Children traveling alone through Mexico. Photo by Brett Gundlock

International Work

Helping children alone wherever they are on their journey to safety

KIND works to protect children alone and on the move. We use our expertise in unaccompanied refugee and immigrant children and civil society partnerships, as well as our extensive pro bono network, to ensure the safety and well-being of children alone in countries of origin, arrival, transit, and destination.

Children's Voices from Central America

KIND, UNICEF, and local partners worked with children in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico to tell their and their families’ migration stories through drawings and writing as part of our Central American Voices Project.

In Their Own Words

"Los mareros las enamoran. Se van de casa. Las utilizan para ganancia. Las prostituyen o hace lo que quieren con ellas. The gang members seduce them. They leave home. They use them for profit. They prostitute them or do what they want with them. "
Young Girl Honduras
"I can tell a woman that she should report domestic violence, but she will ask me, ‘Who will support me, who will protect me?’ and I can’t answer those questions"
Judge Tegucigalpa, Honduras
"No hay seguridad, no hay buena relación entre policía y jovenes. No hay salud. No hay empleo. La policía hace mentiras, son corruptos. There is no security, there is no good relationship between police and youth. There is no health. There are no jobs. The police lie, they are corrupt."
Student Honduras
"Asylum seekers feel unsafe and vulnerable to the many forms of violence happening in Mexican border towns, some of which has been targeted directly to migrants.  They are at risk of being targeted by drug cartels, gangs, and even Mexican police or immigration officers who may extort them for money."
KIND Staff Member Mexico
"Most of the people who are suffering are adolescents; they are the most wanted to be killed. That is why a lot of people from where I live have gone."
16-Year-Old Boy El Salvador

FAQs

KIND is protecting children’s rights throughout their migration journey. This includes educating people about the root causes of migration, ensuring access to protection, justice, and fair procedures for children in transit or at their destination, and addressing sexual and gender-based violence.

KIND is monitoring access and treatment of children trying to access protection in the United States and their treatment in Mexico as they wait for a chance to make their case. Learn more about our trip to the U.S.-Mexico border.

KIND helps children from Guatemala and Honduras, who are returning to their homes through deportation or voluntary departure, reintegrate into their communities. With assistance from our local non-governmental organization partners, we help children to re-enroll in school, resettle into their families and communities, overcome trauma they may have experienced during migration, and make a plan for a safer and brighter future.

Help Protect Children on the Move

Your assistance will help children alone throughout their migration journeys.
Learn how.

 

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