Escuelas de Bienestar, or wellness schools, teach teachers how to use play to help children develop life skills and end cycles of violence.
This story was co-published by El Paso Matters as part of our joint Equitable Cities Reporting Fellowship For Borderland Narratives.
With a high rate of drug cartel deaths and femicide, the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez is often described as one of the most violent cities in the world – if not the most dangerous city.
“When you talk about Juárez, you have to talk about violence,” said Luis Mendoza, who has lived in the city – just a few miles from El Paso, Texas – all his life.
“We need to think about where the roots of violence are and where we can prevent violent behaviors and situations from occurring in the future,” added Mendoza, who served as chief operating officer of the Júarez nonprofit Fundación Paso Del Norte (FPDN). “That’s why you have to work with young people and children.”
Now, the foundation Escuelas de Bienestar, or wellness schools, use sports and games to prevent children from entering into a life of violence while helping them develop self-awareness and skills to socialize and communicate with others, and teach them when how to manage emotions and create relationships through physical activities.
From 2008 to 2012, the city of 1.3 million was widely considered the most dangerous place on earth. Kill shot above 3,111 in the worst year, 2010. People commit crimes like kidnapping and extortion with impunity.
In 2022, Juárez reported 1,045 homicides, a 26% decrease compared to last year.
A A study by the World Health Organization found that youth violence is a global public health problem that ranges from bullying and fighting and can lead to severe sexual and physical assault and murder.
“Globally, an estimated 200,000 homicides occur among young people between the ages of 10 and 29 each year, making it the fourth leading cause of death for people in this age group, ” the study showed, noting that youth homicide and non-lethal violence often have lifelong effects on a person’s well-being
The foundation searches through available programs and partners Coaches Across Continents — a nonprofit based in the United Kingdom that coaches active citizens and empowers organizations to create lasting social impact in their communities — to find a way to help young people -on in Juárez.
“They’re reaching underserved communities, and it’s not about learning something that’s in the school curriculum,” Mendoza said. “It’s about learning subjects that are important for their health, human development, communication, and difficult subjects that sometimes they don’t have the tools to handle.”
Coaches Across Continents has partnered with FPDN to train physical education teachers in Juárez so they can meet the needs of their students while addressing challenging topics such as human rights, drug use, drug prevention, sexual health, violence and emotional health and well-being.
“It’s a train-the-trainer model to teach teachers how to use play to develop life skills and to address social topics that are difficult to address in other educational settings,” said Mendoza. Teachers will talk about nutrition, mental health, human rights, women’s rights, and other topics, in addition to sports.
Physical education teachers are often seen as less sophisticated than other teachers. However, Mendoza said these teachers should be recognized for their impact on their students.
“The power that PE teachers and coaches have in developing children and youth is enormous,” he said. “We learned that they want more training to diversify their classes, so they are not only focused on gym classes but on sports and games. They want to use their tools to strengthen abilities and skills. “
Since the start of Escuelas de Bienestar in 2017, 303 participants have participated in the program affecting 77,018 school children in Juárez. About 60% of those enrolled in the program work as PE teachers, while the rest are church youth groups, community centers and other groups that regularly work with children.
Trainers sign up for a three-year commitment and receive training to develop games for their students to use while receiving support from the foundation.
“After three years, the data shows us that (the coaches) already know how to make plays on their own without the help of Fundacíon or coaches and they can improvise,” said Mendoza.
As part of the three-year commitment, participants must attend at least one year of training in which Fundación Paso Del Norte hosts Coaches Across Continents members who fly around the world to offer training in Juárez.
“They will work with my program officer and my local coach, and both of them will deliver training for the teachers,” said Mendoza. “In these four days of training, these two coaches are in charge of speeding up the whole process.”
In addition to in-person training, participants have access to an international information hub where members from around the world upload new games, materials, tools and resources for everyone to use and be included in their classes.
Mendoza said connecting with Coaches Across Continents was an easy process that resulted in a fruitful relationship.
“Mostly, they want to work with communities that have a challenge in human rights and social development that have some kind of problem that sports and games can be useful to use as a tool,” he said. “It wasn’t difficult.”
The lack of resources for teachers is a worldwide phenomenon that affects teachers in low-income areas. the most. Escuelas de Bienestar realize this when offering training to ensure that the programs succeed with their available supplies.
“We would like to provide every school we work with with a full kit of PE class materials,” Mendoza said. “We cannot do this in every school, but we have invested resources to fully equip 20 schools in Juárez. And every teacher who participates in our program will receive a donation of (unbreakable) soccer balls.”
The organization received 5,000 soccer balls from the One World Play Project, 4,200 of which were distributed throughout the program.
“[Sting, the singer] started this organization with the goal of bringing soccer balls to the poorest communities and underserved communities around the world because he believes that playing can change the world,” said Mendoza.
the One World Futbol, the flagship product of the project, is a very durable ball that does not require a pump and will never be flattened, even if broken. Its design allows it to withstand the most difficult playing conditions.
“The organization understands that the context of children is very different,” Mendoza said. “We have children playing in the streets.”
In 2023, FPDN will review the previous years of the program and learn how to continue helping the children of Juárez. It plans to survey program participants and other instructors outside of its network to evaluate its impact and identify resources and tools available to them.
“This year, we are very excited to explore how the program can continue in the community in one way or another,” said Mendoza, adding that the foundation plans to host one workshop in 2023 as opposed to three made in previous years.
Based on this year’s results, the program will be updated and modified to provide year-round support that will be available to every teacher in the country who can access it and learn from the years the program has been in operation.
“We don’t want to talk about this as an exit strategy or as if it’s slowing down,” Mendoza said. “We prefer to announce that this year we are exploring how the program can be self-sufficient at some point with the help of teachers and the community.”
Christian Betancourt is Next City and El Paso Matters’ joint Equitable Cities Reporting Fellow for Borderland Narratives. He has been a local news reporter since 2012, working for the Temple Daily Telegram, Duncan Banner, Lovington Leader and Hobbs News-Sun. He has also worked as a freelance reporter, photographer, restaurant owner and chef. Born and raised in Juarez, El Paso became Betancourt’s home when he moved there in seventh grade.
