In Guatemala, MCC is providing comforters, blankets, hygiene kits and funding to a home run by Missionaries of Saint Charles Scalabrinians, which provides temporary shelter to migrants such as Nanci Adair Galiano Lemus, 13, and, in the background, Yordani Galguera Vasquez, 28. Photo by Saulo Padilla, MCC.
Since June many Mennonite Central Committee workers and constituents in Central America, Mexico, the United States and Canada have been concerned about the significant number of unaccompanied minors from Central America coming to the United States.
Yesterday, MCC publicly announced their response to this crisis, which includes various projects in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Texas and Arizona:
In a year when the flow of Central American families to the U.S. border has made headlines, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is responding broadly – meeting basic needs for those deported or detained, increasing awareness about the realities of migration and, in the U.S., urging compassion for families fleeing violence in their home countries.
“This is continuing our invitation to welcome the stranger, to open our hearts – and to see the image of God in all who are coming and to receive them,” said Saulo Padilla, MCC U.S. immigration education coordinator.
And in case you missed it, here is some of the LACA Advocacy Blog’s earlier coverage of the situation:
+ Understanding the Child Migrant Surge
The truth is, this crisis has been developing for decades. The problems will not be solved by quicker deportations from the United States or further militarization of the police in the region. Simple approaches generally do not solve complex, deeply rooted problems.
+ Oh Mother, Did You Just Leave Your Children?
Growing up in Honduras, I remember hearing to my mother bring up the idea of migrating to work in the United States whenever she felt desperate and unable to pay the bills, following the example of her sisters. My mother, a Nicaraguan woman, started working at the age of 12 to support her family and dropped out of school by 7th grade.