Give the Gift of Hope this Christmas

Category "Mexico"

ZOE Mexico Brings Life to Children and Families

March 21, 2022

Six-year-old Juan* and seven-year-old Monica* live with their 24-year-old mom. Their home life involves violence, abuse, and extreme poverty. Their father is an alcoholic and works in a very poorly paid job in Mexico as a distributor of tortilla dough.

“Juan and Monica attend E-kids Global School,” said Mariela Ambrosio, ZOE Mexico Director. ZOE Mexico has partnered with E-kids Global School to provide free education for children who are at risk of human trafficking. “In only a few months, they have shown great interest in learning, and their lifestyle at home has changed.”

Their mother appreciates that now her children can go to school. She expressed her gratitude to us and said, “I no longer worry about what they are going to have for breakfast or lunch tomorrow.” 

Juan and Monica have received psychological and medical help at E-Kids Global School, and every day they show more affection with the other children. 

At ZOE, we believe every child should experience the abundant life Christ died for them to have. We are grateful to love and care for families just like Juan and Monica through the E-Kids Global School.

*Pseudonym: ZOE protects the identity and dignity of children and does not share actual names or show trafficked children’s faces.

 

ZOE Mexico Prevention Campaign

The ZOE Mexico team has been working diligently to provide sexual abuse prevention and awareness training, workshops, and conferences to select churches in Mexico. 

“In coordination with ‘Protect Me Project,’ the ZOE Mexico team researched and located churches in highly marginalized areas that we could work with,” said Mariela Ambrosio, ZOE Mexico Director. “Our team has been sharing with pastors and leaders of these churches the importance of being aware of the different strategies used by internet traffickers. Some of these activities included videos and interaction with muppets for children, interactive talks with teenagers and young people, and prevention talks for parents. It is our desire for these pastors and leaders to direct people who need advice on prevention issues to the ZOE Mexico team and provide support to all those interested in knowing more about Jesus.”

Development
Education Mexico

In Mexico, extreme poverty fuels human trafficking

November 23, 2021
In Mexico, extreme poverty fuels human trafficking.
The ZOE Mexico team partners with local churches and NGOs in Oaxaca to help educate citizens about the atrocities of human trafficking.

Thirteen-year-old Juana* was not in school when a ZOE Mexico church partner first met her.

 

“One day, the church went into the neighborhood to look for children who need an education and resources,” said Mariela Ambrosio, ZOE Mexico Director.

 

They met Juana and learned that she didn’t know how to read or write, and her mother works in the sex industry. Her older sister was following in her mother’s footsteps. The ZOE Mexico team quickly rallied to find a scholarship for her to attend the church’s K-12 E-Kids school. Juana has attended this school for the past five years, learning to read, and recently graduated from primary school.

 

“Juana is now 18-years old and has three more years before she will graduate from high school,” said Mariela. “She is now working towards getting a job while finishing her high school degree.”

 

God sent His son, Jesus, to carry out a plan to end all suffering and bring hope to a fallen world. At Christmas, we celebrate Christ’s entrance into the world. Would you prayerfully consider joining us to offer hope to those affected by human trafficking by donating to ZOE’s global mission?

With you, our prayer partners, and donors, we can continue this life-saving fight to prevent and end child trafficking and educate and empower more youth like Juana in Mexico.

Your contribution will help bring hope into the darkest of places! Merry Christmas!

*Some information changed to align with our child protective policies

Development
Child Trafficking Prevention Child Trafficking Rescue Human Trafficking Articles Mexico

ZOE Mexico Team Educates Pastors and NGOs About Child Trafficking

September 17, 2021

Like most countries, many of Mexico’s citizens have never heard of human trafficking. ZOE Mexico is working on innovative ways to educate its citizens about human trafficking. Currently, the team is focusing on speaking with pastors and their churches who are hungry to know how they can help.

Our ZOE Mexico team has also met with several government departments about what steps we can take to inform the public and educate communities about child trafficking, especially the most vulnerable areas. The government recently launched a campaign to bring awareness to human trafficking. Our team is also working with other NGOs to communicate about the problem and dangers to those they serve.

What is Fueling Child Trafficking in Mexico?

  1. Organized crime and greedy opportunists recruit children with force, fraud, or coercion for labor and sex.
  2. Poverty fuels child trafficking – most families do not understand where their children end up; they want to believe the trafficker. They believe their child is safe, going to school, or working a job for a better future.

“We met a mother on the streets with two of her small children involved in high-risk behavior,” said Mauricio Ruiz, Mexico Director.

“Our team encouraged her to allow her children to attend school to get them off the streets. She finally agreed, and the two children are signed up to attend “E Kids School,” a Christian school for at-risk children. These children will receive more than just a great education. They will receive delicious meals and all of their immediate needs met in a safe and loving environment. They will also have an opportunity to hear about Jesus!”

Development
Child Trafficking Prevention Mexico ZOE International
1 comments

Mexico

October 13, 2019

ZOE International has now launched in Mexico. Mexico is both a source country for other nations like the USA, and a destination country. In Mexico, victims are trafficked through force, fraud, and coercion.  Many Central and South Americans are trafficked into Mexico or trafficked through Mexico to the USA, making it a transit country as well. 

Commercial sexual exploitation of children within the tourism industry is a growing problem in areas around northern border cities. Many exploited children are from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Labor trafficking for men, women, and children is another problem. Trafficking children and adults are held in “debt bondage” that they cannot pay back.

ZOE is located in Oaxaca, Mexico, which is considered to be a “crossroads” for human trafficking as a source, destination, and transit state for this crime. We are beginning our work with child trafficking prevention. Our goal is to spread awareness about child trafficking to begin with as most Mexican citizens are largely unaware of the child slavery around them. ZOE plans to be involved in assisting with rescue, and restoration of children in future.  Follow ZOE’s work in Mexico here.  

Andrea Cross
Mexico ZOE International

Longing for Home

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freedom

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Freedom By Jessicah Ray, PA-C Why is a diagnosis of human trafficking important? Human trafficking is internationally recognized as a public health problem with over 40.3 million victims identified, and with one-quarter of those being children. (Dovydaitis, 2010, Fink-Samnick, 2018). In response to this global epidemic, hospitals and clinics are joining the mission to end […]

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