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Colombia and its humanitarian situation are impacted by the global crisis of its neighboring country, Venezuela.
The Venezuelans are going through a global collapse of their country, politically, economically and socially. People’s access to basic services and goods, such as water and food, is fragile.
Faced with this situation, millions of people are moving from Venezuela to Colombia. On the one hand, there are many Colombians who were previously living in Venezuela for economic reasons and who have decided to return. On the other hand, many Venezuelans have decided to leave everything behind in order to move to a more viable context. Refugees most often decide to head for the country’s largest cities, passing through the pass between Cucuta and Bucaramanga in the northeast of the country.
The journey from Venezuela to Colombia is most often made on foot. The refugees, known as “caminantes”, sometimes travel alone, sometimes with their families and face multiple dangers: extortion, rape, violence… On the path of the walkers, there are only six shelters with the capacity to accommodate them. Faced with the daily influx of hundreds of these people, it is very difficult for these structures to meet the basic needs of all.
In the field, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL is mainly deployed in these emergency shelters, where the campers spend only a few hours or nights. In partnership with other NGOs and local actors, the teams support these shelters in their shortcomings, particularly in terms of access to water, sanitation and hygiene. Water supply, sanitation and latrine infrastructures are built and rehabilitated in order to provide the population with decent, functional and safe facilities.
The food security of the populations is also taken care of, thanks to the distribution of meals upon their arrival in the shelters.
To learn more about our actions in Colombia, consult the articles below.
