A recent study by the Secretary of Work and Social Provision revealed that one in eight (more than 1 million) children between the ages of 5 and 13 work and 2,500,000 teenagers must work to help support their families.
Of teenagers aged 14-17, sixty percent work, and of those who do work, almost half (47%) work at least 35 hours a week, causing the number of teens who don’t go to school because they work to be more than 1.4 million.
Article in La Jornada (Spanish)
(Via: Vivir Mexico)
(Photo by: Javier Valdez)
We’ve been back in Mexico for a few weeks now, and we’ve been pretty busy. The other day someone asked me what I’ve been doing.
I’ve been so busy that I couldn’t respond. After thinking it through, here’s what’s been keeping me occupied in the last few weeks:
- I went to the Dimension Juvenil youth ministry conference.
- A professor from Huntington University visited us. I invited her to teach in February here in Mexico City.
- Our youth group hosted a large concert at church (and a bigger concert coming this Sunday)
- I helped Huberto with the end of quarter at seminary (helping with exam, reviews, etc)
- I preached at a local church last Sunday for Seminary Anniversary
- I’ve been preparing for my class (syllabus, notes, etc)
- I’m finalizing details for class in December (visiting professor, syllabus, etc)
- I’m dreaming about something bigger and better for Youth Emphasis Week this coming February
- I’m putting together details to start a Certificate in Youth Ministry program (hopefully starting in January)
- I’m working with the seminary to begin a Master’s Degree in Youth Ministry (Starting as soon as possible)
Besides having a 3 month old and a 3 year old in the house (which is enough work by itself), I’ve been a little busy. There’s so much to do. Want to come help? We’re always looking for new teammates.