Dear Monthly Meeting Clerk,
This note is from the members of the Child Refugees and Migration Subcommittee of PYM’s Latin American Concerns Committee who have been participating in regular conference call meetings. We formed last summer during PYM’s Annual Session, being very concerned about the tens of thousands of unaccompanied children coming north from several countries including Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico in order to escape violence and extreme poverty.
We have produced a Resources List for those interested in learning more about this situation including notes about helpful organizations to whom to donate. You will find the resources document attached here.
So far four monthly meetings have produced minutes or advocacy letters on this issue, which we are also attaching here for your prayerful consideration.
Both the minutes and the resources list can be found on the PYM website, where there is also a Leading Statement which shares our spiritual motivation for this work. We hope this will provide inspiration for further conversations on this topic. This information can all be found here: https://www.pacificyearlymeeting.org/committee-newsletters-and-reports/latin-american-concerns/
We encourage all monthly meetings to learn more about this issue and either as individuals or as a meeting take your concerns to your local media, governmental representatives, or other decision-makers. The Resources List also notes organizations that can use volunteers.
Please email us if you would like to join us or, at least, stay informed about what is needed and what is being done by PYM meetings for these children. Feel free to email either lynnettearnold@gmail.com (Lynnette Arnold) or Lesliezd@reninet.com Leslie Zondervan-Droz, or reach out to any of the Friends listed below that you may happen to know.
In friendship,
Child Refugee Subcommittee
- Álvaro Alvarado
- Lynnette Arnold (convener)
- Holly Anderson
- Laura Kohl
- Maryanne Michaels
- Patricia Portillo
- Donna Smith
- Leslie Zondervan-Droz