Since 2013, Venezuela has experienced its worst economic, political, and social crisis in 45 years. This has limited access to health care, sanitary facilities and food, and significantly increased humanitarian needs. At least 4.7 million Venezuelans have fled to countries around the world, including 1.8 million to Colombia and 1 million to Peru. Many have also taken refuge in Ecuador and Brazil. Humanity & Inclusion’s teams are providing emergency assistance to the most vulnerable individuals.

Psychological support and rehabilitation

Since April 2019, Humanity & Inclusion has been providing psychological support to nearly 4,000 people in the Maicao transit center in Colombia which is run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the border with Venezuela.

Humanity & Inclusion, in partnership with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and Pastoral Social (Caritas Colombia), provides rehabilitation care for 400 people, including people with disabilities, older people and indigenous groups. In addition, we provide technical support, such as training to local rehabilitation organizations, and help organize social cohesion activities, including sports, for Colombians and Venezuelans in order to promote peaceful understanding between communities.

COVID-19 in Colombia

During the COVID-19 crisis, Humanity & Inclusion’s teams have continued to carry out some activities in the Maicao centre. Our psychologists have organized remote psychological support and rehabilitation sessions via videos and WhatsApp. We've also provided families with information on how to protect themselves from the pandemic.

Essential support in Medellín

Humanity & Inclusion is supporting more than 2,000 Venezuelans in Medellín, the second largest city in Colombia, in conjunction with Medellín city council. Our teams provide them with psychological support by organizing one-to-one and group sessions, and help them complete legal formalities to access basic services such as health care. We also organize sports and cultural activities to strengthen the social cohesion and social and cultural inclusion of Venezuelans in Medellín. Our teams run similar activities in Bogota and Barranquilla on the Atlantic coast.

Training other organizations to ensure inclusion for all

In Colombia, we’re training 30 members from other national organizations to help ensure that they take into account the needs of the most vulnerable individuals when implementing their own projects. In May 2020, following an assessment of the humanitarian aid needs of Venezuelan refugees in Peru, we launched inclusive trainings for organizations located in the country, so they too can ensure their response is inclusive for all.   

Humanity & Inclusion works to protect the most vulnerable 

As COVID-19 takes aim at our planet's most vulnerable neighbors, we're ensuring that people with disabilities, people with injuries from conflict, children, women, and especially older people have the information--and even the soap--to stay healthy. Learn more about our COVID-19 response.

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Since 2013, Venezuela has been facing a severe economic, political, and social crisis. Access to health care, sanitation facilities, and food has decreased significantly, and humanitarian needs are great. At least 3.4 million Venezuelans have fled worldwide, including 2.7 million to Latin American and Caribbean countries. Among them, more than one million people now live in Colombia.

Gregory Le Blanc, Humanity & Inclusion’s director in Colombia, explains the situation facing Venezuelan refugees in Colombia and shares details about our emergency response.

Gregory Le Blanc stands in a field in Colombia wearing an old HI vest (old brand alert!).

"The serious political and economic crisis in Venezuela makes life a little harder every day while more and more people move to neighboring countries. An estimated 3.4 million Venezuelans have fled around the world, including more than 2 million to Colombia. The Colombian authorities are overwhelmed by this influx of people and the needs to assist them. Women, children, older people and people with disabilities are worst affected.

Struggling to access basic services

The fact that some no longer have ID documents or residency permits, and are unaware how to normalize their situation in the country or what their rights are, makes it more difficult for them to access basic services such as healthcare and drinking water. In large cities and at major gathering points near borders, Venezuelans receive healthcare, and the most vulnerable have access to welfare services and the like. It is less easy to access psychological support, but it is just as important.

Families uprooted

In fact, people fleeing Venezuela are very vulnerable, socially and emotionally. They have been uprooted and live in precarious conditions, and this has a serious impact on their mental health. They feel frustration, despair, anxiety and may experience depression.

Humanity & Inclusion is there

Humanity & Inclusion provides them with psychological support in Medellin and La Guajira—on the northern border—and is preparing to intervene in Bogota and Barranquilla. HI also provides support to people who need help resolving legal issues (ID documents, formalizing their situation, etc.) in Medellin, in conjunction with the local council, the university, etc., and with HI’s lawyers. Our team of rehabilitation professionals also help train health service providers, in addition to providing care directly and/or through specialized centers. We also provide mobility devices—wheelchairs, crutches, and walkers—to those who need them.

Due to the scale of the needs and the length of the humanitarian crisis, we also plan to strengthen the socio-economic inclusion of Venezuelans in Colombia from 2020, based on our extensive experience in this sector.”

Since 2013, Venezuela has been facing a severe economic, political, and social crisis. Access to health care, sanitation facilities, and food has decreased significantly, and humanitarian needs are great. At least 3.4 million Venezuelans have fled worldwide, including 2.7 million to Latin American and Caribbean countries. Among them, more than one million people now live in Colombia.

Rehabilitation care for the most vulnerable

Since April 2019, Humanity & Inclusion has been providing psychological support to migrants in the Maicao transit center on the border with Venezuela. In collaboration with the NGOs, Danish Refugee Council and Pastoral Social (Caritas Colombia), Humanity & Inclusion also provides rehabilitation care for the most vulnerable people—people with disabilities, older adults, indigenous people— technical support, including training, to local rehabilitation organizations, and runs joint social cohesion activities for Colombians and Venezuelans to promote peaceful understanding between the two communities.

Psychological support

Humanity & Inclusion has also launched an emergency response in Medellín, the second largest city in Colombia, in collaboration with the City of Medellín. Our team provides support to more than 1,000 people from Venezuela, including psychological support through individual and group sessions, and legal support to access basic services such as health care.

Sports and cultural activities

Humanity & Inclusion organizes sports and cultural activities to strengthen the social cohesion and socio-cultural inclusion of migrants in Medellín. Our team will also work on behalf of migrants in the capital Bogota and Baranquilla on the Atlantic coast.

Venezuelans in Peru

Our team recently conducted a mission to Peru to assess the humanitarian needs of Venezuelan citizens who have fled to the country. We plan to carry out the same type of work in Peru, as Colombia. More to come!

"Hi from the field," comes direct to you from our field staff. Learn why our mine action team is planting trees after clearing weapons in Colombia. Step inside a rehabilitation center in Bolivia, where our donors ensure that children with disabilities can thrive.

Watch and share! 

Colombia

Meet Erika Romero, Humanity & Inclusion's demining area manager in Colombia and learn why our mine action team is planting trees in places where they've cleared weapons.

Lebanon

Meet Rana, a physical therapist with our Lebanon team. With a goal to get more Syrian refugee children into school, and of course to improve their quality of life, she assesses children at a rehabilitation center.

Niger

Take a step inside an inclusive classroom for children with visual disabilities in Niger and watch as these incredible children learn how to read and write in Braille.

Laos

When villagers in Laos found unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from war, they immediately reached out to Humanity & Inclusion's mine action team to help remove them. Watch our deminers in action.

Chad

While visiting Humanity & Inclusion in Chad, Gilles Lordet from HQ met up with our demining team. There, he followed their every step and got to see the SAG200 (like a HUGE combine tractor) in action!

Bolivia

Valérie Beauchemin, HI's country director for the Andean States, visits a rehabilitation center where our team conducts physical therapy sessions for children ages 0-3 in Caracollo, Bolivia. Join the tour and meet sweet kiddos, Ruban and Nicolas!

Since 2013, Venezuela has been facing a severe economic, political, and social crisis. Access to health care, sanitation, and food is scarce and humanitarian needs are massive. More than 3 million Venezuelans have fled the country and are taking refuge in other Latin America countries and the Caribbean. Among them, more than a million people are in Colombia.

Psychological support in Maicao

Humanity & Inclusion is providing psychological support activities for migrants in the transit center of Maicao, on the Venezuelan border.

Basic services & social interaction in Medellín

In Medellín, Colombia's second largest city, our team is providing psychological support to more than 1,000 Venezuelan people. In collaboration with the Medellín City Council, we're ensuring that people have access to basic services such as health care. We are also organizing sports and other cultural activities to help strengthen social cohesion and socio-cultural integration of migrants in Medellín.

Rehabilitation care in La Guajira

In November 2018, Humanity & Inclusion assessed the needs of migrants in La Guajira, an entry point in northern Colombia, in collaboration with the Danish Refugee Council (DRC).

In collaboration with DRC and Pastoral Social (Caritas Colombia), Humanity & Inclusion plans to provide rehabilitation care for the most vulnerable—people with disabilities, older people, etc.—technical support (training, etc.) to local rehabilitation organizations, and organize social cohesion activities between Colombians and Venezuelans to promote a peaceful understanding between the different communities. 

Humanity & Inclusion in Colombia

Working in Colombia since 1998, Humanity & Inclusion promotes the full participation in Colombian society of people with disabilities, including victims of internal armed conflict, and their families. We also ensure that disability issues are taken into account in public policies. Since 2016, Humanity & Inclusion has extended its field interventions to include the prevention of accidents caused by landmines, and the clearance, through demining of affected areas. Learn more about our work in Colombia.

Humanity & Inclusion is preparing to launch a possible emergency response to aid Venezuelan refugees in Colombia. Venezuela has been experiencing economic, political, and social turmoil since 2013. At least 3.4 million Venezuelans have fled the country. More than one million Venezuelans have taken refuge in Colombia, according to the United Nations.

Present in Colombia since 1998, HI assessed the needs of migrants in La Guajira, a border town in northern Colombia. In conjunction with partner organizations DRC and Pastoral Social (Caritas Colombia), HI is hoping to launch the following activities:

• Psychological support to help migrants overcome trauma
• Rehabilitation for people with disabilities, older people, and other vulnerable populations
• Training in support of local rehabilitation organizations
• Peace building between communities

These activities would be carried out in the areas of La Guajira, Arauca, Atlántico, and Vichada, Colombia. HI is also monitoring the situation in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru.

To learn more about Humanity & Inclusion's work in Colombia, click here.

Venezuelan refugees in Colombia are in need of significant support and aid. Humanity & Inclusion teams are mapping out our emergency response options.

Venezuela has been confronted by a serious economic, political and social crisis since 2013. This has caused at least 3.4 million Venezuelans to flee, with 2.7 million have relocated to other Latin American and Caribbean countries, with one million refugees seeking refuge in Colombia, according to the United Nations. In just the past few months, the crisis has forced tens of thousands of Venezuelans to flee to neighboring countries.

Humanity & Inclusion has worked in Colombia since 1998. In 2017, teams assessed the needs of Venezuelans located in Cucuta, Colombia. In November 2018, Humanity & Inclusion assessed the needs of migrants in La Guajira, a crossing point in northern Colombia, in conjunction with the NGO Danish Refugee Council (DRC).

The organization is currently preparing for the possible launch of an emergency response, in conjunction with DRC and Pastoral Social (Caritas Colombia), which would include the following activities:

• psychosocial support to help Venezuelan migrants overcome their traumas
• rehabilitation care for people with disabilities, older people, indigenous people or any individual in a situation of vulnerability.
• technical support (training, etc.) to local rehabilitation organizations so they can take care of refugees and migrants in need
• promoting social cohesion and peaceful coexistence between different communities

These activities would be carried out in the areas of La Guajira, Arauca, Atlántico (Baranquilla) and Vichada (Puerto Carreno). Humanity & Inclusion would then aim to operate in urban areas (Bogota, Medellín, Cali).

Humanity & Inclusion is also monitoring the situation in Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru.

To learn more about Humanity & Inclusion's work in Colombia, click here.

Vladan Nikolic, Program Support Officer for Humanity & Inclusion, is just home from visiting an important demining project in Colombia that's funded by the U.S. Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement. He visited a mine field, and saw the full spectrum of HI's work to protect civilians living near landmines. While there, a deminer at another site was stung by a scorpion. Later that day, a team deployed to clear a suspected landmine along a schoolyard path. Scroll down to see what it was! As he puts it, "even heroes have bad days." Here are some of his trip highlights:

Aderito Ismael, head of Humanity & Inclusion's demining operations in Colombia, and previously of our work in Mozambique, delivers a briefing on the technical aspects of demining. He explained how each demining team stakes out the locations they'll clear, and the colors they use to communicate what they're doing and how to stay safe.

Our team met with Gloria, a beneficiary whose husband died ten years ago when he stepped on an explosive. Her five-year-old son at the time was injured in the accident. Since then, he's had 17 surgeries and continues to struggle with his sight and hearing. Our team is providing him with care, including help earning a living.

Here, we're traveling across one of many rivers from the main office to a demining camp. Lucky for me, it's the end of Colombia's rainy season, so we could actually cross this portion of the river!

Alongside members of a local farming community, I attended a risk education session led by an HI community liaison officer. The community learned about the dangers of explosive remnants of war, and how to spot, avoid, and report any weapons they may find.

The tire from a toy truck was flipped upside down and filled with mud. As you can see, it really does look like a mine! But we were so relieved when we found out it wasn't a deadly explosive on a path heavily traveled by children.

PS - NPR's Jason Beaubien traveled to Colombia in September 2017, where he met up with HI's demining team. His report explains how HI demines, and what the team found packed in a baby food jar. Listen in!

On the International Day for Mine Awareness, Humanity & Inclusion warns that civilians cannot continue to bear the brunt of global conflicts, with casualty rates rising drastically worldwide.

Five years ago, while Xiemna, 33, was putting her son to bed, a grenade was thrown into her home in Colombia drastically changing her life within seconds. On that day, she lost both of her children and sustained serious injures. With support from Humanity & Inclusion, she has been given psychological support and has now set up her own homemade yogurt business. Xiemna and her husband, Armando tell their story: