Francisco Chávez Delgado

Francisco Chavez is using modern techniques and technology to reinvent the way that Mexico searches for missing children. He enables families, government agencies, and citizen organizations to communicate as equals and act as partners in their search for children who have been kidnapped or have left home.

Francisco begins with the premise that information is a public resource which should be maintained and managed so that the parents of missing children, the police, and citizen organizations have access to the same data and can share their knowledge. He aims the power of the Internet at a failing system that suffers from poor organization and communication–just the kind of problems that new information technology can solve. The association that Francisco founded started as a web page designed to help search for lost children and has become a platform for communication and partnership among Mexican families, authorities, social service agencies, and universities, as well as international organizations. The association succeeds because it serves two complementary purposes: aiding the search for missing children by disseminating information, and building the culture of partnership needed to combat a national–indeed global–problem.

The widespread problem of missing children takes many forms. The Mexican organization charged with receiving reports of missing children gets approximately three hundred thousand phone calls per year about children in and around Mexico City. About 10 percent of the children either stay missing for a long time or disappear forever. Juegos sin Terminar (Games Without Finish) studied more than one hundred fifty cases of missing children reported between 1991 and 1998 and identified five main causes for the disappearances: 1) the child loses his way and does not know how to go home; 2) the child is stolen; 3) kidnappers seize the child to demand a ransom; 4) family problems cause the child, usually a teenager, to leave; and 5) an estranged parent or a relative takes the child from the parent who has legal custody.

The increase in missing children relates to growing crime in Mexico. Most missing children are from poor families and some are involved in prostitution. Among working-class families, children usually disappear because someone has kidnapped them, they have run away, or because their parents are locked in a custody dispute. Kidnapping happens mostly in the middle and upper classes. Complicated and bureaucratic government procedures prevent local authorities from addressing the problem professionally and efficiently. There is no financial aid for poor families to do their own exhaustive search. Internationally, more standardization and coordination is needed.

Francisco knows that his work does not stop children from disappearing. His aim is to overhaul society's response, and his strategy has two parts: creating new technical standards and raising public awareness.

Francisco's association, Juegos sin Terminar, develops new techniques to help find children. His first invention was a database containing information about missing children. Parents, government agencies, and organizations dealing with lost children use the database through Francisco's website, and they also enter their own data. In fact, one of the association's main tasks is to constantly update this database. While Francisco sets an example, he does not want to be a lone pioneer. Instead, he is working toward systemic change by providing technical support to others, teaching them how to use his tools, and helping them obtain computers.

The spread and acceptance of standard technology builds a platform for interaction and cooperation among citizens, government agencies, and private organizations, rescuing them from the swamp of poor communication. For example, Juegos sin Terminar shows parents how to report a missing child, assists their search, and refers them to organizations that can help–three basic tasks that were once mired in bureaucracy. Moreover, Francisco's tools have improved official investigations into cases of missing children. Organizations that have benefited include Asociación Buscando a Nuestros Hijos, Asociación Mexicana de Niños Robados y Desaparecidos, Fundación de Niños Robados de América, Fundación de Familias de Niños Perdidos en América, and Fundación de Familias de Niños Perdidos en América. Francisco also helps organizations that search for missing elderly people and street children.

The second aspect of Francisco's strategy is to widen the circle of persons concerned with missing children. Through what is effectively a public relations campaign, Juegos sin Terminar prints and distributes posters and brochures that publicize its work. Because the Internet lends itself to global communication, Francisco can link Mexico's search for missing children to worldwide networks. The organization, Missing Children, recently invited Francisco to participate in a conference in Washington, D.C., demonstrating that global organizations are also interested in his work. Plans call for expanding internationally by linking Juegos sin Terminar with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States, as well as the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Juegos sin Terminar has helped about forty families per year find their children. Its website drew some fifty-eight thousand visitors during the first three quarters of 2000. Organizations both within and outside this field have used Juegos sin Terminar as a reliable source of information and statistical support for pursuing cases and for research. High-profile newspapers and magazines like La Jornada, El Reforma, UnomasUno, Santa Fé, Somos Hermanos, and NET have all written articles about the association. Francisco has also appeared in TV and radio programs and collaborated with important Internet Sites such as Terra and Esmas.com.

Francisco hopes that Juegos sin Terminar will become a model for Latin America and the world. As it grows to include members from government agencies, the private sector, and public associations, it will develop a registration network and serve as a research and consulting tool countrywide. Francisco plans to raise 90 percent of his projected operations costs over the next two or three years through donations from high-tech companies. He also expects to raise funds from manufacturers of children's products such as Mattel, Gerber, and Six Flags. The remaining 10 percent would come from Internet-based fundraising campaigns and revenue from services.

Francisco Chávez graduated with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering in 1998. He went on to complete a master's degree in Information Technology Management from Technológico de Monterrey, a leading university in Mexico. Since then, Francisco has consistently refused job offers from the private sector in order to build Juegos sin Terminar, which was motivated by the love for his little sister and the fear that someday she could get lost and he would not find her. Francisco is driven by the belief that despite the misuse of the Internet, it can be used to solve pressing problems. His expertise in this area and passion for communications media and the Internet are helping Francisco in what he sees as his life work.