Seven training sessions and workshops were offered, each one with different tools for implementation of our emergency plan, with the aim of protecting and accompanying migrant brothers and sisters who arrive at our shelter.
On Friday, July 30, Fr. Mateo Luisón, new executive secretary of the Human Mobility Ministry in Guatemala and Sergio Orante, coordinator of the project entitled, “Rapid response to migrant caravans in Central America,” presented diplomas to the volunteers for having participated in the workshop, “From emergency to caravans, training in service provision for the volunteers of Casa Peregrina Santo Hermano Pedro.”
This project was sponsored by the alliance of Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Relief Service and the Human Mobility Ministry of Mexico and Guatemala.
Casa Peregrina Santo Hermano Pedro Shelter is a hospitality house that provides shelter and protection to people of different ages who are in a situation of mobility and who need assistance. We have been developing this service since 2019, when the space was opened. However, the actions we carry out in this context are carried out both in the shelter space, as well as in the Santa María del Camino Villa Lobos 1 Shelter, where to date, an average of 4,728 people have stayed since October 2018.
All the actions carried out are carried out through the team of volunteers, with the support of the Franciscan Brothers, the Mezquital community and the Franciscan Sisters of San Antonio. In addition, support for the operation has been achieved through donations that have been received from families in the local community who have trusted in this social service work. In addition, other organizations and institutions have also made small donations.
Rapid response team for migrant caravans from Central America. Santo Hermano Pedro Pilgrim House.
The topics addressed in the training course included:
- The preparation of volunteer profiles for those who collaborate in the migrant house. Commissions were also created to attend to migrant emergencies.
- Preparation of a risk map in the context of the migratory flow.
- Biosafety workshop and referral algorithm. The points addressed by the Guatemalan Red Cross-CRG when giving the “Biosafety Workshop and Referral Algorithm” workshop were the following:
Emergency team should have the capacity to:
- Attend to basic medical emergencies
- Strengthen the application of protocols to:
a. Prevent COVID- 19 during the entry of people to the home
b. Identify and refer suspected cases of COVID
c. Define care routes for confirmed cases
Psychological first aid in migration contexts
Emergency team with the capacity to:
- Carry out psychosocial support actions for people in mobility
- Self-care. Utilization of the “Guide to Psychological First Aid” in the context of migration
Enabling the emergency team and the response
- Emergency
- Emergency response plan drills for migratory flows were strengthened by the results of the drill and completed.
Protection
We developed and signed a Code of Conduct, and the volunteers signed a letter of commitment, to protect the integrity of the migrant guests.
Identified needs for further training
Training Topics:
- Respect for the dignity of the person
- International Relations.
- Human rights.
- Migrant Rights.
- Basic Legislation for the Protection of Migrants.
- Basic Language Courses (English and French, Italian)
- Psychosocial Support.
- Exchange of experiences with other houses, offices or shelters.
- Recreation spaces for volunteer teams.
- Emotionality
- Personalized attention.
- Childhood care.
- Cultural exchange (understanding of culture)
Priority Groups.
We will carry out work with these particular migrant groups in the Mezquital neighborhood.
- People in situation of human mobility.
- Childhood, adolescence and youth
- Women (including vendors and single mothers, also migrants who come to these communities)
- Seniors.
- Towns of origin.
- People in conflict with the law.
- Informal vendors.
- People with disabilities.
- Sexual diversity (LGTQB +)
- Chronically ill persons.
- Men.
- Covid19 positive people
