Los Niños

Organisation name 

Los Niños

Country 

USA

Contact details 

Website http://www.losninosintl.org/
Website http://www.voluntourism.org/
Email info@losninosintl.org

Testimonial

"Los Niños is honoured to have had its work recognised by the Alcan Prize for Sustainability. Emerging from 30+ years of experience working cross border at the grassroots community level, this recognition affirms our belief that the models of community development and voluntourism we have developed are teachable and replicable."

Financial resources

US$ $1,087,651 (2006)

Geographical focus

Mexico, US/Latin America/North America

Issue focus

Poverty alleviation, environment, health, education

Key achievements

• Sixty (60) trainers teach nutrition, health and ecology benefiting 25,000 community members annually, 120 outreach workers have completed a two-year Community Leadership Education programme
• Over $90,000 in small loans for business have been distributed with 100 per cent repayment
• Over 650 US high school and university students take part in tours to volunteer side by side with community members of the region each year

Mission

The mission of Los Niños is to improve the quality of life by creating opportunities for children and their families to realise their human potential through participation in the development of their communities. Community Development, as defined by Los Niños, is a participatory process through which community members identify community needs and organise themselves to take the actions necessary to improve their quality of life. Through voluntourism, Los Niños provides experiences for people to travel, volunteer and engage directly with community members as they address their community needs. Through this process, volunteers transform their thinking about poverty, development and humanity.

Background

In 34 years of ongoing operation Los Niños has established a network of relationships on both sides of the US/Mexico border. Four main initiatives are (1) food security and ecology, (2) micro-enterprise, (3) community leadership education, and (4) voluntourism.

The first contact with a community involves classes in nutrition, ecology and organic gardening. Graduates are offered access to credit through micro-enterprise, enabling people to start small businesses. Other graduates are trained as outreach workers including teaching skills, self-development and technical training. Los Niños works in partnership with two universities, offering a formal, two-year programme for community outreach workers in community leadership.

Los Niños also works with schools and service groups throughout the US to host visits to the border region for people to learn about community development by volunteering ('voluntourism'). Revenues from the visitors provide resources for materials and income to residents who offer meals, homestays and other services.

Partnerships

Los Niños has three key partnerships:

1. Promotion and Action for Service. Los Niños facilitated the development of this network of local organisations working with community outreach promoters in the region
2. Community Leadership Education programme is a partnership with Simon Fraser, University of Canada and Ibero-Americana University of Mexico. This programme engages outreach workers from twelve organisations
3. Los Niños collaborates with George Washington University and the Educational Travel Conference to conduct an annual conference that expands the network of organisations interested in visiting, volunteering and learning from travel. In addition Los Niños partners with 45 US colleges and schools

Impact achieved

Through its grassroots, participatory approach Los Niños relies on the committed action of outreach workers to be agents of change in their communities. Key achievements include:

• Sixty (60) trainers providing education that reaches over 25,000 community members, either directly or through their families
• Children in the region are provided the opportunity for better nutrition and they also learn to be active members of their communities by participating in activities that offer solutions to community problems
• One hundred and twenty (120) community outreach workers in Tijuana and Mexicali have graduated from the two-year Community Leadership Education programme, with an additional 75 currently enrolled. This formal and credentialed approach raises the role of the community outreach worker in the eyes of the community
• Voluntourism visits bring in over US$190,000 to fund materials and 650 visitors to provide labour in support of community-defined projects each year