We believe that understanding the lived experiences of children and young people is vital in order to build better policies for future generations. The report from our recent with young people who have made the migration journey from Central America to the USA uses photography as a way to bring their stories to life, and, in doing so, provides valuable information on what needs to change.
A significant number of children and young people continue to move unaccompanied between Central America, Mexico and the USA – a journey which poses significant risks to their safety and wellbeing. It is essential that young migrants who move along this corridor are given spaces to talk about their experiences and to assist in driving solutions that can help to enable safer migration, improve policy and services and hold duty-bearers to account.
Between 2020-2022, three member organisations of Family for Every Child – Legal Services for Children, CONACMI and Fundación Juconi México, A.C – developed a project in which young people who had previously completed the journey along this corridor participated in a Photovoice project. Through photography, the young people explored the following questions: Why do children migrate? What are the risks of migrating? What would help during the journey? What changes are necessary?
Through the project, the young people provided recommendations for policymakers which would make the journey safer and improve the health and wellbeing of other children on the move. It is hoped that these experiences will also inform children and families who are contemplating the movement of its realities and of their rights, in order to help them make informed decisions and reduce the risks involved in migration.
Our new summary reports, available in Engliish and Spanish, provide a selection of photographs, captions and key findings from the participants who engaged in the Photovoice process. Its purpose is for use by young people and civil society organisations in the second, advocacy-based phase of the project.
