12-Year-Olds Create Multilingual Guides to Help Migrant Families

Badalona Students Bridge Language Barriers, Empowering Migrant Families Badalona, Spain – In a heartwarming display of community engagement, a group of 12-year-old students from the Instituto Escuela Rafael Alberti in Badalona have created multilingual guides to assist immigrant families in overcoming administrative hurdles. The initiative, called "Connecting Lives," has garnered national attention. The students, all in their first year of secondary school (ESO), produced informative pamphlets and guides in seven languages: Arabic, Urdu, English, Catalan, Spanish, and others, incorporating QR codes for online access. The guides cover essential processes such as registering with the local council (empadronamiento), obtaining healthcare cards, and enrolling children in school. "It's amazing what these young people are doing," says Àlex Letosa, a local social media influencer who featured the project in a recent video. "They're not just providing a vital service, but also learning valuable teamwork and community engagement skills." The project's success has led to the students being selected to present their work at a national congress in Madrid, a testament to their dedication and impact. Their teacher, Maria Sanchez, expressed immense pride in her students' achievement: "This project shows the power of education with purpose. It's more than just academics; it's about building a better community." The students' efforts are not only beneficial to the migrant families but also serve as an inspiration to their peers and the wider community. Their story is a beacon of hope and demonstrates the positive contributions young people can make in fostering inclusion and understanding.