Hope for Venezuelan Refugees

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A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

Rotary E-Club of Houston
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An opportunity to help alleviate the need for food among the Venezuelan refugees in Cúcuta

$2,777

raised by 18 people

$5,000 goal

Houstonians Respond to the Venezuelan Refugees Humanitarian Crisis in Colombia with 40 Tons of Food

Update posted 5 years ago

Houston, February 20, 2019 – The Rotary e-Club of Houston, through its Hope For Venezuelan Refugees pilot project is helping alleviate hunger and improve malnutrition among vulnerable Venezuelan refugees and ‘caminantes’ (walkers) in Cúcuta and Pamplona through the donation of 20 tons of Rise Against Hunger (RAH) meals.  

In response to this humanitarian crisis, two concerned Venezuelan Rotarians in Houston, human freedom activist and former Miss Venezuela Cristal Montañéz, and WaSRAG Ambassador Dr. Isis Mejías, created the Hope For Venezuelan Refugees pilot project to help alleviate hunger and improve malnutrition among vulnerable Venezuelan refugees and ‘caminantes’ (walkers) in Cúcuta and Pamplona. They visited the region, created the project proposal, and put together a coalition of allied organizations to develop the logistics and successfully implement this project.


The first phase was to send a 40-foot container with 20 tons, 1320 boxes of RAH meals fortified rice-soybean meal with dehydrated vegetables enriched with 18 minerals and vitamins. The container departed from the Port of Houston on December 21, 2018, to the Port of Cartagena. The container arrived at the Food Bank of the Pastoral Social of the Diocese of Cúcuta on January 17, 2019.  From this location, the RAH meals boxes are distributed weekly to (10) food distribution centers in Cúcuta and four (4) shelters of the Humanitarian Network (Red Humanitaria) on the Cúcuta-Pamplona route already serving hot-meals to the Venezuelan refugees. This humanitarian aid pilot project aims to increase the capacity of these food distribution centers by providing 190,080 food rations during eight (8) weeks with the possibility of extending the project to a second phase. Hope For Venezuelan Refugee pilot project is a partnership between the Rotary e-Club of Houston, Rise Against Hunger, Food Bank of the Pastoral Social of the Diocese of Cúcuta, and the Rotary Club of Cúcuta. These organizations joined efforts to implement, facilitate and manage the pilot project.


According to Cristal Montañéz Baylor, International Service Committee Rotary e-Club of Houston “The fact remains that food is the most fundamental priority that needs to be addressed in this humanitarian crisis. Local faith organizations and the World Food Program (WFP) have taken the lead in response to this humanitarian crisis. Our donation of 20 tons of Rise Against Hunger meals is helping improve the stage of malnutrition of more than 5,400 Venezuelan refugees per day in 14 food distribution centers located in Cúcuta and Pamplona. Our project helps alleviate hunger and promotes peace.” 


Additionally, “Rise Against Hunger, the Rotary e-Club of Houston and other Rotary Clubs contributed the necessary funds for the acquisition of 20 tons of complementary foods produced locally. These complementary foods are improving the nutritional value and adding diversity of flavor and seasonings to the RAH meals, stimulating the local economy and helping diminish the xenophobia toward the Venezuelan migrant,” said Isis Mejías, Director International Service Committee Rotary e-Club of Houston.

Thanks to the generous contribution of the participating organizations, the Hope For Venezuelan Refugees pilot project is able to provide an additional 1,700 additional meals per day in the form of breakfast and dinner in the four (4) shelters in the Cúcuta-Pamplona route.

Among the contributing Rotary Clubs are: Rotary Club Humble, Rotary Club Brazosport, Rotary Club El Campo, Rotary Club Highlands, Rotary Club Baytown, Rotary Club Gulfway Rotary Club Hobby, Rotary Club Katy, Rotary Club West University, Rotary Club Memorial Spring Branch, Rotary Club El Paso Camino Real, Rotary Club Calgary, Rotary Club Somerset, Rotary Club Cúcuta y Rotary e-Club Houston.


Blog https://hopeforvenezuelanrefugees.blogspot.com/



Current Venezuela Refugee Situation

Colombia shares a 1,400-mile border with Venezuela. One border town, in particular, Cúcuta, a Colombian city bordering San Antonio del Táchira in Venezuela, has become the focal point for the Venezuelan migration and has borne the burden. This border is one of the most active crossings between the two countries, and over the past year, it has become increasingly transited by Venezuelans.

Official figures estimate that about 35,000 Venezuelans cross the border on a daily basis, but unofficial estimates from observers on the ground estimate that number to be much higher, with up to one million Venezuelans in Colombia. It is also estimated that somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 people crossing stay in Colombia or travel to another country in the region. The rest are crossing for a few hours or a few days to work and/or get food and medicines not readily available in Venezuela. [1]However, only 819,034 [2 ]are registered with an official census. 

Financial

At present, almost one million Venezuelans have crossed the border. The city of Cúcuta and the Metropolitan Area were not prepared to receive this massive migration of people. Many refugees have transited into other Colombian cities or other countries of the Southern Cone. Others, so-called swinging or pendulum citizens, enter and leave on the same day. Some people join other family members overcrowding homes, thus increasing these family’s vulnerability and social problems. The rest, which is the vast majority have increased the high levels of unemployment and informal jobs in the city. The increase in informal Venezuelan workers has pushed Cucuta's unemployment rate to 16% compared with the 9% rate nationwide. Although Colombians have welcomed their Venezuelan neighbors, signs of resentment among jobless local residents is growing.

Refugees live from day to day, many asking for donations, doing stunts in the streets, or engaged in informal commerce to obtain some Colombian pesos. This situation has resulted in an increase in drugs dealing, prostitution, and insecurity that swarms in all the streets of the city.

Shelter and Basic Sanitation

Venezuelans arriving in Cúcuta are hungry, sick and in despair. While it is true that there is a Migration Center financed with government resources, there is not enough space for everyone. The center’s low capacity forces people to sleep in parks, atriums of temples, slums, and inhospitable spaces areas where they don’t have access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or running water. 

Health 

One of the most challenging elements to address is health, as sanitary epidemics have become dangerous. Hospitals and clinics receiving large numbers of people who are not registered in the Colombian social security system. The Colombian Red Cross, the Integral Health System, the Erasmo Meoz Hospital and other entities are unable to cope with all the situations. In this regard, the Secretary-General of the OAS clearly stated that "denying humanitarian assistance to Venezuela is criminal conduct but granting it reactively and without proper planning, may be an irresponsible act of Colombia." Under these circumstances, the Colombian national government issued a decree in May 2018, and is now taking charge of the costs of the civilians arriving at the Erasmo Meoz Hospital. 


Project Approach and Strategy

The fact remains that food is the most fundamental priority that needs to be address in this humanitarian crisis. The proposed Hope for Venezuelan Refugees pilot project provides an opportunity to help alleviate the need for food. The project aims to decrease hunger and the condition of malnutrition of the Venezuelan refugees, especially women and children, by providing nutritious and fortified RAH meals packs. 

This project also aims to increase the capacities of the participating partners already providing nutritious food to the refugees in the region. It is expected that RAH meals will be utilized to help improve the deplorable stage of malnutrition of the vulnerable refugee population. 

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