Funds for Venezuelan Refugees in Colombia
$120
Raised
3
Donations
$2,000
Goal
WHAT:
Call for Monthly Support —
Keep Folks Fed, Sheltered and Safe
Help us create stability and lasting impact with monthly donations people can count on.
WHO:
Venezuelan Refugees & Colombian IDP
via Fundación Colombia Nuevos Horizontes, our partner since 2013.
They provide 3 home-cooked meals and shelter for 35-60 people per day.
WHY:
COVID-19 makes everything worse
One goal in starting this non-profit is to cover the foundation’s operating costs. Due to COVID-19, there's a significant uptick in cleaning supply/PPE expenses. We're here to build sustainability, so our funding goal reflects this current need.
WHERE:
Socha (outside of Bogotá), Colombia, South America
HELP ME VISUALIZE THE SITUATION:
Meet Marino & Tour the Foundation
Accessibility note: For a transcript of the above video, click here [COMING SOON].
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- FINANCIAL UPDATE (UPDATED: 12/15/2020)
Prorating the current fundraiser, a mix of monthly commitments and one-time donations (THANK YOU!), we're able to start sending $400 monthly.
We still need $1600 in monthly donation commitments to cover operating costs.
Help us spread the word:
- email our website to friends and family
- share our website on social media
- download and post this graphic on social
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Facebook | Twitter | InstagramHOW DONATIONS WORK
The people already working with vulnerable populations are best positioned to make decisions about how to distribute resources to make the most lasting and powerful impact.
When you donate to Emergent Horizons, most of money goes straight to local organizations with whom we are partnered. Currently, we have one partner organization: Fundación Colombia Nuevos Horizontes.
"The Foundation" as it is affectionately called by residents, is run by Marino Rivera, who has a proven track record for over a decade running the Foundation as a registered non-profit in Colombia.
We encourage monthly donations over the long term. Why? Our focus is on building sustainable support because having donors that vulnerable folks can count on creates the greatest impact.
We are taking on one direct donation partnership at a time, waiting until we stabilize them by consistently covering their monthly operating costs, before moving onto another partnership.
Your donation also funds outreach and education efforts by Emergent Horizons to help people better understand the struggles refugees face globally. We look forward to expanding our partnerships to include vulnerable populations here in the U.S.
TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
The Foundation provides meals, shelter, social services, and emotional/mental health support.
The majority of residents are displaced Venezuelan families in Colombia, in addition to internally displaced Colombian folks, who also still need support.
The Foundation is unique in the entire country.
The Foundation is known for helping people heal and launch into the next phase of life, because they have built a community of supportive, understanding people in and around Soacha. Even after folks leave the Foundation, it remains a community hub of visitors and friends, and is (as far as we know) the only place in Colombia where refugees and IDP can stay as long as they need and not have a one month limit imposed on them, which, empowers folks to regroup and heal in safety and at their own pace. Board member and co-President Sebastián Ramírez Hernandez wrote his doctoral dissertation on this topic. Learn more about the Foundation's unique approach to care here.
[Image description: Taken pre-COVID, four people sit and lay on mattresses on the floor, with laundry hanging off of large, curtained windows to the left, with glowing midday light; a large kids game gridded like a calendar is seen taped to the wall behind them; a woman is on her phone while the man on the left crouches and stares off into the distance. No one is wearing a mask because it is pre-COVID.]Currently, 45 people live in their shelter.
The goal is to offer short term, transitional housing, not long term. People rotate in and out regularly, and numbers fluctuate depending on the number of children who accompany the adult guests.
Right now, most people using the Foundation's services are Venezuelan. They join the more than five million Venezuelans who have had to leave their homes behind for better opportunities (access to food, healthcare, income) outside of their country.
- Over the last two years, the Foundation has sheltered more than 1,500 people from Venezuela, helping them rebuild their lives.
[Image description: A man is standing over the stove making arepas he has just kneaded in a large plastic green bowl in the foreground of the kitchen's half-height barrier wall. Behind him is a long wall of white kitchen cupboards affixed to the low ceiling, stacks of dishes seen in them, a metal sink underneath with clean dishes drying on the counter to the right. The stove has two large aluminum pots on it; there is a bare lightbulb overhead and the wall that is visible to the right behind the stove is covered with floor-sized white tiles. The man is not wearing a mask because the photo was taken pre-COVID] - COVID-19 has worsened this crisis, making the lives of the most vulnerable even more precarious.
- Despite their best efforts, the Foundation has struggled to secure consistent economic support and, right now, much-needed protection equipment.
- Over the last few months, they have endured food shortages as well as difficulty in accessing the equipment needed to keep residents and staff safe--such as face masks, gloves, and disinfectants.
- We hope you can help us in our efforts to support and protect the families that depend on the Foundation for essential services and care.
- THANK YOU -
The Emergent Horizons Team