SERAJ (Servicios a la Juventud – “Services to Youth”) is a Mexican NGO created in 1985. SERAJ is one of the most influential civil society organizations promoting youth rights and youth programs. SERAJ needs friends willing to support effective actions in favor of youth living in vulnerable conditions in Mexico. SERAJ is building a community to support the cause of Youth.

Despite some progress in access to education and basic services, young people in Mexico live challenges that require effective interventions:

• Progress in schooling is not related to meaningful learning and skills development.
• Drop out rates increase in secondary education affecting almost half of each cohort of young students. Only 18% of persons 18-22 complete college.
• Unemployment and precarious jobs are higher for young people (below 30 years old) than for adults.
• Youth living in poverty concentrate also higher proportions of vulnerable conditions: higher drop out rates, higher unemployment, higher exposure to violence and criminal activities and higher pregnancy rates between 15 and 20 years old.

All these challenges are interdependent. These realities create poverty traps and risky conditions that affect not only young people’s lives but also their families, neighborhoods and communities. Investing in people’s in Mexico is essential to prevent violence, crime and illegal migration to USA.

SERAJ addresses these challenges through programs and projects based on working with youth as part of the solution and not as problems.

SERAJ programs in schools and in urban neighborhoods (“barrios”) promote youth leadership and access to opportunities to learn, to prevent dropouts, to develop skills, and to job placement.

During last 5 years, SERAJ has developed 5 main actions:

• Leadership development and community services
• Closing digital gap
• Training and soft skills development for job placement
• Prevention of dropouts in secondary schools
• Violence prevention through soccer and sports

Some key achievements in these recent years are:

• Services to more than 275,000 young people
• Projects and programs developed in 20 states in Mexico
• Founding and leading a national network of youth organizations (RIE: Youth Expert organizations Network).
• SERAJ is partner to YouthBuild International, Intel and government agencies in these programs.
• In 2013, SERAJ received two important awards: Best organization in Education by Compartir (Share) Foundation and Best organization, by Merced Foundation.