The Kino Teens is a network of clubs at high schools that provide students across the country the opportunity to accompany migrants, participate in educational activities with an emphasis on understanding their stories, delve into the complex issues surrounding migration, and defend migrant rights through advocacy. Kino Teens seek to embody the heritage of Padre Kino who was a defender of native peoples and a protector of their rights.
In 2021, student leaders from different Kino Teens clubs started holding monthly meetings with representatives from the different clubs across the US. These “Universal Kino Teens Meetings” are spaces to share projects and best practices from the different clubs, receive updates about the current situation in Nogales and along the border, and work together on shared campaigns. Past campaigns include a letter writing campaign to congress to end Title 42 that led to more than 500 letters being delivered, and a pen pal program with people in detention centers.
For directions on how to form a Kino Teen club or inspiration for new activities at existing clubs, download our Kino-Teens-Guide_updated3.2022.docx.
Kino Teens plan activities in three dimensions:
- Share: Humanize the reality of migration by listening to and sharing the stories of migrants wherever they live
- Accompany: Be with migrants on their journeys by being present with them in conversation, community, and prayer.
- Defend: Advocate for the rights of migrants and more humane, just, and workable migration policies locally, regionally, and nationally.
For questions about immersion tours and Kino Teens, please contact Jaret Ornelas, S.J., Education Coordinator: jornelas@kinoborderinitiative.org and Sr. Tracey Horan, SP, Associate Director of Education and Advocacy: thoran@kinoborderinitiative.org.