Xalapa, Ver. 2003
 
Report of the Principal Activities Achieved by MATRACA A.C. during the year 2003.

With the goal of communicating the different activities that we have developed during the past year, in terms of our work in social, educative, and formative assistance which we have implemented with the child and adolescent workers and/or living on the street, we present this systematic report with the intention of presenting the different activities developed by Matraca, A.C.

Without a doubt, we have confronted many mistakes, from which we have learned; but we have also had many successes which we wish to share with the children, and with you.  The task has not been easy: however, but from the trenches of our work we have also realized that we can develop new strategies which allow us to give better attention to this social phenomena which, unfortunately, has been growing larger daily, and which sadly, we as a society have grown gradually accustomed to living with.

Even from the weakest we have learned – and they have shown us – that the hope for an ever more fulfilling life is worth the effort.  That the fight for survival is won every day and that the search for an ever-more just world is a task that we must all face together in order to create it.  It is also a gamble on brotherhood and justice.  A gamble on humanity.  But above all, a gamble on love.

For almost 13 years of work and of accompanying these children, we have also learned to see in their faces their fears, their anguish, and their joys.  But they have also shown us their yearnings, their illusions, their hopes, and their dreams.

For this reason, it is worth it that together we unite our efforts with the goal of being able to construct better alternatives for life that allows them to live with greater dignity within an ever-more individualistic society.

Our fight for and with the children and adolescents that find themselves in adverse conditions will continue to count on you – without a doubt, a breath of hope with which together we can continue constructing a more appropriate world for these children.

XALAPA, VERACRUZ
DECEMBER, 2003
“WITH THEM FOR LIFE”

 
JANUARY

v The traditional Festival of the Kings (The Three Wise Men) was held for the child workers (NITRA) and children living on the street (NICA).  This activity is now a yearly event and involves the children, adolescents, and their mothers.  The participation of the whole team, the social workers, and the volunteers allowed us to give more personal attention to the people who attended.
v We also held a workshop directed toward the general team about “Conflict”, which was imparted by the Center for Municipal Services “Heriberto Jara” (CSEM).
v The participation of the students from the Department of Administrative and Social Sciences of the University of Veracruz elaborated a lot of material of use to Matraca, such as teaching materials, a radio spot, web pages, etc.  Their participation was very enriching, as much for the students as for Matraca itself.  This activity without a doubt sensitized the students on one hand, while on the other permitted us to continue with the work of our own projects.  I also believe that with this activity demonstrated the different forms of relating with this project to our community, and it allowed us to continue to let people know about our activities.

FEBRUARY

v From the 17th to the 19th of this month we completed the planning of our annual activities for the project, which allowed us to continue giving proper direction to our institution’s activities.  The whole General Team participated in this planning.
v An important aspect of the program continues to be our relationship with students from the School for Foreign Students of the University of Veracruz, through which we continue to promote not only awareness of our activities, but also respect for the children.  Students were incorporated into our different activities, and in so doing engendered in them a consciousness about the reality of the marginalized children of the City of Xalapa, Veracruz.

MARCH

v Matraca participated in the forum: “Children’s Rights” held by the Organization of American States and the Secretary of Foreign Relations in Mexico City.  Matraca A.C. presented an anecdotal case about police harassment against street children.
v We met with Mr. Gustavo Bello, of the Moreira group, in order to obtain their support for Matraca during their 14th anniversary celebrations of Afar Furniture store, in which they donated a kilo of rice for each purchase made during that advertising campaign.
v The economic situation that we have been going through has driven us to seek economic alternatives in order for us to continue with the different tasks of our institution.  With this in mind, we had a meeting with the Director of INDESOL, in which we made clear Matraca’s situation.  This has allowed us to communicate our project more clearly to outside organizations so that others have a clearer idea of what Matraca is.  We believe that these activities have served to strengthen our project, but also has forced us to seek different alternatives to obtain economic resources while sensitizing the population to the situation of child workers on the street.

APRIL

v We held a meeting with the Licenciado Eduardo Guiot, Director of Human Resources for the Chedraui Enterprise, with the goal of soliciting their support for the Matraca project.  From this meeting it was agreed that they would provide a monthly allotment of food for Matraca House.  The chat we had was very beneficial and interesting, because of Mr. Guiot’s interest in learning about our project.  We also agreed that we would deliver a report of Matraca’s activities every three months.
v We spoke with Mr. Kurt G. Shaw, Director of Shine a Light, an international network for street children, with the goal of letting him know about Matraca’s projects.
v We met with Licenciado Renaldo Escobar Pérez, Mayor of Xalapa, in order to prepare a collection in support of Matraca’s economic project.  This meeting was held in an atmosphere of utmost respect and in recognition of the work that Matraca has developed in the city of Xalapa.  We believe that these meetings have been useful and have socially strengthened our project.  It is important to mention that while in the Mayor’s office, we also invited Mr. José I. Moran Niembro, president of the National Chamber of Commerce (CANACO) to join us, so that they too are informed about Matraca and its activities developed on the part of the marginalized children.

MAY

v As is now our tradition, every May 1st (Labor Day in Mexico) we celebrate the Day of the Working Child in Xallitic Plaza (April 30th is Children’s Day in Mexico).  This year about 150 children and adolescents attended to play, dance, jump, eat, and enjoy themselves alongside the Matraca educators, who were also in charge of the activities held throughout the morning.
v New relationships were established with the National Chamber of Commerce (CANACO) and the Mexican Employer’s Council (COPARMEX) in search of support for our institution.
v Meetings were held between the National Council for Educational Promotion (CONAFE) team and Matraca A.C. to look at the advances – during the last three years – that we have had with our Education Project focused on children living in the streets.
v The support of students and foreign volunteers have continued to be important to all our activities.

JUNE

v This month we implemented an introductory workshop for students performing their Social Service working in our projects this year.
v Together with Professor Luis Magaña, Director of the Sociology Department of the University of Veracruz, we held a conference for Sociology students about the possibility of their doing their Social Service in our institution.

JULY
 
v The forum “Legal protection for Children’s Rights: Guarantee, not Criminalize” was organized, in which the Executive Director of the Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico, Gerardo Sauri, Dilcya Samanta Espinoza de los Monteros, Director of UNICEF,  and Guadalupe Velasco Hernández, an adolescent living Matraca House, participated.
v In order to recognize the efforts of the child workers to continue with their education and to motivate them to continue, an excursion to “Africam Safari,” the Forts of Loreto, and downtown Puebla was organized.  Approximately 45 children, plus the Matraca organizers, participated.  This activity was supported by ADO and by the courtesy entrances of all participants into Africam Safari.
v We participated in a program in the radio station of the University of Veracruz in order to promote the forum we organized about the penal age in the State of Veracruz (see first item for this month).

AUGUST
v At the invitation of the Greater Seminary of the Archdiocese of Xalapa, we offered a talk to the students of that institution about the activities that Matraca undertakes.
v During this month we held the plenary meeting of the members of the Civil Association of Matraca, as the statutes of our charter demand.
v The enterprise Imagina, through their director Licenciada Miriam Armenta, has shown a lot of interest in supporting our organization by providing jobs to adolescents associated with Matraca.

SEPTEMBER
 
v We visited the Mediterranean Institute in the city of Peñuela, Veracruz, to commemorate the first anniversary of a Matraca adolescent leaving this institution.
v We met with students of the Veracruz Institute of Higher Education to discuss the possibility of their doing their Social Service with us.
v We feel that the activities that we have developed this month serve not only to fortify our work with the children, but also our relationships with other institutions, such as the University of Athens-Veracruz so that they better understand our work with marginalized children.

OCTOBER

v The signing of an agreement of collaboration between Hernán Cortés University and Matraca A.C. was without a doubt an important step in continuing to amplify the possible avenues of support for this project and for its beneficiaries: children working and living on the street.  During this event, different types of support for the project were proposed, and Dr. Ruth María Rodríguez Pérez, Rector of the university, made commitments to directly support the children of Casa Matraca.
v In the interest of becoming familiar with the advances made by our program with adolescent mothers, Ms. Monica Corona of the Planning Department of the Pro-equity Fund of the National Institute of Women (INMUJERES) paid a visit to Matraca.

NOVEMBER

v The Day of the Dead festival was celebrated with the street children in order to strengthen their sense of our culture.
v A meeting was held with Mr. Jose I. Moran Niembro, President of the National Chamber of Commerce (CANACO), to demonstrate the work Matraca does and also to solicit support for our institution.
v The presence of Matraca in the first year anniversary of Daniel Mendez Cruz’ participation in “Drug Addicts Anonymous” in the city of Veracruz was very important to him.  The supportive words of his companions and the awarding of a diploma from the hands of his mother also spurred him on to continue with the program.  We believe that Matraca continues to be an important reference in Daniel’s life, and this helps him to continue on with his efforts.

DECEMBER

v As is now traditional during the month of December, we held the Posada of the Working Child in our facilities.  There were learning and recreational exercises, as well as socializing among all present, ending with the distribution of their respective presents.
v An annual recognition of the members of the “Network of Friends” of Matraca has also become established as tradition.  This recognition was delivered during a meal offered with the support of the following restaurants: “Las Delicias” in Banderilla, Veracruz; “Las Coronelas” en las Trancas, Veraruz; and in “La Churreria del Recuerdo” in this city of Xalapa.
 

 
APPENDIX

Some of the activities developed during this year with the children and adolescents of Matraca, as well as public activities within Xalapa.