The children sit close together with little space between them. They study their notes, books and papers at desks where once there had been passenger seats. A teacher has hung their work from the storage area above their heads: colorful alphabet letters and paintings.
The bus is in Tijuana, Mexico, just a few kilometers from the border with the United States. The bus is next to a migrant shelter. It offers a chance for Central American and Mexican children to attend school. Several dozen students have taken part in the program since it began in July. For most of them, education was a distant dream in the weeks or months since their parents decided to leave their homes and travel north to seek refuge or a better life.
Estefania Rebellon is director of the program, called Yes We Can. She said it offers special education for children who may have low reading and writing abilities and struggle with social skills. Rebellon, who also works as an actress in Los Angeles, said when she was 10 years old, she moved to Miami, Florida, from Colombia, where her parents had received death threats. School became her refuge, or safe place.
Rebellon's bus used to fit 55 people — but with the insides removed, it now seats 80 children. The bus has welcomed 37 students ages five to 12 since the program opened. It will take in another 20 children in the coming weeks.
With more money, Rebellon said she would like to expand to other border cities with growing migrant populations. "We can be in a bus, in a house, in a boat," she said. "It's more about what we teach the children."
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