Education for 250 working children in Chiapas

This latest update on the project is a video made by children involved in the project, who work with their families in the Santo Domingo artisan market in San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

You can watch the six minute video (Spanish, with English subtitles) here:

http://tinyurl.com/oh27bjw   

This video project had several aims: to support the children’s education by encouraging them to learn about the environment around them; to teach them how to make a video, and to teach them about and encourage them to exercise their rights. The children researched and wrote the script as well as the song, which reflects their own sense of humour…

This project will have a practical application in terms of promoting the right to health, and the right for children to have their views taken into account in matters which affect them. Next steps include drafting a joint letter and presenting it along with the video to the local authorities, so that something gets done about rubbish collection and the toilet facilities.

The story of the Santo Domingo market also tells something about the lives of these children. The church around which the market has sprung up was built not long after the Spanish Conquest, and has one of the most beautiful facades in Mexico. During the 1980s large numbers of indigenous Mayan families were violently expelled from villages around San Cristóbal de Las Casas, for converting to Protestantism. Most arrived in the city destitute and had to find a way to make a living; some began to sell artisan goods from the area around the church, and in this way the Santo Domingo market was created.

Nonetheless, the space does not belong to them and they have no formal right to use it. As one of the children says in the video, when the museum was re-inaugurated in 2012, all the vendors in the market and other public spaces in the city were banned from selling goods, effectively denying them work and income for a week.

This special update is to let our donors know that from 1pm _{(British Summer Time)} on May 6^th, Global Giving UK will add 25% to the value of any donation made through their website:

http://www.globalgiving.co.uk/projects/education-for-250-working-children-in-chiapas/

Global Giving UK have £7,000 (US$11,000) in matching funds to give away. We hope you can you can support us!

NB only donations made through the Global Giving UK website count for this matching bonus

Here’s how your donation will help:

We continue to run educational activities five days a week with children who work in the streets, markets and squares in our city, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, in Chiapas in southern Mexico. The large majority of these children are indigenous Mayans whose families are poor, and live informal neighbourhoods which often lack piped water, proper sewage or drains. 24% of the school age population of the city does not attend school, for reasons associated mainly with poverty and discrimination. This damages their future life chances, and creates a vicious cycle of poverty.

We work to enroll children in school, to help them obtain birth certificates which are essential for enrollment but often difficult to obtain, and to run educational activities which support children’s learning and help prevent them dropping out. We also teach them about their rights, and the practical ways that they and their families can protect those rights.

In 2012, 316 working children, and 173 mothers and fathers took part in our activities. We’re currently revising our monitoring system, to obtain more detailed information on the impact of our work. Nonetheless, we know that in 2012 we made a significant contribution to:

• The enrollment in school of at least 71 working children
• At least 162 other working children remaining in school and not dropping out

According to a survey with working children who take part in our programs carried out in 2012 by the consultancy Filantrofilia :

• 91% said that their life in school had improved as a result of participating in our programs
• 93% said they hadn’t considered stopping taking part
• 93% said the treatment they received from Melel’s project team was either excellent or good

One of our institutional funders is paying for an evaluation of the impact of our work which will be carried out this summer. We hope to share the results with all our donors in the autumn.