Our Success in
Mexico
2017
Started Working in Mexico
9
Projects
30K
Direct Beneficiaries & Program Participants
48% Female
(Women & Girls)
300k
Indirect Beneficiaries & Program Participants
Since 2017, RET has directly supported around 30K direct beneficiaries in Mexico, 48% of them are vulnerable women, and indirectly benefitted more than 300K beneficiaries, throughout 9 projects focused on Protection (including Child Protection and Gender-based Violence Prevention & Assistance), Education, Economic Growth & Development (including Livelihoods programs), Youth Development, and Nutrition & Food Security.
Since 2017, RET has been a strategic partner of UNHCR in Mexico, providing humanitarian assistance and strengthening vulnerable families in Tapachula and Palenque, state of Chiapas; Tenosique, state of Tabasco; Acayucan, Oluta, Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz City, Xalapa and Tierra Blanca, state of Veracruz. As of February 2019, RET also became a UNICEF partner, implementing an emergency program to assist children on Mexico’s south border (Tapachula, Chiapas).
Mexico is characterized as a country of origin, transit, destination, and return. Migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and victims of human trafficking all transit through what has become one of the world’s largest migration corridors.
RET’s Interventions
RET’s interventions responded to the problems brought forth by the unprecedented arrival of families to Mexico’s southern border, fleeing gang-based violence in their home countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. A lack of basic necessities, access to schools, child labor, refugee application processes, and organized crime are examples of what displaced populations face. In contrast, both internal and external displaced people have to contend with complex integration issues.
Child Protection
As part of its programs to strengthen the resilience of refugee families, RET provided holistic protection, case management, and multi-sectorial services that aim to improve their integration in the host community. The program targeted teachers to strengthen their knowledge and awareness of child protection and prevention and response to SGBV. This approach sought to transform schools into safe spaces for children and adolescents in need of international protection.
RET’s child protection experience consisted of providing psychosocial support to accompanied and unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents in “Friendly Spaces” in Mapastepec and Suchiate. RET provided psychosocial support in shelters for migrants and at the Migration Station in Tapachula, Chiapas state, and public schools. The methodology involved strengthening teachers’ and education personal’s knowledge and awareness of child protection and prevention and response to SGBV. In 2019 the process included developing and implementing recreational, artistic, and sports activities with a psychosocial focus.
Gender-based Violence Prevention & Mitigation
RET began implementing GBV in October 2018 in the cities where there is a gender alert due to the number of femicide crimes (State of Veracruz: Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Acayucan, and Oluta; State of Tabasco: Tenosique; State of Chiapas: Palenque). RET’s experience consisted of identifying and referring to specialized services for individuals, couples to support group psychological care, utilizing a diagnostic instrument on violent situations. RET has experience implementing violence prevention workshops, creating support groups for women to strengthen the internal emotional resources of survivors to reduce violence, and formulating Support Groups for men and training in “New Masculinities” to minimize cases of violence against women.
Cash Support
RET started our activities in Mexico in March 2017 with the Humanitarian Assistance Project in partnership with UNHCR. However, in May 2018, our donor decided to deliver in all states of the Southern Border. In October 2019, RET restarted the delivery of CBI in Tapachula, state of Chiapas.
RET in Mexico has experience in registration, interviewing for the detection of primary needs of the population of interest, the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and follow-up cases following UNHCR’s rules of operation.
Youth Development
A cooperation between the International Olympic Committee (IOC), UNHCR, and RET in Mexico consisted of protecting against abuse, exploitation, and violence of adolescents and young people (12-25 years old) seeking refugee status, and vulnerable Mexicans. RET used sport and other recreational activities to increase resilience and life skills, thus impacting participants’ well-being and protection. RET implemented youth development projects in 5 different cities: Tapachula, Palenque, Tenosique, Acayucan, and Oluta. The work was done through a survey on preferences, skills, and hobbies that made it possible to determine the sports activities to be implemented with young people. Moreover, RET raised awareness and provided orientation for parents and caregivers for the development of sports training. RET held life skills camp, sports tournaments and implemented socio-cultural initiatives; eventually, RET formed youth clubs to sustain the actions’ future sustainability. The work focused on improving the participants’ emotional state and was mainstreamed with the education and livelihood components.
Education
Since July 2017, RET has been implementing an education component in 4 cities of the country (Tapachula, Palenque, Tenosique, and Acayucan). The work consisted of the orientation and support for access and permanence in the Mexican educational system for children, adolescents, young people, and adults interested in continuing their studies; educational activities also complemented the formal education component. In tandem with raising teachers’ awareness of rights issues.
RET’s approach consisted of: (a) guidance for parents and caregivers on the functioning of the Mexican education system and the right to education in Mexico; (b) financial support from the UNHCR for payment of registration fees, fees for validation of studies, and other complementary support; (c) implementation of various strategies for academic upgrading and strengthening for children and adolescents (homework club, reading, writing and mathematics workshops, art workshops to prevent children from falling behind and dropping out of school, reading club, etc.); and (d) implementation of socio-educational initiatives in coordination with schools, teachers, and parents/caregivers.
Livelihoods
Since 2017, RET has been implementing a livelihood component in 4 cities (Tapachula, Palenque, Tenosique, and Acayucan). The work consisted of improving refugees’ employment profile, providing guidance/counseling and monitoring cases, and accessing employment opportunities in various locations.
RET’s approach for self-reliance consisted of a) Social training that focused on generating or developing personal and social skills, emphasizing aspects such as self-esteem, decision-making, empowerment, and emotion management. The final product of this training was the drafting of the Life Plan and was carried out in coordination with the psychosocial support component; b) Technical and/or vocational training aimed at strengthening employment profiles; c) Advice on employment opportunities and links with existing job centers; d) Training and awareness-raising for potential local employers on the inclusion of the population of interest in the labor market.
Latest Projects
Strengthening comprehensive disaster risk management at the local level in Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico and the Dominican Republic – Regional
The Program for Strengthening Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management at the local level is funded by the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/BHA), its objective is to provide technical assistance and knowledge exchange to strengthen the capacity for DRM at the local level.
Four subsectors will implement the actions of the project: Building Community Awareness, Capacity Building and Training, Integration/Enhancement within Education Systems and Research, and Policy and Planning.
The activities will directly reach more than 3,000 beneficiaries in Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico; and indirectly, more than 1,444,000 individuals.
This project, implemented between October 2020 and September 2022, is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and implemented by RET in Costa Rica, Panama, and México, and in partnership with Plan International in the Dominican Republic.
Improving the integration conditions for asylum seekers and refugees
The increase in violence in Central America has contributed to many applicants seeking refugee status and International Protection in Mexico. According to the Mexican Refugee Aid Commission, 70,302 applications for asylum have been submitted in 2019 alone.
The project proposed five components:
1) First comprehensive protection interview with activation of possible routes of referral and/or monitoring / humanitarian assistance through Multipurpose Cash Grants (MPG),
2) Education with access and permanence in the Mexican Education System,
3) Strengthening livelihoods,
4) Psychosocial intervention and
5) Youth protection through sport (PJD).
RET started with a comprehensive protection interview and identified possible routes of referral and / or monitoring and humanitarian assistance through Cash-Based Intervention (CBI). The first comprehensive protection interview’s objective was to ensure that the registration interview is approached from a protection perspective and focused on early identification of specific needs, which allowed for the appropriate response and attention. This first interview provided a safe, reliable, and confidential space for the population and is the beginning of individual case management. During the registration of persons of interest, the Humanitarian Assistance surveys were conducted utilizing the Kobo tool to evaluate vulnerability following UNHCR internal policies to deliver MPG through a debit card (from SiVale). This assessment allowed an understanding of vulnerability levels based on living conditions, socio-economic status, and protection needs. The RET team received training and workshops in different modalities, using a multifunctional approach to identification and registration management, International protection; interview techniques, identification of specific protection needs, communication, and outreach with communities, among other topics.
Through its holistic approach, the project assisted the displaced families arriving at Mexico’s southern border by strengthening their protection and integration mechanisms through individual and group psychosocial care, advisory services, and livelihoods training. The project also supported the youth within the families with educational training to facilitate their integration in the Mexican educational system.
To reduce youth’s vulnerability, protect, prevent violence, the project offered sports/art and culture as a tool for their protection and integration. The project also aimed to strengthen the internal mechanisms responding to gender-based violence (GBV) and assisted the survivors of GBV with psychological first aid, individual, and group psychosocial support. In tandem with creating support groups for both women and men. The inclusion of men in GBV training and awareness-raising sessions contributed to modifying behavioral patterns, and reducing violence against women.
This project implemented respectively, between January 2020 and December 2020, was funded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and implemented by RET in Mexico.
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