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Street children with learning disability
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Links for schools. Aztecs and Mexico information
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Could you volunteer to help children and young people in Mexico?
The children's home
Abandoned Mexican children - providing a caring home
The first group of children arrived in August 1995
The children live in two purpose built 4 bedroom adobe houses in Atlixco.
The children take pride in their home and their belongings. This is an important part of educating them to be more independent as adults.
Creating a family atmosphere for the children is one of the most important objectives of the project.
Institutionalization - avoiding it is a guiding principle
Mexico Child link has planned the project to avoid institutionalization wherever possible. This decision was taken after visiting many of Puebla's overcrowded orphanages. The design of our two houses allows the children personal space rather than confining them to dormitories. Two children share each bedroom. We don't use terms like orphanage or institution, as they do not convey the homely family atmosphere which we are trying to create for the children. Obviously, it is impossible to recreate a family for a child who has lost his parents, but we do our best to think about the issues involved in order to make the children feel as happy and secure as possible. Visitors to the project are required to ask the children for permission to look around their homes.This child-centred approach helps the children to grow in confidence and feel more secure.
The adobe houses
The houses are made of adobe, which is cool and comfortable in the summer and heat retentive in winter. It is an environmentally friendly building technique as local low cost materials are used. The two purpose built adobe houses were funded by a grant from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in 1994.
Each house has 4 bedrooms and an open plan kitchen dining area. A house parent has his/her own room and the other three rooms each have two children sharing.
Normalization - integrating abandoned children with learning disability in the local community.
The children have many opportunities to mix and integrate with the local community, through everyday activities associated with the farm and their daily routines. The Planning for Life system helps the children acquire useful skills. This facilitates integration through teaching them skills such as the independent use of public transport. The children are on first name terms with all the bus drivers who work on their local route.
Help maintain a caring home for children and young people with learning disability.
Would you like to fund the salary of a houseparent for the children?
2007 Mexico Child Link © All Rights Reserved. 80 Locksley Park, Belfast, BT10 0AS. Tel (028) 90622239