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How 11-year-old boy crossed jungles, borders to reach Mexico-based UAE foundation
Globally, children account for nearly 38 per cent of detected trafficking victims, according to figures cited by the Khalid Bin Sultan Al Qasimi Humanitarian Foundation
- PUBLISHED: Thu 30 Jul 2026, 2:19 PM
When 11-year-old Joaquín left Venezuela with his family more than two years ago, he crossed rivers, jungle paths and several national borders before reaching safety in Mexico.
Today, his biggest wish is simple: to return to school. One day, he hopes to become a footballer.
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"I like being here because I can play and spend time with other children," he says from a shelter where he now has a safe place to sleep, friends to play with and adults trained to support children on the move.
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For the Sharjah-based Khalid Bin Sultan Al Qasimi Humanitarian Foundation (KSQF), Joaquín's story illustrates a wider reality facing thousands of migrant children travelling across Latin America, where long and often dangerous journeys can leave them vulnerable to trafficking, forced labour and other forms of exploitation.
On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the foundation highlighted Joaquín's experience as part of its Guardians of Children programme, which is expected to support around 7,000 migrant children and adolescents across Mexico.
Risks begin before trafficking
According to the foundation, migration itself does not automatically place children in the hands of traffickers. Rather, the risks grow when children lack safe accommodation, healthcare, education or trusted adults during their journeys.
What may appear to be an offer of transport, shelter or employment, can instead become a pathway to exploitation.
Mexico has become one of the region's key transit countries for migrant children. During the first nine months of 2024, authorities recorded more than 113,500 cases of irregular migration involving children and adolescents, a 78.6 per cent increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Nearly 6,700 children were travelling alone, making them particularly vulnerable to abuse and trafficking, according to figures cited by KSQF.
Working with Plan International, the foundation's programme operates in Tapachula, Mexico City and Ciudad Juárez, providing safe spaces, psychosocial care, mobile health services and referrals to specialised child protection services.
It is also expected to reach another 15,000 people through community awareness campaigns and training for shelter staff, healthcare workers, volunteers and local communities to recognise warning signs of trafficking and connect children with appropriate support.
'One name behind the numbers'
Lujan Mourad, director of KSQF, said individual stories help people understand the scale of the challenge.
"When a number becomes too large, people can stop seeing the individual lives within it. Joaquín gives one name to a reality affecting thousands of children. His story allows us to see the journey, the uncertainty and the moments in which timely protection can make a decisive difference," she said.
She stressed that Joaquín was not being presented as a victim of trafficking, but as an example of a child whose circumstances could leave him exposed to traffickers if support failed to arrive in time.
"Behind his name are 6,999 others who also need safe spaces, healthcare, psychological support and adults equipped to protect them," Mourad added.
Globally, children account for nearly 38 per cent of detected trafficking victims, according to figures cited by the foundation.
Wider child protection efforts
The Mexico initiative forms part of KSQF's broader child protection work across several countries.
The foundation said its programmes reached more than 36,000 people in Morocco, Mexico and Zanzibar last year, supporting projects ranging from community-based child protection systems to services for survivors of gender-based violence.
Earlier this year, it also announced a partnership with UNICEF in the Democratic Republic of the Congo aimed at helping children leave hazardous mining work while strengthening protection services for vulnerable families.
Across its programmes, the foundation says its focus remains the same: identifying children's vulnerabilities early and ensuring they receive support before they become targets for traffickers or other forms of exploitation.
