Help marginalized Mexican children and teenagers

To our GlobalGivers,

Thanks to your support, we continue to activate changes in the community of Ecatepec. As you may remember, Ecatepec is a municipality on the outskirts of Mexico City, where 1.7 million people live and where drug consumption and violence has been increasing among adolescents. To answer this, we have launched different workshops focused on financial education, addiction prevention, risk prevention and entrepreneurship. 

As you know, the latter program is focused on empowering teenagers by reducing risks and enabling them to become entrepreneurs. And we are excited to share that over the last year, the youth have welcomed us with open arms and are very happy with the program, its materials and workshops. If we speak of entrepreneurship only, in Ecatepec to date we have empowered 1,977 low-income youth through participatory workshops, and they, with their businesses, have successfully generated 1,883 new jobs. 

Not only that, but the July program evaluation shows that these youth have increased their life skills and now have better group work skills and management of the emotions that are critical in the entrepreneurial journey. They are also more motivated to study and be entrepreneurs than before. Thank you for making this possible! 

Finally, before we go, a word from one of the entrepreneurs themselves: "I feel enthusiastic, because the tools and skills that I receive daily in the workshops strengthen my vision of starting a business. I like that I have a tangible opportunity for  my future and that I now have a positive impact with which I can promote the development of Ecatepec, a place where violence is a reality in which young people live daily". – Luis Daniel, young entrepreneur

 Dear friends, welcome back!

Over the last year we have showed you how your donations have allowed us to improve kids and teenagers´ health and development across Mexico. Now, we want to share with you our impact in one specific area, Ecatepec, where we are particularly concentrating our efforts. 

Lately, insecurity and drug consumption in Mexico have been increasing steadily, affecting kids´ future. One of the most affected areas is Ecatepec, a municipality just outside Mexico City where 1.7 million people live and where the use of drugs has doubled among teens in the last five years.

That´s where you, and we, come in. Through fun, partipatory workshops based in our proven life skill framework, we facilitate the empowerment of students and provide them with viable alternatives to conflicts, unemployment and migration. They change their life and communities- we wish you could come to the field with us to see. And since no man is an island, in order to improve the life of the teenagers we also work with their teachers and parents. 

Exactly what are these workshops?

1. Entrepreneurship workshops that enables low-income youth to develop a rockin´ business idea. At the end of the program, more than 500 youth entrepreneurs will have started or strengthened their own business.
2. Addiction prevention workshops that reduce the risk of addiction in adolescents. 200 students across Ecatepec´s public schools are trained and then replicate the program with their classmates through school fairs.  
3. Risk prevention workshops, that tackle such diverse issues as school drop out, unplanned pregnancy and dating violence. 

 This is just an intro to our ongoing efforts to empower young people in Ecatepec. In the coming months, we will dive into each of these three types of workshops and give you a view from the field. With education, tools and your support, these students will have a rich, safe and productive life. Thank you for making it possible! 

And since we don´t want to sign off without sharing with you some testimonies from participants...  

“In Biology class, the teacher talked about contraceptive methods, the harm they do, and why girls should not use them. All of us who are in the Yo quiero Yo puedo workshop, raised our hands to explain our rights and that we wouldn´t be fooled or taught false information. The teacher said that she will look for accurate and updated information; she even asked us to explain to the group what we had learned”. -Young girl.   

“Now I am more comfortable, I communicate better. They help me to reinforce my work, now I can make heads and tails of it”. – Young entrepreneur.