Tijuana is a Latin American city of two million inhabitants, located at the northwestern end of the border between Mexico and the United States. It is a border crossed by 11 million people every year. A few kilometres from there are the glittering suggestions of California, but in Tijuana you are still in the semi-arid climate of Central America, exposed to the dangers of a social fabric marked by inequalities and risks of marginalisation. Every day thousands of people arrive here full of dreams and aspirations, but they find themselves in a suspended situation: foreigners on the move, migrants on the border, tormented by the daily difficulties of meeting primary needs, oppressed by the impossibility of following an educational and professional path that makes us think of tomorrow.
Fruit of the commitment of the Proyecto Salesiano Tijuana A.C., led by Fr Juan Carlos Solís Pérez from the Salesian Christ the King and Mary Help of Christians Province of Mexico-Guadalajara (MEG), this facility has a double calling: to be a place of protection and at the same time of rebirth. For those most exposed to the risks of violence, exploitation and violation of their rights, i.e. women and children, the project has provided a special programme: the Salesian Refuge.
The building that houses the Refuge is now home for 120 migrant women between the ages of 25 and 50 and their children, 80 children between the ages of 6 and 12. Thanks to the assistance of the Salesians of Don Bosco and an internal staff of twelve people, the women and children welcomed in the Refuge receive services to get out of the vulnerability of their condition and replan their future:
– education, for children, with a view to ensuring school continuity;
– psychological support and professional training, for women, from a perspective of progressive recovery of work autonomy and care of their socio-emotional state;
– health care and legal assistance for all residents.
Much can and must still be done to optimise the Project's efforts in relation to the different objectives.
As for vocational training, after a first cycle on interpersonal skills, it will now be important to implement programmes that strengthen the skills of women guests in sectors with high employment potential such as cooking and nursing.
Equally decisive in the Salesian Refuge in Tijuana will be the strengthening of legal advice. Women and children who benefit from the Refuge almost always need, in fact, an appropriate support that supports their asylum requests or any requests for documents necessary to resume the journey in safety.
The offer of continuous medical and psychological care is basic for any project on people: guaranteeing care allows both physical well-being and socio-emotional recovery. In this regard the project of the Shelter for guest women and children also includes weekly therapy sessions focused on stress management.
For children and adolescents, the challenge of the Salesians in Tijuana is, as always, the fight against educational poverty. In addition to the multi-stage educational programmes of the Don Bosco Salesian School in Tijuana, depending on the age of the guests, courses and individual school assistance will also be provided, with a view not only to continuity and maintenance, but also to the development of new skills useful during the period of residence in the Refuge.
Finally, at the foundation of all the work of the Salesian Project is the complex and constant operation of the Salesian Shelter of Don Bosco: three healthy, nutritious and complete meals a day; clean and safe products during the users' stay; regular access to drinking water, electricity and toilets.
The activities carried out by this project are really valuable for many people who would otherwise be left to themselves, and are fully Salesian, as they are aimed at minors and those most in need and at risk. This is why the project was also chosen by the DON BOSCO NEL MONDO Foundation to be supported with its Christmas campaign.
For more information you can visit: https://donbosconelmondo.org
