“A heart without borders” in Maicao celebrates two years with migrant children

On 6 June, the Norandina Province celebrated the second anniversary of “A heart without borders”, the Marist house in Maicao, Colombia, which since 2019 has benefited more than 250 children, children of Venezuelan and Colombian migrant families living in difficult situations.

The beneficiaries, mainly children between 5 and 14 years old, have had access to food and a pedagogical proposal based on the contextualisation of study habits, self-esteem, and resilience; in addition, it has been possible to insert them into the education and health sectors.

 “A heart without borders” is possible thanks to the work of volunteers and lay Marists, members of fraternities, the youth, children’s, and university ministry, and the collaboration of teachers and students from various Marist schools in Bogotá.

With the arrival of the pandemic, closing the doors implied a reinvention, which led to the implementation of new strategies to continue protecting minors and to convert each home of these children and adolescents into a protective space that would dignify their rights.

In November 2020, responding to the call of leaders in the area, a group of children and adolescents received health care, food, and education through a new phase of the project, carried out in coordination with various NGOs.

Although the main objective of ‘A Heart Without Borders’ is to welcome the children of migrants, in the last year, children’s and youth groups, a school for parents and projects such as ‘My travelling book’, ‘Marcellin loves the earth’ and ‘My ecological corner’ have emerged in the community.

The Marist initiative is currently coordinated by Kenia Navas, Marist Coordinator of ”Heart Without Borders”.