Guatemala - Unaccompanied child migrants returned by bus to Guatemala from Mexico now have access to better care, thanks to a new shelter and reception facility renovated by IOM and inaugurated this week.

The center, which will facilitate registration and provide access to basic services and medical and psychosocial care, will serve children and adolescents, mostly from extremely poor indigenous families.

Most have tried to rejoin family members in the United States, to escape poverty and violence at home, but have been intercepted and returned, while in transit through Mexico.

On arrival, the children will be received by Guatemala’s Social Welfare Secretariat (SBS) at the Casa Nuestras Raíces Quetzaltenango shelter, which now has the capacity to accommodate about 2,250 people per month.

IOM contributed to the refurbishment of the building, constructing new bathrooms, renovating the plumbing, wiring and lighting, and repairing walls and ceilings.

This is the third project of this kind completed by IOM in the last five months. Similar renovations have been carried out at reception centers in El Salvador and Honduras.

The refurbishment program is part of IOM’s “Comprehensive Assistance to Families and Unaccompanied Migrant Children Returned in the Northern Central American Triangle” project, coordinated by IOM Guatemala, with funding of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

"Through this program, we provide immediate assistance on arrival, support migration management, train government and NGO staff, and generate information to allow analysis. We also remodel the infrastructure of shelters and reception centers like this one,” said IOM Chief of Mission for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Jorge Peraza.

For more information, please contact Melissa Vega at IOM Guatemala, Tel: 5025000 8527, Email:  mevega@iom.int