Most migrants from Cúcuta first need to reach the city of Bucaramanga, which requires a journey over an Andean mountain range. Many hitch rides with truckers, but as they climb 9,000 feet, most are ill equipped for the plunging temperatures and face the risk of hypothermia.
Carlos Mejia/Oxfam
Oxfam Colombia director Carlos Mejía and Milena Camaño Campuzano of Oxfam partner Fundación Mujer y Futura register a family at a roadside shelter outside Cúcuta. Over the course of 48 hours, FMF offers migrants food, lodging, bus transport over the mountains to a second shelter in Bucaramanga, access to reproductive health care as well as psychological and legal assistance, a cash payment of around $20, and a bus ticket to their next destination. We call it the Protection Route.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
The mission of the Protection Route is to protect lives and dignity.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
Gender-based violence (GBV) can be physical, psychological, or economic. Most women have experienced it, but women migrants are at particular risk. FMF staff inform participants of their rights, help them devise strategies to protect themselves, and work to ensure they feel safe from GBV in the shelters.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
Awareness-raising sessions about risks and rights are a key part of the FMF program.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
Participants each receive a booklet full of information about how to stay safe along their way, and they are encouraged to solidify their plans.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
The shelter in Bucaramanga includes a play space for children.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
Every family receives a backpack that includes a blanket, hygiene items, and nutritional supplements.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
The travelers have access to a mobile clinic in Bucaramanga that is focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Nurses provide health care; for those who have experienced recent gender-based violence, an attorney and psychological professional are on hand.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
A teenager displays the gifts and mementos she brought from home.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
Yenifer is traveling with six children, the youngest of whom is a toddler. With the price of food far outpacing her capacity to earn money in Venezuela’s struggling economy, she was forced to leave home.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
Yenifer and her family load their belongings onto a bus that will take them to their destination in Colombia.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
A few final words, and farewell.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
The FMF Protection Route project goes beyond providing services. It aims to help each woman along a path to a safer life, and the fulfillment and enjoyment of her rights.
Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam
