Group Offers Hope & Healing in Guatemala
GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA - First step. First word. Favourite food. All these important milestones in the life of an infant have been carefully recorded in baby books by the members of a mother's group in Guatemala City.
This, however, is no ordinary mother's group. Made up of IJM Guatemala clients between the ages of 13 and 18 who became mothers as the result of abuse, this special group was formed in 2008 to meet the critical needs of these clients, who are not only healing from the abuse they have suffered, but learning how to care for children as well. This group's bi-weekly meetings are a safe place for clients to talk about their struggles and to learn how to care for their babies.
Baby books created by participants in the Young Mother's Group.
A participant in the Young Mother's Group shares the baby book she created.
"The girls are teenagers who all of a sudden become mums," explains Joanna French, an IJM social worker and the leader of the young mums group. "They don't have experience in parenting - they're still children themselves and all of a sudden they're having to parent without any practical skills or experience."
The Guatemala office works to bring relief to victims of sexual violence and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable for their actions in Guatemalan court. Alongside their investigative and legal colleagues, the aftercare team seeks unique ways, like this young mother's group, to provide meaningful support as these clients overcome abuse.
The team helped the group members create baby books not only as a way to document milestones in the life of their children, but to open up conversation about their babies and experiences in a safe and comfortable way.
"Because of the circumstances in which the children were born - poverty and abuse - their mums are so focused on day-to-day challenges that they don't have the time to celebrate the development of their child. We wanted to provide a space in which the girls could take the time to celebrate their child, and to tell the stories that come from having a child and being a mother," explains Joanna.
"The baby book was a way to demonstrate to my son how much I care for him. It's also like a dictionary of baby things - I can show him his first drawing and tell him when his first step was."
- IJM Guatemala Client
The mothers put a lot of creativity into the baby books, some even adding their own ideas for pages to include. Almost none of the mothers had pictures of their children, so adding photos the IJM staff have helped them obtain to the books became an exciting and special way to document their children's early lives.
When the mothers show others their books, they do it with pride. One young mother and her family keep her daughter's book locked up so that nothing can happen to it.
"The baby book was a way to demonstrate to my son how much I care for him," said one of the group members. "It's also like a dictionary of baby things - I can show him his first drawing and tell him when his first step was."
The group will continue to add more focus to the development of the mothers themselves. The participants will take workshops on healthy living, budgeting, self esteem and setting goals, among other topics. But perhaps the most important element of the group is the supportive relationships it fosters.
Though IJM Guatemala works to help them return to school, pregnancy and caring for their newborns have required the majority of the clients to undertake prolonged absences. The lack of social interaction can be particularly challenging. But in the group, the girls have found a supportive community of others who understand what they are going through.
Joanna recounts the arrival to the group of a new client - the mother of a three-month old - who had recently been relieved of prolonged abuse. At one point during the session, she began to cry. The other girls quickly surrounded her, offering words of encouragement and comfort, telling her that they understood what she was going through and they are here to help her. "It's been really good to see the growth and change in the girls and to witness how it's been a small part of their healing," shares Joanna.
