A young girl in Mexico wearing a traditional dress flashes a peace sign at the camera, smiling slightly, outside her home in rural Mexico. Atziri, 7, Mexico

Mexico

With your support, ChildFund Mexico has helped children get a strong start in life since 1948.

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The United States’ neighbor to the south, Mexico has the world’s 13th largest economy, but great income disparity exists. Mexican children and youth face many challenges, including underemployment, illiteracy, abuse and crime. Indigenous populations in southern Mexico are even more affected, with nearly 80 percent of Indigenous children living in households below the poverty line. They often struggle with reliable access to health care, good nutrition, clean water and other necessities, holding them back from living their full potential.

Our Work in Mexico

Since 1948, ChildFund has helped children in Mexico grow up healthy, educated, skilled and safe.

ChildFund Mexico’s Creciendo Contigo ("Growing With You") program supports the healthy growth and development of children under age 5 by ensuring they receive the nutrition, care and early stimulation they need to thrive. The program conducts child development assessments and ongoing nutritional monitoring to detect and address risks early. It also offers training sessions for parents and caregivers to strengthen responsible, affectionate caregiving practices. When children show signs of malnutrition, health concerns or neurodevelopmental challenges, the program also connects families to relevant health care facilities, ensuring timely, expert support. Together, these actions help young children develop in safe, nurturing environments that promote physical and emotional well‑being.

ChildFund Mexico strengthens children’s education by creating learning environments where they can understand their rights, safeguard their bodies and make informed decisions as they grow. Through programs that foster self‑knowledge and personal protection, children build the confidence and critical thinking skills essential for lifelong learning. We also work to advance inclusive education through Juega Conmigo ("Come Play With Me"), an initiative funded by The LEGO Foundation, which offers engaging content on positive parenting and learning through play in Spanish and multiple Indigenous languages. By promoting playful, culturally relevant learning and supporting caregivers with supportive tools, ChildFund Mexico helps ensure that every child—regardless of background—has access to meaningful educational opportunities.

ChildFund Mexico’s Participación Cívica, Transformación y Oportunidades ("Civic Participation, Transformation & Opportunities") PACTO program helps adolescents and young adults ages 15 to 24 pursue personal well‑being and economic independence, supporting them with the life skills and confidence needed to shape their futures. Through activities that strengthen self‑esteem and personal identity, young people gain the foundation to set meaningful goals and build thoughtful life plans. The program cultivates essential life and workforce skills—such as communication, teamwork, leadership, literacy, logical reasoning, problem‑solving, job‑seeking strategies, interview preparation and résumé development—ensuring participants are prepared for employment or entrepreneurship. PACTO also encourages youth to take part in spaces for civic engagement, helping them become active, informed contributors to their communities while confidently navigating opportunities for their own growth.

ChildFund Mexico’s Niñez Segura y Protegida ("Safe and Protected Children") program equips children with the knowledge and skills they need to prevent and reduce violence at home, in school, and throughout their communities. By fostering safe and protective environments, the program ensures that young people can grow and learn free from fear. It strengthens their social‑emotional skills, helping them recognize safety risks, manage emotions, build healthy relationships and advocate for their own well‑being. At the same time, ChildFund Mexico works to reinforce connections between schools and communities, creating a unified support network that promotes peaceful, nurturing spaces where children can thrive.

A little girl in Mexico wearing traditional clothing stands in front of a large water tank, holding a pitcher of clean water and smiling.

Yuridia, 7, gets clean water from the storage tank ChildFund Mexico helped install in her home. Before, her family had to spend over an hour each day collecting water from a spring in the forest.

A group of parents and toddlers in Mexico gather around a large colorful rug, smiling and playing.

Parents and kids play at a meeting of ChildFund Mexico's Juega Conmigo project, funded by The LEGO Foundation.

A little boy in Mexico smiles while sitting on his doorstep, holding a chicken under his arm and an egg in the other hand.

5-year-old Alex's family received chickens and pigs through the ChildFund gift catalog, which has helped them boost their income and nutrition.

A group of men and women in orange shirts stand outside an office building in Mexico. There is a colorful mural behind them featuring a tree with different words on it in Spanish.

Staff of Niños Totonacos, one of ChildFund's local partner organizations in Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico, stand together in front of a mural outside their office that reads, "Love. Trust. Peace. Friendship."