How we’re responding ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌







Imagine you’re forced to flee your home to save your family’s life. What would you do to help them survive?

That’s the question that millions of Venezuelan refugees are facing.

The collapse of Venezuela’s economy has resulted in rampant violence, inflation, gang warfare, soaring crime rates, and shortages of food, medicine, and essential services. Millions have fled, totaling nearly 8 million Venezuelans displaced globally.

Colombia is the host to the largest number of Venezuelan refugees. Do you know how many? Take a guess at the question below.
Below are the stories of Venezuelan refugees working to find ways to support their families amid violence and displacement.
Karina
Karina and her children live on the beach after fleeing Venezuela and searching for work in Colombia.
Karina (name changed for safety) fled from Venezuela with four of her children. With little work available in Colombia, they’ve temporarily settled in Necoclí, a small Colombian coastal town that has become a significant transit point for refugees and migrants.

Their journey isn’t easy: Karina and her children will need to take a boat to Panama and then travel on foot for several days. The trek is dangerous with treacherous terrain, exposure to disease, and violence at the hands of criminal groups.

Until then, the family is living on the beach with little shelter. Mercy Corps is partnering with local organizations to provide essential services, like legal assistance, psychosocial support, gender-based violence prevention, livelihood opportunities, and financial inclusion for Venezuelan refugees.
Emely
As the pandemic hit, Emely struggled to find work in Colombia to support her son.
Emely (name changed for safety) and her young son lived with Emely’s mother nearly their entire lives. But as Venezuela's economy became increasingly volatile, Emely struggled to provide financially and was no longer able to buy life-saving medication for her son’s severe medical condition.

She searched for work in Colombia, but when she couldn’t find any, she spent two years in sex work to save the money she needed to bring her son to the neighboring country. Mercy Corps assisted with his medical condition, providing care on eight occasions over the course of a few months.

"When you first arrive as an immigrant to any country, you don’t have access to anything, sometimes people are even mean, you don’t have access to healthcare and if you get sick, what do you do?" Emely says.

Emely is now trying to save money by working hotel and house cleaning jobs, with hopes of eventually reuniting with her family.

Karina and Emely’s stories show the impossible choices parents must make to survive and build a better life for their children.

Mercy Corps is committed to helping families in crisis in Colombia, Ukraine, Sudan, and around the world find a path to a brighter tomorrow. But we can’t do it alone — your support is vital to helping people cope, adapt, and thrive in the face of conflict, disaster, and poverty.

Thank you for being by our side,

The Mercy Corps team