On June 20, 2025, the world commemorates World Refugee Day under the theme “Community as a Superpower,” highlighting the strength found in unity and shared experiences. This year emphasises the vital role that communities play in welcoming and supporting refugees, turning challenges into opportunities for growth and solidarity.
In times of crisis, the importance of community becomes especially clear, particularly for children. Displacement, instability, and hardship can leave young people vulnerable, uprooted from familiar environments, and cut off from essential support systems. Yet, it is often within communities that children find safety, healing, and hope. Whether through neighbours, schools, or local organisations, the power of community lies in its ability to protect, nurture, and uplift those who are most at risk. This is especially true for children affected by the Venezuelan refugee crisis, one of the most pressing humanitarian challenges in Latin America today.
The Venezuelan refugee crisis
Since 2014, Venezuela has experienced one of the most severe humanitarian crises in Latin America’s history. The collapse of its economy, driven by political mismanagement, hyperinflation, corruption, and a sharp decline in oil prices, has led to widespread poverty, food shortages, lack of medical care, and soaring crime rates. As a result, over 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled the country, making it one of the largest displacement crises in the world today.
Colombia has become the primary host country, with over 3 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants currently residing there. The Colombian government’s response, including the Temporary Protection Status introduced in 2021, has been praised as generous and inclusive.
However, many Venezuelan migrants, particularly women and children, continue to face additional risks upon arrival. The scale of migration has placed enormous strain on Colombia’s public services, especially in education, healthcare, and housing. Border regions and low-income urban areas are especially vulnerable, where limited resources and weak infrastructure can make it even harder for families to access the support they need.
Despite these difficulties, communities and organizations like Children Change Colombia (CCC) are working to create safe and supportive environments for displaced families and help to rebuild their lives.
Children Change Colombia Commitment
While the Venezuelan refugee crisis has placed enormous strain on Colombia’s public systems, it has also intersected with long-standing challenges within the country such as the impacts of the armed conflict, poverty, and inequality. These overlapping crises have created especially dangerous conditions for the most vulnerable: children and young people.
In cities like Bogotá, where internal displacement and migration converge, children from refugee and host communities alike face heightened risks of violence, exploitation, and exclusion. Migrant children, in particular, are more likely to be exposed to child labour, trafficking, and sexual exploitation due to lack of legal protection, limited access to services, and deep-rooted social inequalities.
CCC has long recognised the urgent need to protect and empower children living in these precarious conditions. For over a decade, CCC has worked alongside its local partner ACJ (also known as YMCA) in Bogotá’s Santa Fe neighbourhood, the city’s red light district. The collaborative work aims to support children and young people at risk of sexual and gender-based violence. The project focuses on strengthening the capacities of CYP, establishing care pathways for survivors, and building protective environments. It also serves a significant number of Venezuelan women and children who have been displaced by the ongoing crisis.
With this project, CCC supports 140 children and their families every year, 80% of them from Venezuela who have found a home in Bogotá. They receive psychosocial support, lunch and snacks, help to do their homeworks and a safe space to practice sports, dance and music. The organization’s commitment has only grown stronger as the Venezuelan crisis has unfolded, with increasing numbers of migrant children and families seeking safety and support. “Most of the families come here because they were internally displaced or came from Venezuela looking for better economic opportunities” States Jonathan Peralta, director of Hogar Amanecer.
Mothers and young people that work as sexual workers also receive entrepreneurship and vocational workshops to find other livelihood opportunities. .
“I have worked in refugee camps and areas affected by natural disaters, but the most shocking place I have been is the Santafe neiborhood, where sex work, drugs and crime are there 24-7, and families live there. Many children are looked after by their mothers to prevent them from facing this reality in tiny flats. Hogar Amanecer provides them a little oasis to escape from the shaking reality and the support is not only for them, their families are also involved”
Get Involved: Become part of the community
World Refugee Day reminds us that a community is more than just a place, it’s people coming together to offer support, hope, and a sense of belonging. In Colombia, where millions of Venezuelans have sought safety, community has played a crucial role in helping families rebuild their lives. CCCs work with refugees and show what’s possible when people stand together.
And you can be part of that community too. By donating, sharing the message, or learning more, you’re standing with vulnerable children and families, and showing that the community truly is a superpower. To learn more about Children Change Colombia’s initiatives and how you can contribute, visit www.childrenchangecolombia.org. Your support can make a tangible difference in the lives of those who need it most.
Written by: Anna-Sophie Mußner (MSc Student | CCC Intern)
