Walking with others, that most fundamental of Jesuit values, begins by meeting people where they’re at and humanizing rather than demonizing. This is where the Kino Border Initiative shines most—providing holistic accompaniment in the darkness of uncertainty.
Last summer, a group of 12 Santa Clara University staff and faculty traveled to the twin border cities of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, as part of an immersion experience with Kino, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring dignity in migration. Facilitated by SCU’s Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, this annual immersion experience illuminates the complexities of immigration and the individuals impacted by it.
When displaced migrants arrive at Kino, they are greeted by faces full of warmth. They are served hot meals and given a change of clothes and seen by a doctor, should they need it. Group therapy and legal assistance is offered. Once basic needs are met, they are connected to resources to help them on the next leg of their journey. We walk there together.