
A short documentary covers the reality of call centers in Tijuana, where many deportees are employed.
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FESAC Board Chair – Luis A. Torres Muñoz
FESAC Executive Director – Alma Cota de Yanez
Senior Advisor to FESAC – Robert T. Phillips
Health Researcher, Columnist - Kerry McCulloch
Intern Coordinator, Editor - Nancy Lopez-Alvarez
Fundraising, Social Media Intern - Nina Theisen
Fundraising Intern - Catherine Born
Health Intern - McKenzi Thompson
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