Protect their Journey #GirlsWhoMigrate

Dear supporters,

We want to start by telling you we are safe here in Fondo Semillas!

2020 has taken an unexpected turn and we want to share with you some good news, as well as the current situation of the women-led grassroots groups supported by you through Fondo Semillas.

Last February the "Gender, childhood and youth on move" youth on move” event was held in Tijuana, Baja California. All the 13 groups supported by Fondo Semillas in our migration program attended the event. There, they had the opportunity to share experiences, strategies and challenges with other grassroots organizations from Mexico, the U.S. and Central America. They also wove together new paths for the future.

It is undeniable that our reality has changed with COVID-19 pandemic. Organizations have had to respond to the crisis with the new challenges and needs that have emerged. With the U.S. border closed, and requests for asylum paused, hundreds of thousands of migrant girls and women are in Mexico living in precarious accommodation without suitable preventive measures against COVID-19. The organizations we support are providing food and hygiene items to those who need them most.

We are also using our rapid response fund to offer extra support organizations who are responding immediately to the first effects of the crisis.While these efforts are important, we also learned from the 2017 earthquakes in Mexico that this immediate response has to be quickly converted into support for mid and long term projects, in order to mitigate the consequences of the crisis when a lot of donors have left.

Our Resilient Communities program will be launched in the next month and will guarantee sustainable support to activists and grassroots organizations working on:

• Community economic recovery, including creative and alternative initiatives outside traditional market solutions,
• Community self-sustainability in relation to health,
• Psychological and other types of support to mitigate the secondary impacts of shelter in place measures including anxiety and violence,
• Strengthening the capacities of women and communities to respond to future crises.

This way, organisations will be able to sustain their long term processes.

We value and appreciate that you are part of this community. Right now, all the funds raised will help to support grantee partners on the frontline as this situation unfolds.

We thank you for your ongoing support and trust. Now, more than ever, we really are in this together.

Links:

• "Gender, childhood and youth on move", testimonies