My Internship with Unaccompanied Minors: Learning About Resilience and Hope
Written by: Sandy
A group of teenage girls sat silently at three tables in the dining room. The girls wore identical gray sweatpants and sweaters but had different hairstyles. It was shortly before 9 am. They had eaten breakfast and were waiting to walk over to their classroom. The girls were small in height, had brown skin, and didn’t look very excited to head to school. Pretty much like other typical teenage girls. As I made my way through the dining room, I said, “Buenos Dias Chicas!” A few girls responded with “Buenos Dias”, some smiled back, and others remained silent.
It took a while for the girls to become familiar with seeing me three times a week. The “clients” of this department were unaccompanied children waiting to reunite with their families. Teenagers from different countries, some spoke more than one language. For the first few weeks, I’ve only listened to their stories and learned why these adolescents chose to leave their homes, how they arrived at the U.S/Mexico border, and how they were adjusting to the program. Some departed their countries for better educational opportunities; some left to search for work to support their families, and others were looking to escape violence or abuse. Many of these child migrants, however, traveled alone. And carried their traumas, alone.
After a few weeks of observation, I started facilitating therapeutic groups and provided individual counseling sessions. The objective of the first group activity was to assess and promote group bonding and adhesiveness. The instructions were to build the tallest marshmallow-spaghetti towers. The girls were split into two groups and worked together to create a tower. I saw smiles and ambition. Jokes and laughter filled the room. Some girls were silent and observant, while others led the group. That is when I first saw it. These adolescents have a deep understanding of loneliness, grief, and fear, but there they were, laughing with each other while making the towers. Some adolescents traveled utterly alone, and many took dangerous journeys to arrive. However, these girls are the ones that survived their journey. Somehow they made it, and they are here, now.
The girls asked if they could also eat some of the marshmallows. I offered them the leftover marshmallows in the unopened bag. They peeked over each other’s shoulders to see what tower the other group was creating. I was surprised to see them competing like any other normal teenagers. The groups had finished their towers, and the girls on both teams were ambitious, competitive, and intelligent. Both teams have built tall stable towers; however, one team’s tower was an inch taller. They had both won the small competition and learned how to communicate as a team.
During my work with unaccompanied minors, I’ve met many adolescents with varying experiences and mental health challenges. A boy who was a fantastic artist left his country to provide money for his parents who lived in a poverty-ridden area. Another boy had low self-esteem, but was excited to be in this country. A girl inspired me to continue working with traumatized adolescents. This girl could not read well, but she could express herself clearly in journal entries. The boys who had to leave their homes missed their parents but could not express their feelings for fear of being a burden. Finally, I met a young, vibrant girl who quickly learned how to speak Spanish and loved to dance.
As my internship ended, although a bit sad, I was not utterly upset to leave these kids because I knew that someday I might see them again. These kids all have dreams and aspirations. They want to be in the military, be policemen, teachers, and doctors. They want to grow up and be of support to their parents and families, and to other people in their new country. For now, though, they just need a space where they can feel safe to be children for a bit longer. By creating this space, we can witness them living out their dreams here, in their new country, and in their new communities. Hopefully reunited with their families, one day soon.
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Read more about Children’s Village United For a Dream Program:
https://childrensvillage.org/our-programs/residential-programs/unitedforadream/
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Mi Pasantía Con Menores no Acompañados: Aprendiendo Sobre Resiliencia y Esperanza
Un grupo de adolescentes se sentó en silencio en tres mesas del comedor. Las chicas vestían en pantalones deportivos y suéteres grises idénticos, pero tenían peinados diferentes. Era poco antes de las 9 am. Habían desayunado y estaban esperando para caminar hacia su salón de clases. Las niñas eran pequeñas de estatura, tenían la piel morena y no parecían muy emocionadas de ir a la escuela. Más o menos como otras adolescentes típicas. Mientras me abría paso por el comedor, dije: “¡Buenos Días Chicas!” Algunas niñas respondieron con “Buenos Días”, algunas devolvieron la sonrisa y otras permanecieron en silencio.
A las chicas les tomó un tiempo acostumbrarse a verme tres veces por semana. Los “clientes” de este departamento eran niños no acompañados que esperaban reunirse con sus familias. Adolescentes de diferentes países, algunos hablaban más de un idioma. Durante las primeras semanas, solo escuché sus historias y aprendí por qué estos adolescentes decidieron dejar sus hogares, cómo llegaron a la frontera entre EE. UU. y México y cómo se estaban adaptando al programa. Algunos partieron de sus países en busca de mejores oportunidades educativas; algunos se fueron a buscar trabajo para mantener a sus familias, y otros buscaban escapar de la violencia o el abuso. Sin embargo, muchos de estos niños migrantes viajaban solos. Y cargaron sus traumas, solos.
Después de algunas semanas de observación, comencé a facilitar grupos terapéuticos y sesiones de asesoramiento individual. El objetivo de la primera actividad grupal fue evaluar y promover la vinculación y adhesión del grupo. Las instrucciones eran construir las torres de espagueti y de malvavisco/marshmallow más altas. Las chicas se dividieron en dos grupos y trabajaron juntas para crear una torre. Vi sonrisas y ambición. Bromas y risas llenaron la habitación. Algunas chicas estaban en silencio y observaban, mientras que otras dirigían el grupo. Fue entonces cuando lo vi por primera vez. Estas chicas tienen un profundo conocimiento de la soledad, el dolor y el miedo, pero allí estaban, riéndose entre ellas mientras hacían las torres. Algunos adolescentes viajaron completamente solos, y muchos tomaron viajes peligrosos para llegar. Sin embargo, estas chicas son las que sobrevivieron a su viaje. De alguna manera lo lograron, y están aquí, ahora.
Las niñas preguntaron si también podían comer algunos de los malvaviscos/marshmallow. Les ofrecí los malvaviscos sobrantes en la bolsa sin abrir. Se miraron por encima de los hombros del otro para ver qué torre estaba creando el otro grupo. Me sorprendió verlas competir como cualquier otro adolescente normal. Los grupos habían terminado sus torres y las chicas de ambos equipos eran ambiciosas, competitivas e inteligentes. Ambos equipos habían construido torres altas y estables; sin embargo, la torre de un equipo era una pulgada más alta. Ambos grupos habían ganado la competencia y habían aprendido a comunicarse como equipo.
Durante mi trabajo con menores no acompañados, he conocido a muchos adolescentes con diferentes experiencias y desafíos de salud mental. Un niño que era un artista fantástico dejó su país para proporcionar dinero a sus padres que vivían en un área pobre. Otro chico tenía baja autoestima, pero estaba emocionado de estar en este país. Una niña me inspiró a seguir trabajando con adolescentes traumatizados. Esta niña no podía leer bien, pero podía expresarse claramente en las entradas del diario. Los niños que tuvieron que dejar sus hogares extrañaban a sus padres pero no podían expresar sus sentimientos por temor a ser una carga. Finalmente, conocí a una chica joven y entusiasta que rápidamente aprendió a hablar español y le encantaba bailar.
Cuando terminó mi pasantía, aunque un poco triste, no estaba del todo molesta por dejar a estos niños porque se que algún día podría volver a verlos. Todos estos niños tienen sueños y aspiraciones. Quieren estar en el militar, ser policías, maestros y médicos. Quieren crecer y ser un apoyo para sus padres y familias, y para otras personas en su nuevo país. Por ahora, sin embargo, solo necesitan un espacio donde puedan sentirse seguros para ser niños por un tiempo más. Al crear este espacio, podemos verlos vivir sus sueños aquí, en su nuevo país y en sus nuevas comunidades. Ojalá se reúnan con sus familias algún día.
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Lea más sobre el Programa Unidos por un Sueño de Children’s Village:
https://childrensvillage.org/our-programs/residential-programs/unitedforadream/
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Immigration Options for Undocumented Immigrant Children
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