KIND Goes to Guatemala
- Wednesday, February 09, 2011 |
- Written by Administrator
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KIND's Guatemalan Child Return and Reintegration Project (GCRRP) team traveled to Guatemala for two weeks in mid-January with a packed agenda. This was the first trip to Guatemala since the launch of the GCRRP project and staff was excited to meet KIND's five partner organizations and see their work in action.
The GCRRP team started the first week of the trip with daylong visits to the project's partner organizations. Two of the organizations, Refugio de la Niñez and Fundación el Castillo de Amor Para la Niñez, invited KIND to tour their shelters in and near the capital, Guatemala City. These shelters offer safe spaces that are available to boys and girls who are not able to return to their family and are in need of a temporary home. The GCRRP team met with the organizations' social work teams, which work to strengthen the children's families to support a safe reunification as quickly as possible.
As the week continued, GCRRP staff met with partner organization Pop No'j, which is a grassroots organization experienced in working with indigenous youth. Their headquarters is located in Guatemala City, though their advocacy and youth programs are focused in Huehuetenango, a region in the east of the country. During KIND's visit to Grupo Ceiba, staff observed their computing and English classes, which are often taught by former participants. KIND had a chance to interact with several of the teachers and students, and visited the NGO's employment assistance and internship program. Lastly, KIND traveled to Quetzaltenango to spend a day with DESGUA, an organization that supports migrants returning from the United States by helping them re-integrate into the community and creating sustainable economic opportunities.
For week two of the trip, KIND staff headed to Antigua to join The Global Fund for Children's 
project officer to co-host a meeting of representatives from each partner organization. It was an important opportunity for all the partners to meet each other and get the new coalition off to a good start. KIND and GFC staff spent the next several days meeting with representatives from various Guatemalan government agencies to understand the current conditions and protocols for returning children. They also met with the U.S. Embassy and international organizations such as UNICEF and the International Organization for Migration to discuss the project, and learn more about their work and resources in Guatemala.
KIND concluded the trip by visiting the first project participant who returned to Guatemala in December. Together, with social workers from El Refugio de la Niñez, KIND was warmly welcomed into the home by the child and his family and had an opportunity to discuss his return experience and reintegration into his community. He is living with his immediate family; KIND's partner NGO is helping him to enroll in school.
This visit was a great last day for KIND in Guatemala, bringing all the pieces together and providing staff with an opportunity to see firsthand the results of the efforts of the all organizations to ensure the safety and protection of children who return from the United States.
