Jennifer was 9 years old when she migrated with her family to Belize from El Salvador, fleeing a situation of violence that they experienced in their country. While living in Belize, Jennifer studied part of her basic education and learned to speak English fluently, she always stood out for her good grades.

However, Jennifer and her family were unable to regularize their immigration status in Belize, which made it difficult for them to access jobs, services and in general build a decent life. After the COVID-19 pandemic and the hurricanes that affected Central America in 2020, the family decided to return to El Salvador as their economic situation became more precarious.

Jennifer, currently 13 years old, has had difficulties entering the school grade that corresponds to her level: seventh grade, due to not having the required legal school documentation. USCRI has supported Jennifer by providing guidance to her parents on the process to follow and coordinating with the Ministry of Education of El Salvador to seek alternatives for her situation.

This is how Jennifer has started the first step in her process of joining the school, taking the first placement exam to obtain her third-grade certificate. We are very happy that she has successfully passed the exam and is preparing to take the second and final placement exam. Thanks to inter-institutional coordination between the Mayor’s Office, USCRI, MINED and international organizations, we have managed to bring the educational right closer to Jennifer and we hope to be able to support more returned migrant children.