The U.N. agency for refugees calls the displacement of nearly 8 million Venezuelans “the largest forced displacement crisis ever in Latin America.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has donated $3.4 million to improve the health of vulnerable Venezuelans in multiple countries.
The church gave the funds to one of its longtime international charity partners, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere). The donation will improve the health of migrant and vulnerable populations in Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, according to a news release.
Venezuela is suffering from rampant violence, inflation, gang warfare and soaring crime rates, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. The country also faces shortages of food, medicine and other essential services.
The church gave $1.1 million to Project HOPE to provide quality care, equipment, professionals, medicine and hygiene kits for 19,200 Venezuelan migrants in Ecuador.
Over 18,000 sanitation and hygiene kits will be distributed for 10 months and will include soap and hand sanitizer, sunscreen, towels and detergent.
In Colombia, the church gave Project HOPE $2.3 million to help 53,000 Colombians and Venezuelans through the implementation of facilities with electricity, hand-washing stations, latrines and private consultation spaces.
In Venezuela, Project HOPE will focus on health, nutrition and psychological support for mothers, caregivers and children. Funds will provide training for health personnel and products for medical treatment of diseases and malnutrition. Nutritional guidance will also be provided for mothers and children.
The church and Project HOPE have worked together for years. In January 2020, early in the pandemic, President Russell M. Nelson’s 40-year professional ties to China facilitated a donation of supplies from to help Chinese health care workers with the coronavirus outbreak.
Project HOPE flew the supplies — 220,000 particulate respirator masks, more than 6,500 pairs of protective hospital coveralls and 870 pairs of protective goggles from two bishop’s central storehouses in Salt Lake City and Atlanta — to China.
Later that year, the church announced a $2 million donation of food and medical supplies to victims and to help relief efforts after an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. One of the partnerships involved was Project HOPE.
The church and Project HOPE also teamed up to provide first aid, medication, hygiene supplies, infant care kits, shelter and trauma counseling to Ukrainian refugees in 2022.
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