USAID visits Save the Children’s projects in Peru for Venezuelan migrants and refugees

More than a million Venezuelan citizens -among them children and adolescents- came to Peru fleeing the generalized crisis that afflicted their country. Given this, and the COVID-19 pandemic that placed them in a situation of extreme vulnerability, Save the Children and USAID have been working since 2019 to meet the needs of migrant and refugee children and their families.

Representatives of the USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) visited Lima and La Libertad to learn about the activities of the project “Immediate assistance for the well-being and inclusion of Venezuelan families – Phase 3”, implemented by Save the Children.

The project reaches vulnerable Venezuelan families with emergency cash assistance, as well as informative, training and counseling activities on infant and maternal feeding. In this sense, the BHA-USAID team witnessed the delivery of monetary assistance to migrants in La Libertad. In it, they were able to talk with a young beneficiary of the program who arrived in our country only three months ago, who declared that this help was vital to be able to settle in the country and ensure the first days of her little newborn baby.

In Lima, they witnessed the face-to-face sessions of the support groups with mothers and caregivers. It should be noted that these activities were carried out while implementing all biosafety protocols to protect families from COVID-19.

Additionally, the BHA-USAID team visited one of the most emblematic beneficiaries, Natalia. Her case is a success story from the previous project (implemented in the 2020 period), which promoted the development of enterprises and the employability capacities of Venezuelan migrants for their insertion into Peruvian society. In relation to this, they visited Natalia’s “Fun Classroom”, who was a kindergarten teacher in Venezuela. Through this experience, the BHA team learned first-hand what the impact has been on the beneficiary family and the host community.

“At Save the Children we are committed to the well-being of the most vulnerable children. In that sense, we value the support and trust that BHA / USAID gives us to work with migrant children and their families. Its support is essential to ensure immediate assistance aimed at meeting the basic needs of these families, such as food, hygiene and shelter. Also to provide information and ensure healthy nutrition and the protection of children and adolescents”, indicates Veronica Valdivieso, director of Save the Children in Peru.

In the last 6 years, USAID has financed more than 11 projects with Save the Children in Peru, and 3 projects aimed at the migrant and refugee population. With theses projects we have reached more than 72000 Venezuelan citizens, with an investment of more than USD 31M. Currently, the project “Immediate assistance for the well-being and inclusion of Venezuelan families – Phase 3” seeks to reach about 22000 Venezuelan migrants and about 2000 Peruvians from the host communities in Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Lima and Arequipa.