Mexican orphanages and institutions

Abandoned children - a programme for children with learning disabilities in the orphanages & institutions of Puebla, Mexico

Mexico Child Link runs a programme to improve the quality of live of children with learning disabilities who live in the orphanages & institutions of Puebla

Ana Luisa Sandóval runs the programme to improve the quality of life of the child with learning disabilities who lives in a Mexican orphanage or institution.

The programme aims to change the attitude of staff who often have little or ,no understanding of children with learning disability and have no interest in preparing them for a more independent way of life.

It is not possible to remove all the children with learning disabilities from these institutions, so the best way to help them is through changing staff attitudes so that they can enjoy a better quality of life.

If you are interested in helping us to make a better life for these children, please contact us.

Orphanages in Mexico are home to many abandoned children with learning disability.

Mexico Child Link supervised and funded an investigation in 22 orphanages, institutions, & children's homes in and around Puebla City during 1994. It found a total population of 1015 children in care. 68 children had learning disability and were not receiving adequate care and attention. Some of them were living in appalling conditions in a young offender centre.

In order to give the project an impact beyond our own home for abandoned children with learning disability, Mexico Child Link has developed a programme to improve the quality of life of children with learning disability who live abandoned and unwanted in overcrowded orphanages.

The programme is carried out by a Special Education Worker who visits the institutions to determine what support they need. Most of her work takes place in the Mexican Government centre for abandoned children, which is home to 70 children, including many with learning disability.
The programme focuses on three main areas:

Regular meetings with staff to identify the training needed to enable them to work with the children with learning disability and the implementation of this training.
Assessment of the needs of individual children.
Work with children with specific problems and training staff how to work with them.

Speaking of Karla, aged 7 Analuisa says:
"She couldn't walk, stand up or even crawl when I started working with her in July 2001. She can now stand on her own and walk with minimum help. We are now working on fine motor movements and strengthening the muscle tone in her hands."

Ana Luisa has established an excellent relationship with the directors, staff and children. Her enthusiastic approach has motivated her to participate in extra activities, which have raised the profile of our partner organization, Fundación Trébol.
As a result of the programme in the government centre, staff now include the children with learning disability in activities, from which they were previously excluded. In another institution, staff now use the children's proper names instead of nicknames.

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Mexican orphanages statistics