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A Letter to My Young Friend on Her Journey Out of Venezuela

on  February 28, 2019

Hi my friend,I will always remember meeting you at a small migrant stop in Pamplona, Colombia. We played with your bear, Sophia, and you showed me the moon and the lights of the surrounding towns in this high mountain center. While the adults were standing nearby with weary, tired eyes, you, brought laughter and giggles they all needed to hear.My friend, you had already walked 45 miles to Pamplona from the Venezuelan border to be able to sleep in this tiny space. As a wondrous child, you have already had to endure more than most people will ever know in their lifetimes. Your family, like many others, will continue to walk to Peru, still over 900 miles away. You will walk over mountains in freezing temperatures along a tiny, unsafe road. You don’t have the proper clothes, shoes or food to carry you on such an extreme journey. There are countless dangerous conditions along the way.When you passed a fruit stand, did you ask your parents for food? It’s probably hard to understand this now, but it must have broken your parents’ hearts to say “no” to you. The Venezuelan money is no good anymore, and they just can’t afford that mandarin or that strawberry. It’s so very unfair that you and your family are in this situation “” to not be able to have a glass of water, a clean bed or a piece of fruit when you need it.There were 120 Venezuelan migrants sleeping in the center with you and your family that night. Each of the eight distribution centers along the migrant route will see more than 350 people each day. Rise Against Hunger provided the meal you ate as the day came to an end. Because of supporters of Rise Against Hunger, 5,400 Venezuelan migrants in Colombia will eat a hot meal each day, just like the one that filled your belly that night.I wish you could meet the people who are coming together to help you and your family. People like the supporters of Rise Against Hunger, whose financial gifts help purchase the food you need so desperately. People like Marta and Douglas who opened their homes to give you a place to rest and a place to eat.My friend, I met so many more like you at each center, and in centers closer to the border. So many Venezuelan children, moms and dads who are facing conditions that defy description. It’s not fair your life is forcing you to be strong, but my friend, I am absolutely amazed by your strength and spirit.I wish I could know what is next for you. I hope you embrace your Venezuelan heritage and make hallacas in December.My friend, take care of Sophia and show her the beautiful mountains of Colombia. My heart is with you on your journey.For countless children fleeing Venezuela with their families, their stories look similar to this one. Millions have already left Venezuela in light of the country’s turmoil and the number is increasing rapidly. To provide aid to those seeking refuge in neighboring countries, Rise Against Hunger is partnering with Rotary E-Club of Houston to serve nine community kitchens and four community shelters that provide needed aid to refugees along the migrant route. The need is great and you can help. Donate now to help us further our impact for those impacted by this crisis.

About the Author

Melissa Pierce is honored to join the Rise Against Hunger team in November of 2018. Serving as the organization's Philanthropy Officer, Melissa brings experience in emergency relief and connecting donors to their legacy.

More Posts by Melissa Pierce

Strength, Stability And Hope

The gift that filled Nelly’s table.

“We were yielding very little, and the crops could not sustain us the whole year,” Nelly remembers. As a mother of seven and a farmer with two decades of experience, the stress of inconsistent yields was all-consuming. A poor harvest not only strained her family financially, but also limited their own meals to just two a day. Their story reflects that of many in their fishing and farming village near a lake in the Karonga district of northern Malawi. Here, heavy rainfall makes conventional farming methods nearly impossible. The entire village is, quite literally, saturated in food insecurity — a reality that leaves families struggling to survive season after season without a dependable source of nourishment.

In 2019, Nelly began participating in Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience, a sustainable agriculture project implemented by Rise Against Hunger in partnership with the Foundation for Community Support Services (FOCUS). The project works with 3,100 smallholder farmers in Malawi’s Karonga and Mzimba districts to strengthen food and nutrition security by improving production methods, nutrition practices and household income.

Just one year later, Nelly was ready to expand the variety of crops on her farm. What land once only produced maize began to flourish with sesame, cowpeas, rice and groundnuts during the rainy season (summer), as well as maize and vegetables during the dry season (winter). Through climate-smart agriculture training, she learned new techniques like manure making, pit planting and mulching, crop rotation and intercropping. Equipped with these tools, Nelly’s farm began to thrive.

After the 2023–2024 growing season, she sold enough produce to purchase an ox cart. Her harvests in 2024-2025 season yielded over 500 pounds of crops, including 22 bags of groundnuts, seven bags of maize, 12 tins of sesame and three bags of rice. With this surplus, she was able to invest in a motorbike, which she now uses to transport African doughnuts (mandasi) that she cooks and sells — creating yet another source of income for her family.

The transformation reaches far beyond her finances. Nelly now has the stability to provide for her husband and children. “I am able to eat different food types, pay school fees for my children and fulfill the visions that I have made with my family,” she beams. “I am now sleeping peacefully without any fears of food or paying school fees for the children.”

Her leadership has also grown. Today, Nelly serves as a leader in the Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience project, teaching other farmers in her district to adopt climate-resilient, labor-saving practices. By sharing her knowledge, she is multiplying her impact — empowering her neighbors to experience the same transformation she has achieved.

Across Nelly’s community, food and economic security are on the rise. Lombani, a government extension officer for the region, explains, “I can see the community is being transformed in the sense that in the area, there is food, income and nutrition security. Development is also happening at the household level.”

Nelly reflects on what it means to invest in holistic programs that address the root causes of hunger: “We are now healthy people. Children are going to school after eating their breakfast, having high yields and different types of crops due to conservation agriculture practices. With the support from the project, we have food, and we can access other food items from the market after selling our produce.”

This is the gift that fills: a future full of stability, strength and hope. It fills tables with food, families with security and communities with the resources to thrive. It’s an investment in futures rooted in resilience and hope.