Human migration is one of the most powerful economic forces. The World Bank estimates that in 2018, around 266 million people[1] were living in countries they were not born in. Some migrants move to reunite with family, while others go for work or study, and a small number leave for security reasons. What they do have in common is a desire to create a better life for themselves and their loved ones.
The Western Union Foundation is proud to support migrants in search of a better tomorrow. Migrants bring great contributions to society but are often left behind as they work to integrate into their new communities.
The Foundation works with nonprofits around the globe to provide skills and support to migrants so that they succeed, and local economies grow. For International Migrants Day, we highlight a few of our nonprofit partners below. Please visit wu.com/foundation to learn more.
Meet the SOS Children’s Villages
Reuniting Venezuelan Families
From 2014 through October of this year, 4.5 million Venezuelans have fled the country – one of the largest mass migrations in recent history. An estimated 1.4 million Venezuelans have reached Colombia, where SOS Children’s Villages is providing services from family reunification to protective spaces with shelter and health services.
“At SOS Colombia, it is vital that Venezuelan migrant children receive timely and adequate attention… We do our best to help them build happy memories, despite the adverse context and the hardships they have gone through. As such, we consider that their well-being, protection and right to live in a family are a priority, beyond any political or social opinion.” – Angela Rosales, SOS Colombia National Director
Meet the American Red Cross
Reconnecting families at the US border
The Foundation is supporting the American Red Cross’s Restoring Family Links program. The program is helping reconnect families who have been separated at the US Southwest Border as a result of conflict, disaster, migration or other humanitarian emergencies. Read one story of how the program was able to reconnect a mother back to her son.
Meet Autremonde
Helping migrants attain an inclusive, diverse society
Autremonde is a Foundation grantee, nominated by Western Union employees in the Paris, France office as part of the WU Votes program. Autremonde is campaigning for an all-inclusive society that values equality and diversity, with the main mission to restore and maintain the relationship with people in precarious, isolated and migrating situations. They offer weekly drop-ins to create relationships that allow migrants and other isolated people to regain their self-esteem and dignity, providing a breath of fresh air in a daily routine of exclusion and isolation.
“I come to Autremonde because I like the people there, because we do beautiful things, because I am being appreciated without being asked any questions and because it creates a less brutal world.” – Autremonde beneficiary
