When staying is no longer an option 

Life in Venezuela wasn’t just hard—for most people, it was a struggle for survival.   

Rosa, mother of Javier, Gabriel and Gabriela, recalls eating rice mixed with broken glass as one of the hardships she and her family endured due to the lack of accessible food.

Unsurprisingly, her eldest son Javier fell sick from eating worm-infested corn and had to be excused from school. It was through this incident that she discovered an unsettling reality. Javier—just 15-years-old—was being recruited by a private militia, a future that no mother wants for her child. There was nothing Rosa could do to stop it from happening—the militia was sanctioned by the government.  

“The new educational reform said I had to hand Javier over to a military convoy from Fridays to Sunday,” Rosa explains. “I was afraid (so) we decided to leave the country.” 

But it wasn’t just Rosa’s family that was affected by the deteriorating living conditions—the entire population felt the squeeze. For over 20 years, poor leadership and government policies led to hyperinflation, rampant insecurity and lack of access to basic goods and services, turning Venezuela into the epicentre of the largest displacement ever in the Western Hemisphere.  

A harsh reality appeared, that if residents wanted to live, they had to leave the only home they ever knew. And so, millions of Venezuelans fled to the neighbouring countries of Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Ecuador, mostly on foot, all of their belongings stuffed into bags that they could carry.

Soon, Rosa’s family would join them.

A family disrupted

After an arduous five-day journey on foot by day and sleeping outdoors in the páramo of the Andes Mountain Range at night, the family finally made it to Ecuador in August 2019.  

But Rosa’s struggles didn’t end when she arrived in Quito—in fact, they got worse. Other circumstances forced Rosa to suddenly become a single mother, struggling to make ends meet by shucking corn at $5 per sack.  

Thanks to the help of local charities and her own hard work, Rosa was finally able to enroll her children in public school. Having been forced to drop out of school, Rosa understood the life-changing opportunities that an education would have for her children and that it was their only chance of survival. 

Education at what cost?

Putting three children through school wasn’t easy or cheap, and soon Rosa found herself in debt trying to pay for uniforms and shoes, school supplies and school activities.   

“I work a lot and until very late, and sometimes I can hardly accompany them or follow up on their homework at school,” she says. Despite her fatigue and gruelling schedule, her children’s safety is the one thing she’ll never compromise on—after all, keeping her children safe is what led them to Ecuador in the first place.   

“I always drop them off and pick them up from school because the area where we live and where they study is a red-light district, where there is a lot of drug use and robbery.”  

Despite her struggles, Rosa persevered and eventually connected with World Vision through her children’s school. World Vision staff visited their home and learned about the family. As an added layer of support, the children’s teachers and school psychologist were made aware of the family’s situation and how to help them through the many challenges they faced in their adopted country.

Education is the way 

Rosa and her children are one of the families involved in Education is the Way, a project implemented by World Vision.  

Education is the Way was crucial in helping hundreds of refugee children continue their education when the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, Javier received a tablet from World Vision to help him attend virtual class and keep up with his homework. The tablets were a lifeline for students like Javier, ensuring they could get the appropriate academic support and social interaction they needed during the worldwide lockdown.  

Now that face-to-face classes have once again resumed, the siblings share the tablet for different academic purposes. “I use it to do my school research,” says Javier.  

“I watch the videos they sent me for homework at school and I also have some games to learn in English,” adds Gabriela, who uses the tablet to connect with his teacher and follow up on his homework.

Meanwhile, Rosa and the children keep in touch with family and friends in Venezuela using the tablet. 

“I want my children to continue studying and to live in peace,” Rosa wishes for her family. Thanks to support from their community and World Vision, Rosa and her family have started to adjust well to their new reality.

“I already like the cold of Quito,” she ends with a laugh.

Education is the Way is available to Venezuelan refugee children and adolescents living in the cities of Manta, Pedernales, Portoviejo and Quito, Ecuador. Through this program, we: 

• Delivered 960 educational kits to students in the program 
• Provided individual support for 185 students so they can stay in school 
• Helped 103 students find better ways to deal with the difficulties they face in their schoolwork, like their lack of concentration, ineffective study methods or mismanagement of study time 
• Delivered connectivity kits to 437 students

Learn more

Ongoing conflict, economic instability and debilitating poverty are just some reasons why millions of children around the world end up leaving the classroom behind—to flee for their lives, work menial jobs or be sold into early marriage to provide for the family. 

We believe that education is the best tool a child has to break through the barriers caused by poverty, no matter what their current circumstances are. If you’re on the same page, or just curious about our work, take a deeper dive into the ways we’re helping kids go to school and engaging with parents to help keep them there.