When Griselda Campos' husband left their community of Choluteca,
Honduras for the United States in 1999, the plan was that he would
work hard to take his wife and seven children out of the extreme
poverty that left them hungry and without many options. The
children, however, never heard from their father again after the
first few Christmases, which they were obliged to celebrate without
him.

And so as Griselda was left to care and provide for her
children. In 2000, she decided to leave her children, aged between
2 and 15, in the care of her mother, and migrated to Mexico's
southern border town of Tapachula to find work.

She recalls it was not an easy decision, but it was the only
option available. On many occasions she only had one egg and a few
vegetables to feed the entire family.

"In my country, one dies of hunger, everyone, even children,"
Griselda states.

She began working in Tapachula as a domestic worker, earning
less than US$100 a month, of which nearly three-quarters was sent
to her mother to take care of her children.

Griselda and her family are not alone. Each year some 1.7
million migrants cross Mexico's southern border. And while many,
like Griselda's husband, cross the country on their way to the
United States, nearly 90 per cent find work in the region. Among
these migrants are children, who are vulnerable to labour
exploitation, and often are not able to attend school full time
because they are forced to work, and many times lack the paperwork
needed to register for school.

Eventually, Griselda was able to get a job in a restaurant where
the pay was better. This allowed her to slowly send for her
children, so the family could be together again.

In 2009, Griselda and two of her children, 19 year old
Joaquín and 18 year old Carolina, were able to regularize
their migratory status and obtained immigrant visas. A year later,
with all three working, they sent for the youngest children. By
2010, Griselda finally manage to reunite with her children after 11
long years.

Although Griselda's children have shown promise in their new
schools in Tapachula, it has been a complex struggle for them to
continue their education. The three oldest had to abandon their
studies to get jobs and help support the family, but two of them
were recently let go.

The two youngest children have also had their share of setbacks.
Eleven year old Suany, who effortlessly managed to register in
primary school with her birth certificate and her mother's
identification card, is now required to present proof of her
migratory status to enter the fifth grade.

IOM Mexico, with funding from the Canada Fund for Local
Initiatives is carrying out a project to promote education for
migrant children in Tapachula. With the goal of promoting
educational continuity and lowering the dropout rate amongst
migrant children, the project will work with parents, teachers,
school authorities, and consulates, to promote migrant children's
access to educational services in Mexico and to ensure that
schooling attained in Mexico is validated in students' countries of
origin.

"Child and adolescent migrants face particular challenges, one
of which is attaining an education that will break help break the
cycle of poverty. We hope with this project to foster a network,
which includes the state and local governments, schools, and
families, to expand migrant children's possibilities to realize an
adequate education," explains Thomas Lothar Weiss, IOM Chief of
Mission in Mexico.

Griselda's daughter Sara is exactly the type of migrant that
will benefit from the new IOM education project in Tapachula. A
born leader, talented athlete, and bright student, Sara was not
allowed to enter secondary school because she did not have her
school transcripts from Honduras, nor the documents confirming her
immigration status.

For a time, Sara audited classes at an open secondary school,
but her work and time could not be officially recognized. School
officials and teachers pleaded with Griselda to do everything
possible so that Sara could continue her education. But obtaining
the required migration status and documents takes money that the
family does not have.

Sara has not lost hope and continues to show initiative and
maturity. This new project will allow Sara to realize her dream of
getting an education; something she wants more than anything in
this world.

The new education project is part of IOM's work in Mexico's
southern border. With sub-offices in Tapachula since 2006, and
Tuxtla Gutierrez, inaugurated this year, IOM works with the Chiapas
State Government, as well as local governments, and civil society
and private sector organizations. Based in Mexico City, IOM Mexico
also has a sub-office in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua.

Through this project, IOM Mexico hopes to increase the number of
migrant children living in Tapachula who will be able to receive an
adequate education, so that children, such as Griselda's, can
transcend all obstacles and benefit from an education that will
increase their chances of having a better life.

For more information, please contact Jeremy Mac Gillivray, IOM
Mexico, Tel: +52 55 5536 3922, "paragraph-link-no-underline" href=
"mailto:jmacgillivray@iom.int">jmacgillivray@iom.int