Mexican Association in favor of Children and Youth
Cuauhtémoc Abarca was already famous as a student and community leader when a group of street girls approched him for help. The 1985 earthquake had just destroyed a large part of Mexico City, and Mr. Abarca was part of a large social movement to defend the rights of earthquake victims. The girls, abused and victimized by the street, had heard of his work and went to him for help.
Cuauhtémoc wanted to help, but he admitted that he knew almost nothing about services for boys and girls. “I can’t promise anything,” he told them, “but we can work together to find a solution.”
The philosophy, the combined efforts of children and adults to find a solution, continues to animate the work of the Association. The organization does not have a formal intervention system, but instead expresses the will to work together with kids, looking for solutions to the daily problems that make life on the street tough.
One could give many examples of how this process works, but one stands out: several years ago, a group of teenagers were living in a public park in the north of the city, making a living as well as they could. People in the neighborhood complained to the police, so the cops began to plan an operation to get rid of the kids. Any big city will have dozens of stories like this.
However, when the Association heard about the problem, they went straight to police headquarters and to city hall, proposing another option. Close to Avenida Insurgentes, the was a vacant lot, which no one would ever use because it was almost under the road. The city could use the money that it would have dedicated to getting rid of the kids, and instead build them a small building – just three rooms and a bath – and in exchange, the kids would move there voluntarily.
Negotiation and lobbying succeeded, and some years later, kids still live in the builing, which they keep much cleaner than most squats, knowing how hard it was for them to get it. Some of the original group have left the street, and new kids have joined them. It is not a program or an institution, and the boys and girls know that the place is theirs. Educators from the Association continue to help with what they cann, offering services, ideas for how to leave the street, and an adult perspective.
This story gives a good idea of what the Association does: collaborating with boys, girls, and teens who live on the street, trying to find solutions to the problems they face.
Asociación Mexicana Pro Niñez y Juventud
Apartado 87
Palacio Postal
CP 06002
México, DF
México
Tel/fax: 5597 6550
cel: 044 55 1003 4048
Contacto: Dr. Cuauhtémoc Abarca
Proniñezyjuventud@mail2world.com
