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Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico – In November Profamilia de Jornaleros IAP, the social arm of the Asociación de Agricultores del Río Culiacán, A.C. (AARC) presented its work report for the 2021-2023 work period.

Enrique Riveros, President of the Board of Directors, presented the results achieved by the institution, where he highlighted the teamwork of the growers, the agricultural partners associated with the AARC, the sponsoring foundations, the agencies of the three levels of government and private assistance to carry out the activities presented, also reaffirmed the commitment to continue promoting the welfare of migrant families.

This report shows the day-to-day actions carried out by ProFamilia IAP, which contribute to improving the welfare and quality of life of migrant workers from the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Veracruz, Michoacán, Sinaloa, and Hidalgo, through a model of care based on five central pillars: health, education, nutrition, sports, labor, and community welfare.

Health Measures

With the Pro-Familia care model, we promote a culture of prevention and self-care for the health of agricultural day laborer families, with a Mobile Medical Unit, which directly attends the shelters. Educational talks and dental care for the children of migrant day laborers promote and improve the oral health of children who are members of day laborer families, in addition to providing dental care services, with 5,809 free dental services provided in 62 agricultural fields.

With the support of the Avon company, we have the “United against Breast Cancer” program, which prevents and provides timely detection of breast cancer in migrant day laborer women over the age of 40, promoting self-care through educational talks and mastography studies.

Beneficiaries: 788 women in 30 agricultural fields with 324 mastography studies.

Another activity is to provide information to day laborer families on various topics to raise awareness about self-care of their health, training was provided on COVID-19, heat stroke, family planning, contraceptive methods, and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as first aid, in 34 agricultural fields.

In addition, we train kitchen staff in the different agricultural fields to prevent contamination of the food of the 94 women in charge, as well as to train them on the healthy eating plate, to offer healthy food to day laborers and their families.

Education Measures

To achieve the integration and socialization of migrant children in regular education, encouraging, promoting, and exhibiting artistic, recreational, and cultural projects that contribute to their full development. For this purpose, personalized training programs are created for the assigned educational advisors, who jointly develop the work with migrant children. Workshops and awareness-raising talks are also held with the children of day laborers on various values.

Another activity carried out is the training of personnel to support the school development of rural migrant children, in addition to promoting a culture of knowledge about children’s rights to promote respect, eradicate discrimination, and achieve better social harmony, where the beneficiaries were: 1750 boys and girls, as well as 75 trained educational advisors.

Sports Measures

Sports are promoted to guarantee access to all farm workers and their families, to foster peaceful coexistence, values, and healthy and positive family and social integration. Therefore, each horticultural season, Pro-Familia organizes the Permanent Sports Leagues in support of actions to prevent and combat addictions among the day laborer population, which in the last edition had 173 teams and 3,400 players in the children’s, youth, women’s, and no age restriction categories.

Labor and Community Welfare Measures

Given the importance of having a healthy work environment, the institution provides training in processes and certifications to the Social Work areas of the agricultural companies, to consolidate the link with the different public and private institutions, to improve the strategies for assisting migrant families with 69 training courses for the benefit of 3,711 attendees.

Administrative procedures were also carried out with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Education and Culture, the Civil Registry, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), the Pediatric Hospital, the State Human Rights Commission, the Labor and Social Security Office, DIF and Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COEPRIS), among others. For example, in the case of IMSS, 39,749 services were provided, with 11,808 patients 12,798 administrative procedures, and 10,234 orientations to farmers. In the case of the Pediatric Hospital, 3,462 services were provided, with 612 patients attended, 532 outpatient consultations, and 385 specialty consultations, as well as 592 orientations to parents.

As part of the programs, nutritional care is very important, and with the support of Mr. Simi’s foundation, 744 food pantries were provided for special cases, such as pregnant women or women with sick children, elderly adults, or sick workers.

This would not be possible without the support and commitment of the AARC member growers, who have been working for 17 years as part of the social development of 88 growers located in the Culiacan and Navolato Valley, which includes the municipalities of Culiacan, Navolato, and Elota, with 47 agricultural companies that together have an approximate population of 47,982 people.

During the event, which was attended by Mario Cordova Arista, president of the Private Assistance Board, and Dr. Teresa Guerra, head of the Women’s Secretariat, Riveros commented that Pro-Familia is the social arm of the Culiacan River Farmers Association and that its purpose is to contribute and offer a better quality of life to the people who make up the migrant day laborer families, especially the children of the day laborers during their stay in the valleys of Culiacan and Navolato. With the vision that the families of agricultural workers can fully exercise their rights in an environment of equity and freedom.

Work Report 2021-2023 of Pro-Familia de Jornaleros I.A.P. (noroeste.com.mx)