The Youth Migrant Project is a summer long
experience that provides current jr. high youth (incoming grades
6,7,8, and 9 depending on parish jr. high youth program norms) a
unique and challenging opportunity to live in community and be of
service to migrant families in the Skagit Valley. Parish youth groups
serve for a week at a time throughout June, July and August.
Participant jobs include: assisting in the day care centers, working
at the Food Bank, visiting the migrant camps, and providing donations
(procured through participant fees.) A participant’s day also
includes prayer, community building, chores, and education about the
needs of the poor.
History
This project began in 1985 when a
parishioner from St. Joseph Church in Lynden noticed that migrant
infants and pre-schoolers were left alone in vehicles in the hot sun
while their parents worked in the fields. Through the collaboration
of interested youth ministers and the support of Catholic Community
Services, the Lynden Migrant La Paloma Day Care began in the
basement of St. Joseph Parish. During 1986-1992, 200+ youth per
summer spent a week in Lynden caring for the migrant children.
Due to the decreasing number of migrant workers
and the creation of the Washington Migrant Council Day Care Facility
(in Lynden), the daycare at St. Joseph was no longer needed. As a
result, the youth service program was discontinued after the summer
of 1992. In 1993, the Youth Migrant Project relocated in the Skagit
Valley. Participants assisted in the four Washington State Migrant
Council daycare centers.
At the present time, this program runs from
mid-June until early-September. The youth continue to serve in the
day care centers, as well as working at the food bank at St.
Charles, visiting the migrant camps and providing donations. In
order to make this experience available to more parishes, the Lynden
program was restarted in 1998.
Program
Goals
The Goals of the Youth Migrant
Project are:
- Discovering and living Jesus’ call to a life of
loving service.
- Understanding the importance of respecting the
rights and responsibilities of all people
- Learning that one does not have to travel to a
third world country to work for justice and against poverty.
- Experiencing the richness of the Hispanic
culture.
- Gaining valuable experience in a controlled
setting to prepare youth for future mission experiences.
- Making new friends, developing and deepening an
awareness of their faith, and experiencing the universality of the
Catholic Church.
