Support from generous donors has helped over 20,000 vulnerable migrants and refugees travelling on foot from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, and Mexico. These people have been forced to migrate due to a variety of factors including disasters, poverty, food insecurity, economic recessions, inflation, gang violence, and economic insecurity. Children and single mothers are particularly vulnerable along these routes, risking kidnapping, theft, violence, and assault.

One woman we met in Colombia (who will remain anonymous) had walked for 21 days straight with her family, including children aged one and two years old. After arriving at the edge of the perilous Darien Gap, her husband forged ahead in hopes of establishing himself on the other side and sending funds back to his wife and children. In the meantime, the young woman and her children waited – suspended between a home they could no longer remain in, and an undetermined future destination.

In partnership with another organization, our ADRA Protection Points (APPs) helps families like this along key migrant routes in Colombia, Honduras, and Mexico. We help them wash their clothes, give them clean drinking water, and provide food that would otherwise be difficult to get. At a Protection Point, people who have been isolated in dense jungle for days at a time can charge their phones, connect to Wi-Fi, and let distant family members know they are ok. Children find safe places to play and socialize with each other, and parents get advice about the dangers and challenges on the road ahead.

The reality for most travelers on this path is that there is no guarantee that they will enter their country of choice. ADRA plays no part in encouraging or facilitating illegal entry into the United States or any other country. Our strictly humanitarian work reduces suffering while people travel, in hopes that no precious lives will be lost on the road or in the jungle. In the meantime, our work in countries like Venezuela and Haiti strives to make these places more hospitable for their own people – so that one day, all might live as God intended, without having to flee their homes.