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Protection Beyond Borders

Delivering care, hope and a brighter future to vulnerable children in Colombia 
Every day—as part of a prolonged migration crisis which has resulted in more than seven million families and children fleeing Venezuela and settling in Colombia—children walk alone into the unknown.

Thousands of children have been separated from their families in this harrowing journey. Without the protection and provision of a parent, they lack the critical resources they need to survive—like food, access to clean water, shelter and more. Scared and alone, these children are incredibly vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation, hunger and other extreme hardships.

But SOS Children’s Villages is working to give unaccompanied or separated children the happy, healthy and protected childhoods they deserve, with all the resources they need to thrive now and far into the future.

With the support of a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), SOS’ Protection Beyond Borders program is providing a safe haven for these vulnerable children.  

Protection Beyond Borders ensures affected children are:

  • Welcomed into a safe home environment where they remain together with their siblings and receive loving, tailored support from a caregiver until they are able to be reunited with their families. 

  • Provided with psychosocial support to help them recover from traumas related to separation and other migration experiences. 

  • Equipped with continuing education and child-friendly spaces to prevent any learning gaps and encourage academic success. 

  • Served by locally based staff in Colombia who work diligently to blend local traditions, languages and customs and ensure children comfortably adjust to their lives in a new country while still honoring their cultural identity. 

  • Provided with sustainable support after the program's conclusion by collaborating with local authorities to strengthen capacities for care of children in the country.

A region in crisis

A groundbreaking program, Protection Beyond Borders will be the first to provide temporary care for unaccompanied and separated children in the Darién region—one of the most dangerous jungles and migration routes in the world.

Protection Beyond Borders will also deliver care and support in six other high needs areas: La Guajira, Santander, Norte de Santander, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Nariño. 

“Children affected by migration in Colombia are among the most vulnerable in the world. We are well-equipped—through our trauma-informed care and psychosocial support—to provide for these children and adolescents in a welcoming, comfortable, family environment until they can be reunited with their biological families. This is the best approach for the child’s safety and recovery, but no one else is doing it—and certainly not at this scale.” 

Jill Nosach, CEO and National Director
SOS Children’s Villages USA

Thank you

We know it takes a village to provide such comprehensive support to children in need.  

With the commitment of generous partners like PRM and our compassionate individual supporters, SOS Children’s Villages is providing care for the most at-risk children around the world, ensuring every child has the opportunity to grow up in the safe, loving home they deserve with all the resources they need to achieve a bright, hopeful future. 

This article was funded in part by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.