A gift of warmth and hope

At the age of 16, Milagros became a mother for the first time. It was a period of uncertainty and fear, but she was not alone. "My mother told me she would support me completely," Milagros recalls, as she caresses an old blanket her best friend gave her when she found out she was pregnant. That blanket has been her refuge, a symbol of protection. "Every time I touch it, it reminds me that I can go on," she says, as her gaze is lost in memories.

Venezuela was not the easiest place to raise a child, but the situation was not as difficult as it is now. Milagros lived there for most of her life, but two years ago the economic and social crisis pushed her family to migrate. First it was her mother, and in January of this year, Milagros decided to cross the border into Colombia with her partner and their three children. 
Now, they share a small rented house in Riohacha, a northern coastal city in La Guajira near the Venezuelan border. 

Milagros is one of the millions affected by Venezuela's crisis, which, since 2014, has driven more than 7.7 million people to leave the country, creating Latin America’s largest refugee and migration movement in recent history. Nearly 3 million of these refugees have sought safety in neighboring Colombia. Like so many others, Milagros and her family face social and economic struggles as they try to build a new life across the border.