A 1st year Social Work student at the University of Deusto tells us about...

"We started working at GEUM DOUDOU at 5:30 in the morning, so we had the mornings free. We took advantage of this time to prepare these classes, to prepare the logistics of the distribution of the dinners and to have a meeting between the volunteers to talk to each other and to have a space in which to communicate our concerns or ideas. From then until 5:30 each one could use this time as they wished, although we often used it to compare food to prepare the dinners, run errands, get to know the city, socialise or rest.

When classes finished, at about 8:00, we would make the sandwiches for dinner and at 9:00 we would go to the square to distribute the dinner until we ran out of sandwiches." 

Mec de La Rue (MdLR), we are an organization committed to migrant children and youth in Melilla. For more than 30 years, we have been accompanying girls, boys and young people living in the streets and centers of the city from a gender and human rights perspective. MdLR is a French expression meaning "street kid", a name that represents our commitment and closeness to this brave and vulnerable population whom we support on their way to a better life.

Melilla is a city of 12km2 , surrounded by the sea and enclosed by a fence, bordering Morocco. Melilla has three fences that run the length of the city, of which the one belonging to Morocco contains concertina (barbed wire), while Spain removed it by UN imposition. There are four border crossings in Melilla: Farhana, Mariguari, Barrio Chino and Beni-Enzar (international). The latter is the most used, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with thousands of people passing through on foot or by vehicle.

The Moroccan city bordering Melilla is Nador. It is estimated that in its mountains there are thousands of people, without running water or electricity, waiting for their time to reach Europe. Behind this reality are the mafias, who offer several ways to do so: jumping the fence, hiding in the undercarriage of a truck or going by boat. It has been demonstrated that, on occasions, after jumping the fence, the so-called "hot returns" take place, in which migrants are returned illegally, bypassing their right to request asylum when they set foot on Spanish soil.

The moment a migrant arrives in Melilla, by land or sea, he/she runs to the CETI (Centro de Estancia Temporal de Inmigrantes), where he/she has the right to request international protection and to remain there until he/she finds an alternative. On the contrary, unaccompanied foreign minors (or children migrating alone) go to La Purisima, the center for minors. However, many of them flee from its facilities. Because of this in Melilla there are many children living on the street. On the other hand, on the day of their coming of age, if their documentation has not been processed, their belongings are handed over to them and they are expelled from the center, going to live in shacks or in the port until they manage to sneak onto a boat.

With all this, from MdLR we accompany these children, mostly of Moroccan origin and with an average age of 16 to 20 years, excluded within the autonomous city itself, and with many needs to cover. We have a place where we carry out leisure activities and courses (for example Spanish), we deliver dinners 3 days a week, and accompany them on a daily basis (to the dentist, doctor, immigration, etc.). For this we have a small team of volunteers, which during the holiday period is expanded with people coming from all over the peninsula. In addition, we work in network with other entities.

What are we going to do?

Students will be able to support different actions according to their training.

1. CAFYDE students or students with experience as leisure and free time monitors will be able to prepare and support activities of this type, especially outdoors and on the beach.

2. Students of teaching or international relations will be able to support in Spanish classes (something essential for their passage to the peninsula).

3. People of any kind can support in leisure activities and accompany them in their daily needs (dinner delivery, shopping, doctor, appointments...).

Volunteers will be able to prepare, modify or propose workshops according to the detected needs. The children sleep during the morning, so the activity with them begins after noon, unless they need to be accompanied to an appointment.

Activity schedule:

• Monday to Friday mornings: prepare the Spanish classes and the leisure activities to be carried out. Support in the tasks required by the organization (such as shopping for dinners or accompaniment to medical appointments).

• Monday to Friday from 17:00 to 19:00: Spanish classes.

• Rest of the time: leisure and free time activities, especially outdoors.

• Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm: dinner distribution

• Saturdays flexible schedule. From Monday to Friday mornings: preparation of Spanish classes and leisure activities. Support in the tasks required by the organization (such as shopping for dinners or accompaniment to medical appointments).

Other information.

On the one hand, you will find information on the website. From the entity we can send material related to unaccompanied minors. It is also very helpful for volunteers to know the complex reality of the autonomous city and the specific reality of migrants in it.

 A 1st year Social Work student at the University of Deusto tells us...

‘We started working at 5:30 at GEUM DOUDOU giving Spanish classes, so we had the mornings free. We took advantage of this time to prepare the classes, prepare the logistics for the distribution of the dinners and hold a meeting among the volunteers to talk to each other and to have a space in which to communicate our concerns or ideas. From then until 5:30 everyone could use this time as they wished, although we often used it to compare food to prepare the dinners, run errands, get to know the city, socialise or rest.

When classes finished, at about 8:00, we would make the sandwiches for dinner and at 9:00 we would go to the square to distribute the dinner until we ran out of sandwiches". 

Young people and adolescents, mostly of Moroccan origin and with an average age of 16 to 20 years, living on the street in Melilla.

All students selected for the VUELA program will receive common training for participation in volunteer activities. 

Consult YOUR UNIVERSITY in the following links for training dates, location and conditions.  Don't forget to mark them in your calendar. This training is mandatory and is part of the project. 

The field accompaniment will be carried out by the organization itself throughout the project, as well as by a person from the convening universities who will accompany the experience in the field.

Rental of a shared apartment in Melilla and common bag for food during the first part of the project. 

The organization will help in the search of the apartment and will facilitate the entrance. Each volunteer will have to contribute individually an equal amount for all to the common bag to cover the costs of rent and maintenance. The amounts will be communicated prior to arrival, as well as the method of payment. 

Information on the possibility and conditions of financial support for these concepts can be found below, by consulting YOUR UNIVERSITY:

The student is responsible for arranging and paying for transportation to the intervention site, and must inform the project's reference university of the date and time of arrival at least 15 days in advance.

Comillas Pontifical University (María Iglesias Martínez)