What’s new in CODENI so far in 2012?

Education: During this quarter, we implemented a multimedia workshop to improve the writing and reading skills of our children in 1st and 2nd grade. We also began an English workshop for teenagers thanks to a volunteer team from the American Consulate.

We continue with the participation of over one hundred children in the homework help club and personalized tutoring.  Additionally, with the help of our volunteers, in this period we developed a resource center with specialized exercises to attend specific academic needs of each child.

Workshops:  Children from ages 6 to 12 have been participating in art and puppet-making workshops this quarter.  They have created kites, crepe paper characters, clown masks and sock monkeys.

Meanwhile our teenagers are involved in life projects and preventive and educational workshops addressing risks such as teen pregnancy, HIV, drug addictions and bullying.

On Saturdays, children and teens participate in photography, percussion and urban art workshops.

Recreation: Though different games and interactive dynamics we are reinforcing the values and rights taught in the workshops area.  In December, we completed a new manual for the recreation area with more than 150 recreational dynamics with pedagogical basis.

During their spare time, boys and girls enjoy different games in the playroom, including football, puzzles and Match.

Street outreach: In the first quarter of 2012, the Street Outreach Team has been sought to strengthen and reinforce bonds with the population of child laborers in the streets of downtown. Three nights per week the team offers basic educational support and recreational activities to children and teenagers who work in this part of the city.

There are currently around 25 children and teens participating in this space each afternoon, of which 10 are ready to enter the second phase of our programs in Casa CODENI.

NUTRITION NOW IN CODENI

Starting in April, CODENI began a program of nutritional counseling for our families. The aim of the program is to promote healthier dietary habits, according to the needs and lifestyles of each family and individual. Thanks to the support of two volunteers studying nutrition at the UNIVA university, families have access to personal consultations and monthly follow ups.  So far the program has been a great success!  Here’s to a healthier CODENI community!

Art Workshops

CODENI A.C., runs artistic expression workshop, which fall under the Life Project Program. They are intended to encourage creativity from a collective and individual perspective and promote the development of children and adolescents. This workshop supports a forum of expression where they can translate their thoughts and emotions by living in a healthy and creative world of unlimited expressive art.

The boys, girls and adolescents that are currently attending the workshops are in second phase; their ages range from 11 to 16 years old.

 The workshop is given by the “mairo” Diego Partida             (from Guadalajara, Mexico) and Vanessa Freigtag a Brazilian volunteer.

Currently, we are working with stencils, portraits, drawings, collages, and composition techniques. All of this culminates with the vision to develop their artistic and creative capacities and by this to demonstrate their talent while building confidence.

By: Diego Partida "Art Workshop Mairo".

Street Outreach

Today we are proud to thank all the hard work that the “mairos” (teachers and friends), have accomplished with the girls, boys and adolescents that work in Guadalajara´s downtown area. Today we have a new record of 40 children and adolescents in First phase participating in our street space.

CODENI´S population puts forth huge efforts in attending school, working and also participating in our street workshops, where they receive educational support and participate in recreational games that support their physic development. Having the option of these activities improves their capabilities to socialize and be a part of a very special collective that work to foster.

Street outreach is an educational development and social strengthening area that takes place in Plaza Liberación each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. We support two simultaneous groups with an educational and recreational space that leads activities to get to know the needs of our children and adolescents. Later they can successfully integrate to the second and third phase where CASA CODENI offers more structured activities; by doing this the “mairos” can value the situations the kids and adolescents live on a daily basis.

One of the activities that helps us to know more about their cognitive development is their homework. Additionally, with their drawings, we can appreciate their creativity and expression; through ludic activities and playing soccer for example, we realize their social character.

Each of the previous assessments enables the team work to perceive the needs that require greater intervention and to act adequately. All this is supported by the operational areas including Social Work, Psychology, Education, Workshops, Recreation and Volunteers. We take every chance to get to know our population better.  Through this space, we can develop this conscious and encourage the kids to fulfill their potential and build strong characteristics and skills that will support them in the future.

Our work group has fostered a positive space in Plaza Liberacion in the center of Guadalajara, and it is well recognized for CODENI’s work with the families of our kids and adolescents in downtown area. Not just the children and teenagers attend either, their parents show up and talk with the social worker and have asked for support in various situations. Here we are able to connect mothers to different organizations o institutions that correspond to each situation. In the end, it is invaluable to support and empower the population that we work with.

Thanks to each member of the team that contributes an enormous effort to support CODENI’s activities and projects in our street outreach.

By: Diego Partida "Street Outreach Mairo".

Who is Mairo Tonio?

Juan Antonio Tessada Magaña (Mairo Tonio) received his bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Guadalajara (CUCSH 2003); beginning his studies he learned to undertake himself and the world that surrounds him.
“Learn to learn” recognizes that it is possible to develop a new mentality of understanding and exchange that includes material and intellectual resources. With this understanding developed “Agorá”, an urban comunity space, where through workshops and discovering new forms of sustainability, a new community space was within the city. In the education field, this is a group of thinkers in the forefront of intercultural models of education in the state of Jalisco.
Today, in CODENI, as the General Director, Tonio looks to impact other organizations on a national and international level to address the wide spread vulnerabilities and violations of human rights that affect children and adolescents that CODENI works to accompany and empower.
“Without respect of dignity and personal development one cannot aspire to a solid base of social development which we look to create through collective and community work.”

CASA CODENI

Every day Casa CODENI is filled with children and adolescents. Our goal is to provide a dignified and safe environment for them to participate in educational and recreational activities and other workshops. By doing this we hope that they will consider Casa CODENI as their own home.

Unfortunately the house currently needs many repairs that our out of our budget’s reach. The roof has leaks, the classrooms and offices need to be painted, the walls need repairs due to humidity filtration. We also need to rewire the building to reduce our monthly electric bill and replace several locks to improve the security of our human and material resources.

We are seeking donations to take care of these urgent maintenance needs. Every donation, no matter how small it may seem, is a significant contribution to make Casa CODENI feel like home for the children, adolescents and families who take advantage of our activities to better their lives and overcome their dependence on the streets.

Arely Rocha: Fundraising Coordinator

Child laborers

For a lot of people de concept of “Kids in street situations or child laborers” is unfamiliar. However, according to the publication "Breaking cycles of poverty with educational interventions: the Case of CODENI" by Danielle Strickland (2010), the last census that DIF Jalisco published in February of 2008 reported 3,674 minors working in the public street in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara. These children and adolescents can be seen all over downtown, selling what they call “seasonal products”, working as magicians, selling potato chips and candies, sometimes alone and sometimes with relatives. A significant group of child laborers arrives every day from the highly marginalized peripheral neighborhoods of Guadalajara, returning to their shanty homes only to sleep at night.

It is important to mention that the children and adolescents that are considered to be “in street situations” are those who live in poverty and forced to the streets for survival. This concept refers to a wide range of children and teenagers, including those who accompany their parents to work as informal vendors in the streets to those who sleep in public spaces.

The working children and adolescents that participate in CODENI generally accompany their relatives. They generally work to help the family economy or help sell in the streets while their parents do other activities. From a very young age they have autonomy and freedom, including economic activity and the capacity to move freely in the city streets. That said, these children live with their families and usually attend school. The common characteristic of CODENI´s families is the lack of formal jobs and stable income.

The children and adolescents who participate in CODENI do not perceive themselves as vulnerable or recognize rights violations in their lives. Life on the streets is the norm for these families and they have not experienced other ways of life. They perceive their lives as normal and do not believe that the necessity to work as children is a rights violation. Many consider themselves to be “middle class,” since they are better off than those living on the streets. However, CODENI strives to broaden their perspective and consider a more stable future, with formal employment off the streets.

The benefit of working on the streets is the lack of structure in their work day and access to easy money, as the work requires no application process or requisites. This means that they can count with economical fluency, with a daily cash income that allows them to purchase goods and go to the arcade, for example. The sensation of having cash in their pockets makes street work attractive to these children and families and often inhibits them from seeing the benefits of working to obtain formal employment with legal benefits and a stable income.

Despite the economic benefit of working on the streets, children and teens in street situations are victims of many rights violations and are constantly exposed to risks such as drug trafficking, sexual exploitation and discrimination. We must remain conscious of the rights violations that street children and youth suffer as they are indeed the present and our hope for a brighter future for Mexico.

By: María Luisa Romero Rodríguez, CODENI “Workshops coordinator”