Arts & crafts for migrant and indigenous children

Hi there! Today I want to share with you amazing learnings of the mountain. Last week our partner Perseida visited the community of San Pedro Jilotepec, in the Sierra chontal. We started working there because of our food sovereignty program, in which women of the community are learning how to reduce fruit waste. During our visits, we noticed that the children of the community were very isolated, they haven’t had teachers or regular school since 2020 because of the pandemic. Families decided that if children don’t have new teachers by next month they will migrate to another place. Perseida said “How can we dream about living in our own community if we don’t have access to basic rights? the fact of living in the mountains has been romanticized, many of these children are malnourished, but they still love their territory.” 

We were very fortunate that the mural artist Jademidori, guided San Pedro’s to identify what they appreciate the most from their territory. The group participated in a reading workshop, in listening circles, and finally, they made a community mural in which they expressed what they love about the mountain and nature. “I shared myself through art, during this experience I learned a lot from children and from the wisdom of their lineage as indigenous people. Few times in life we can be touched by the magic of the mountains. I want them [the children] to be the guardians of everything that lives in their territory without damaging it, I want that everybody could witness the power of the indigenous communities and respect their traditions and languages. We created a community mural in which children expressed the beauty of their hearts.” said Jademidori. 

We considered this experience as an extension of our Art and heritage program for children because it was our way to take into account the needs of childhood and the importance of looking after their well-being. What is the point of giving productive solutions to adults if we do not look at the whole picture? Daysi, 9 years old girl told us “Is the first time that we received a workshop for us [children], people come here to share things with adults but we had not been heard before, is the first time we can share our voice”

In the context of the children’s day, we really appreciated all your support to make these activities possible.

Now more than ever,  we are sure that study rooms in our towns must be outside, surrounded by nature and the mountains, because only if children appreciate the greatness of their territory they will stay in it.

Thank you all!