Program spotlight: Take my Hand

The result of a protracted migration crisis, more than two million families and children in Colombia are now facing extreme food insecurity, insufficient access to clean water, shelter, and other essential resources. Children and young people are experiencing education and development interruptions and are uniquely vulnerable to protection risks, such as trafficking and gender-based violence.

Leveraging SOS Children’s Villages local presence and 75 years of experience addressing the alternative care needs of children and young people, Take my Hand is a comprehensive humanitarian response program, providing care, protection, essential services and sustainable stabilization to children, young people and families.

Key services & activities

• Provide children and young people with quality care in safe environments, including education in emergencies and child protection spaces in La Guajira, Santander and the Darien region of Colombia.
• Strengthen families and prevent family separation by building capacities for childcare and protection.
• Provide psychosocial support.
• Increase economic empowerment for caregivers with skills and business training.
• Build lasting community support networks for integration into new cultures and communities.

Expected impact

Take my Hand aims to impact 4,630 individuals affected by migration in Colombia: 2,870 children and 1,760 adults.

In addition to meeting essential resources and protection, strengthening families and building sustainable support systems for long-term stability, Take my Hand activities will help prevent xenophobia and discrimination against the migrant population.