MISIÓN MÉXICO CASA
WHAT WE DO
Over the years, our family home has seen a lot of changes. It began in a small, cramped rented house for seven children with no outdoor play area. With the help of our global supporters, local businesses, and volunteers (including Alan’s own hands!), we were able to; purchase land, build our dream family home, and provide long-term care for up to 30 children and youth at any given time.
We are not an orphanage, our mission is to provide a permanent and stable family home where all our children and youth have green outdoor spaces to safely play and grow. Our family home includes a chapel, a library, a home school and classroom, an onsite office and a pool for swimming lessons. Our Misión México Casa is a safe haven and oasis in the middle of Tapachula.
Our programs ensure all our children and youth have the opportunities to complete their education, have access to health and wellbeing services, and are supported in their transition towards independence when they are age appropriate and ready.
HOW WE DO IT
In the beginning, Pam started home-schooling seven children with only the help of her daughter Hannah. Today, through our Education Program, every one of our children and youth are attending local schools and extracurricular activities, with the opportunity to be supported through vocational training or university education. In 2014, we saw the creation of our Youth Transition Program which helps our young adults develop skills such as independent and practical living, health and nutrition, positive role modelling, financial planning and budgeting, and practical support sourcing employment. We’ve seen our young adults thrive, becoming successful graduates, employees, and parents.
Our children and youth all come from traumatic backgrounds, which is why in 2019 we launched our Health & Wellbeing Program. We partner with local health practitioners and specialists to ensure our children and youth have access to vital health services, from one-on-one therapy sessions with our skilled psychologists and annual physical examination with our family doctor, to immunisations and dental checks and treatment. In our home we invest in good nutrition, clean water filter systems, and cooking classes.
With the combination of all our programs, care, and family focus, we believe that every child is provided with the right tools to build a life that they love, deserve, and can choose. Due to breaking the cycles of poverty and abuse, our children and youth continue to inspire, bring positivity, and fill the world around us with hope.
EDUCATION PROGRAM
We believe that every child deserves the right to play, to explore the world around them in safety and to grow in confidence in their abilities which is why our Education Program has always been key to our mission.
Over the past 20 years, Misión México’s Education Program has helped hundreds of children. Initially, our education journey started with Mamá Pamela and her daughter Hannah home-schooling 7 children with a basic educational program. Today, all of our children are in primary and secondary schools around the city, in higher education colleges and universities, or in our much advanced home-school program. Education at Misión México has come such a long way.
And as the children grew, so did their dreams! Over the years, we’ve watched as our older generations graduate with university degrees and work apprenticeships. We’re super proud to be able to give our children and young adults these chances and to have Education Sponsors who help with their school fees, school uniforms, shoes, books and other educational materials like stationery, gym clothing, school excursion and even their exams!
With your help, our children have continued to flourish and are dreaming bigger than ever before! We've seen cycles of poverty, crime and abuse break as our children grow with opportunity, knowledge and empowerment through education.
" Education is critical to ensure the cycle of poverty is broken. Misión México's education program ranges from kinder and home-schooling, to open learning and university, enabling our children to create a future for themselves. Together we can make a difference. With your help, our children can realize their dreams and become the best that they can be. "
- Pamela Skuse, Founder
HEALTH & WELLBEING
Our Health and Wellbeing Program focuses on basic health education as well as preventive and primary care. From teaching our children the importance of brushing their teeth properly to self-care and good nutrition, we believe that our focus protects and cares for the children, giving them valuable, long-lasting skills and knowledge.
At Misión México, we’re proud to provide the following services:
Psychological Therapy
Medical Care
Ensuring our children are healthy is of utmost importance. Over the last 18 months our medical costs have increased hugely, and we are looking for donors and sponsors to help support the program. If you are interested in donating equipment or medical supplies or becoming a monthly sponsor, please get in touch.
Youth Transition Program
Our Youth Transition Program (YTP) prepares our young adults for their life beyond Misión México. The program focuses on supporting our young adults through their transition into adulthood and independent living, whilst allowing them to continue with their higher education, training or find suitable employment which is vitally important.
The focus is to empower our young adults in a bid to break the cycle of poverty and abuse, and create confident, competent young adults and positive role models who can successfully live independently. This is done through facilitating a supportive living and learning environment where daily life and social skills can be developed.
In developing, low-income countries like Mexico, every additional year of education can increase a person’s future income by an average of 10%. A lack of formal education or training often limits the available opportunities and employment choices in adulthood, which in turn can continue the cycle of poverty and crime. The YTP aims to break this cycle for our young people, ensuring they are given the educational and work opportunities to be financially independent and the living skills to be practically independent.
METAS AND 1-1
DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS
Our YTP begins early, from the age of 13 years. This program uses strategies and activities to help our children and young adults develop their independent living skills whilst still residing at the main Misión Mexico House. We focus on:
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Monthly goal setting
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Social and emotional development
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Identifying and managing risks
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Establishing positive relationships
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Conflict resolution
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Planning and budgeting
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Personal hygiene and self-care
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Understanding the responsibilities of adulthood
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Navigation and knowledge of their local areas
OUR COOKING PROGRAM
Every week we facilitate a variety of cooking classes. These classes allow our children and young adults to cook meals in a supported, hands-on learning environment. They take the lead, giving them the confidence and knowledge to shop and cook independently when they move into the Transition Houses. This part of YTP helps to develop practical life skills such as:
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Food knowledge and sustainability
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Health and nutrition
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Food safety and hygiene
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Planning, preparation and presentation
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Budgeting
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Basic cooking skills and food etiquette
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Teamwork
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Time management
OUR TRANSITION HOMES
In the final stage of YTP, our young adults move into either our Boys or Girls Transition Homes. Our on-site house coordinators mentor and guide our young adults. The focus is on developing independence in our young adults, and while the coordinator provides leadership and teaching within the home, our young adults are responsible for the day-to-day running of the household. Skills acquired include:
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Independent living skills
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Health and nutrition
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Positive role modelling skills
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Education and employment
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Financial planning and budgeting
SAFE SPACE
Our newly restructured Safe Space focuses on overall well-being and values based principles which are taught and reinforced using current societal challenges. These changes will allow for greater use of metrics and assessments to measure change, understanding of content, and deficits. These changes also bring the structure of connected content and reinforcement learning while allowing the program to remain nimble.
The sessions have a wide variety of formats built weekly to suit the topic and based on feedback from the participants on previous sessions. Sessions are never lecture style rather utilise engaging content delivery methodologies. Safe Space now meets in the Proyecto Faro space to increase privacy and to provide an engaging sensory experience for the participants.
Some of the most recent modules in Safe Space include:
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VALUES - the participants were educated on the concept of values and their importance, did exercises to determine their most important values, and weighed relevant ethical dilemmas vs their values.
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WELLBEING - the participants focused on the EPOCH (engagement, perseverance, optimism, connection, and happiness) system of well-being for adolescents was used to influence session content. Sessions included games, art projects, and team activities to facilitate the learnings.
THE IMPACT
We first piloted our Youth Transition Program in February 2014, with four young women moving into our female Transition House. 18 months later, we extended the program and opened our male Transition House. We have already seen great successes from the program and amongst our young adults. We have proudly celebrated university graduations, educational achievements, first jobs, job promotions, first homes, marriages, births, and transitions into full independent living.
“The Youth Transition Program has helped me make a better future for myself and for others. No other refuge I know continues to support children after they turn 18, and it is because of YTP that I was able to continue with my education and go to university. The program helped me to communicate more effectively, gain confidence and make better life choices. It taught me how to take care of myself, cook for myself and handle many situations in life. I feel so happy and fortunate for everything I have learnt and experienced from my time in YTP. “
– D, age 20
JOIN OUR TEAM
We're a passionate group of people with a team of staff and volunteers from all over the world. Our team are needed all year round at Misión México and bring skills, talents and love with them whenever they come.
All applicants must be over 21 years old and take our COVID-19 clearance requirements. Click the button below to learn more about volunteering and our current paid positions.
