THENEED The state of Oaxaca Mexico is a fascinating tapestry of indigenous cultures making it a favored tourist destination but, Oaxaca is also one of Mexico's poorest states with many of its more than three million inhabitants living in extreme poverty. Many Oaxacan families subsist on just a few dollars a day. Rural children sleep on mats on dirt floors, lack clean drinking water and basic sanitation, and frequently become ill or die from intestinal parasites and malnutrition.
These issues coupled with the economic needs of those in the state of Oaxaca's isolated and rural regions often force children and their families to move to Oaxaca City (the capital) in search of safety and a better life. Once there, without access to basic services and education, poor children are no better off than they were in the rural areas from which they came. Survival for them and their families often depends on the youngest members of the family selling trinkets to tourists on the street. Oaxaca Streetchildren Grassroots seeks to break this cycle by giving participating children the opportunity to attend school and gain the skills necessary to become successful and contributing members of Mexican society.
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