INTER CAMPUS IN MEXICO CITY’S MOST INFAMOUS BARRIO

After landing in the megapolis that is Mexico City, the Inter Campus delegation of Organising Director Christian Valerio and the coaches Karla Gutierrez, Juri Monzani and Silvio Guareschi were received by a delegation from the United Nations’ UNFPA with Arie Hoekman and National Officer Ivan Castellanos there to greet the delegation. It was an important meeting in building the foundations for future collaboration between Inter Campus and the UN’s Population Fund that was founded to support populations that are in crisis situations while its current mission statement is “to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.”

The visit continued in the first centre in the capital where we were welcomed by local partner Lic. José Vallejo from the  Fundaciòn Ranacimiento in the infamous Tepito area. Around 20 boys and girls were on the pitch with Oscar Olaya who was once a street child himself who spent years in José’s facility and he’s become a father figure for the children who live there. Watching on were representatives from the UN’s UNFPA and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) that was founded to aid the UN in its response to the issues created by illegal drug trafficking, drug abuse, crime prevention, international terrorism and corruption.

For years, Josè Vallejo has been faced by problems of every kind, always looking for solutions to help the ‘callejeros’ living at his facility. The work and experience gained through years with his foundation and alongside Inter Campus made him an ideal speaker for the ‘Crime Preventions and Sustainable Development’ conference held by the UNODC last April in New York. It was an extraordinary opportunity to describe what Inter Campus is and what it does and how it impacts children’s development to an international audience that also included Italy’s Ambassador to the UN’s Permanent Mission Sebastiano Cardi. In Mexico City, the Fundaciòn Ranacimiento has another centre with 40 boys and girls. Their pitch in the Ceylan area recently held a fun tournament featuring 80 boys and girls from the other two centres in the capital and the Uneve University’s centre in the Ecatepec, ‘Estado de Mexico’ area.

20.07.2018