OUR WORK AT THE US-MEXICO BORDER

South North Nexus undertook a reconnaissance trip to the Texas-Mexico border to better understand the current dynamics at the border with special attention to young migrant children and pregnant women, their nutritional and health situation, services provided and protection concerns.

latest REPORTS

Needs Assessment

The main objective for the needs assessment was to develop a better understanding of:

• Food insecurity and malnutrition and if there are urgent and unattended problems;
• The gaps in food access and diversity (both quantity and quality) from a family and provider perspective;
• Children’s stress because of the journey, what they experienced at home and the uncertainty of living in a shelter;
• Actions that could increase nutritional stability for migrants living in shelters near the border;
• Local organizations and potential partners who can support concrete and sustainable actions to address nutrition and stress related priorities as identified through the participants in the needs assessment; and
• Women’s needs, promoting equity and their human rights. 

Methodology
SNN decided to conduct a needs assessment with special attention to:
• Food Security and nutrition measurements of children under the age of 5.
• Stress assessment with children aged 5-15 as well as with their parents.
• Site assessment.
• Discussions with potential partners.

What We Do

• Help meet basic standards for shelter conditions, following the UN Sphere Standards.
• Advocate for migrants’ rights and bring attention to migration system issues.
• Working with local and other experts develop a family stress reduction program.
• Include information dissemination on issues of relevance to families in shelters.
• Develop a model for establishing shelter gardens in areas with limited space and water that can provide nutritious food, a health and concrete activity for families to work on together building a sense of community 
• Work with local groups and authorities to develop and support capacity strengthening in order to effectively implement the above actions.

​Therapeutic Garden and Art Project

“Plant the seeds not only in soil, but also in mind. Parents need to do more with and for their children.”
-Pastor

​In collaboration with local partners and based on recommendations from our August, 2021 reconnaissance trip and the March 2022 needs assessment, South North Nexus is implementing a pilot therapeutic garden project with art activities for children and their parents.

We also undertook a review of the project to better understand the effectiveness of the garden and art activities as means to improve the nutrition and stress and trauma situation of children and their family members in selected shelters in Ciudad Juarez. The review provided recommendations for improvement and greater impact. The SNN review team was impressed with the results of the pilot project to date and concluded that continuing with the pilot project was important.

South North Nexus would like to thank the people who made this project review possible onsite in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. We are especially grateful for the dedicated work of Ismael Ontiveros and Lucero de Alva and the insights of Enrique Valenzuela of COESPO, the
dedicated Pastors, and managers who run migrant shelters in the city.