In Trojes, one of the main crossing points along the migration route in Honduras, Red Cross volunteers offer a safe space where they provide critical services.
The migration route through Central America can be dangerous and exhausting. On their way to North America, many people who have decided to migrate face multiple challenges during their journey that can pose a risk to their lives and well-being. However, they can find support from Honduran Red Cross volunteers who deliver water, food and medical care at humanitarian service points along the way.
According to data from the Honduran National Migration Institute (INM), the number of migrants entering the country in 2022 increased by 973.7 per cent compared to the previous year. Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Haiti and Colombia are the most prevalent nationalities among those crossing Honduran borders.
Beyond the statistics that help contextualise the migration situation in Central America, it is also important to understand that many of these people have been in transit for weeks or even months. Many of them start their journey from South America and then pass through one of the most dangerous routes in Central America, a swath of dense, mostly uninhabited jungle in Panama known as the Darién Gap.
To arrive in Honduras, they must have also passed though Costa Rica and Nicaragua and their needs are often dire — far beyond just hydration, food and shelter. For the Honduran Red Cross, providing psychosocial support is crucial to help people cope with the emotional difficulties and trauma they have likely experienced.
Honduran Red Cross volunteers are helping adults and children passing through the Trojes border crossing, providing water, food, information and psychosocial support.
Trojes, a small community in the department of El Paraíso in Honduras, has become one of the main transit points for migrants crossing the border into Nicaragua. According to INM data, in 2022, the municipalities of Trojes and Danlí accounted for 73.7 per cent of all migrants entering the country, one reason a group of Red Cross volunteers is always present here to provide much needed support.
Among them is Pedro Luis Mejia, in charge of psychosocial support at the service point. “They go through many difficulties along the way and in some cases, they need a little relief,” he says. “We are offering them a friendly and safe space where we can help them.”
Besides psychosocial support, the Red Cross also hands out hygiene kits, biosecurity kits and medical first aid, as well as snacks and hydration. “If they have a wound or an infection, the wound is cleaned and healed, and they are given hydration with saline solution,” explains Jennifer Morales, one of the Honduran Red Cross psychosocial support experts.
The work of the volunteers has brought relief to many people, especially those who have come a long way in their search to improve life for themselves and their families. “My dream is to arrive and work, and take care of my whole family,” says one of the migrants who received care from the Red Cross in Trojes. “After I am well, stable and with a good job, yes, I will bring my whole family, my children and my wife.”
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