Youth in Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua, MX often feel hopeless as they craft a future in a small village without youth services and where drug gangs offer enticement to join. Our Youth Center Inspire establishes a safe place where youth socialize and learn skills to empower their futures, and we need your help to secure its future. Trained staff teach a range of classes, (e.g. first aid, robotics, music, drawing, computer skills, art), while healthy snacks, counseling, and mentorship are available.
There are very few activities for teens outside of school in Palomas, a town of about 5,000 people. It is a rural area and houses a border crossing from the USA. Drug gangs wander the streets looking for youth willing to join them, or target their families, leading to a cycle of generational trauma where violence often ensues. In the past year, 12 people have "disappeared" from Palomas, several of them teens. Many teens don't attend high school or dropout once they start.
This project has established a youth center with trained staff where teens can socialize and learn skills that will help them imagine a better future for themselves. It is open afternoons and evenings, five days a week. Counseling resources are available, and participants and staff shape the curriculum together. These pilot sessions include first aid, art, robotics, communication skills, meditation, sewing, guitar, sports and more. Volunteer opportunities also offer skill building.
At least 50 teens will participate regularly in the activities at the youth center in the first year. The project will inspire teens to attend school and pursue goals for their future that may include leadership roles in Palomas or other towns in Mexico. Youth who participate will find support and feel more confident in their abilities, and be empowered to contribute to their community's future - while we have funding for the first year, we want to reach more kids with our services and expand.
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