On a bus carrying her farther and farther away from her homeland, Mariby Contrera — a business owner and mother of two — had no idea what would come next. “It was so hard to leave Venezuela,” she remembers. "I had to leave so much behind.”
Like millions of Venezuelans, Mariby could no longer survive in a country whose crumbling economy put food, health care, and education out of reach. “The inflation was incredible," she says. “We couldn’t support ourselves anymore.”
In 2016, Venezuela entered “hyperinflation," where the rate of inflation began to increase both rapidly and exponentially. As a result, the cost of everyday items skyrocketed. Something as simple as a quarter-gallon of milk cost more than 10% of a month’s salary.
Feeling she had no other options, Mariby left. After five days on buses, she arrived in the city that would become her family's new home: Lima, the capital of Peru.
Venezuelan refugees start over in Peru
"We came to this country with many dreams,” she recalls. “I wanted to work and support my family here and in Venezuela."
But "it was difficult and overwhelming" when she arrived. "We started at the bottom, selling coffee on the streets,” she says. “There was one room, and we were sleeping on the floor in winter."
Then the pandemic hit, and their source of income evaporated.
“We were doing everything we could. But with COVID, we couldn’t.”
Refugee families are already vulnerable to poverty, hunger and exploitation, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only amplified these issues. But there is good news: your love reaches refugee families, even in a pandemic.
On her Facebook page, Mariby showcases her gift baskets and receives orders.
Helping refugees to help themselves
Then Mariby learned of a program helping Venezuelan refugees start small businesses in Peru. Through your support, the VenInformado program empowers refugees like Mariby with the tools and information they need to build a successful business.
With hands-on support and advice from program advisor Natalie Pinto, Mariby and her family launched a gifts business. Receiving orders via Facebook and other social media, they work out of their home to sell gift baskets, balloon bouquets, and other supplies for celebrations.
With a grant to buy supplies and training in how to sell, Mariby started making money. “Without this program, this process would have been much slower and more complicated,” she says.
Partner staff kept in close touch with Mariby as she built her customer base. “Natalie helped our business flourish,” Mariby smiles. “I feel really supported.”
With the support of her husband and daughter, Mariby has made a success of her home-based business.
Your generosity helps refugees succeed
Mariby is thrilled that her family is on a better financial footing. She and hundreds of Venezuelan refugees are reaching the goal of self-sufficiency faster, thanks to your sustaining gifts.
Mariby’s advice to refugees like herself, and others in difficult circumstances, is: "Have faith in God. Don’t give up. You can do it." Speaking of the resilience that refugees need to start again in a new country, she says: “I fall and I get up. I fall and I get up.”
Surrounded by the gift baskets she’s created as she builds her own business, Mariby smiles with satisfaction. "When we came, we had nothing. Look at us now."