Where Care Meets Compassion

Mothers arrive at the parked mobile medical unit in Colombia exhausted and in desperation. They look up and see a cross with the words “Helping in Jesus’ Name” stamped beneath it.

Some have made the gruelling and dangerous journey from Venezuela to escape the ongoing economic and political crisis that’s raged in the bordering nation for nearly a decade now. Others have fled violence within their own Colombian communities. Both groups arrive weak and hopeless, seeking refuge for themselves and the precious child growing in their wombs.

For these mothers, the Samaritan’s Purse mobile medical unit is a refuge and a sign of better things to come. Parked in the city of Santa Marta, situated along Colombia’s Caribbean coast, the roving medical unit served 57 expecting and nursing mothers over just a two-day span, offering health checkups, medicine, and more—all in Jesus’ Name.

Our clinic staffers conducted ultrasounds and laboratory tests for the mothers, while also distributing essential medicine and nutritional supplements to women and children suffering from malnutrition. The mobile medical unit makes stops in different towns in Colombia to ensure mothers throughout the region have access to basic medical care.

“What we’ve seen is, of course, a lot of need,” said Dr. Adriana Marrugo, the programme coordinator for the Samaritan’s Purse health response along the Caribbean coast in Colombia. “There are serious difficulties accessing health services, and major challenges with transportation for these women. Sometimes we have to provide them with cash assistance so they can just arrive at the clinic.”

Throughout the two-day outreach in Santa Marta, the team cared for the mothers’ spiritual and emotional health, too. Anxiety was stilled by the compassionate hands of our medical team and, more significantly, through God’s Word.

“Many arrive with fear, thinking, ‘What am I going to do after this?’ But they leave with a word of hope,” said Christian Nuñez, a Samaritan’s Purse chaplain on site with the mobile medical unit. “It’s a reminder that God, from the very moment of that’s child’s conception, is already covering and protecting them. And that this child will bring blessings—not just for her, but for the entire family.”

Mothers Find Refuge

Shalom, 22, arrived at the Samaritan’s Purse mobile medical unit eight months pregnant. She was already far from her family and friends living in Venezuela. She recalled her 2022 journey as “horrible. I went through a lot of hunger.”

Though the soon-to-be mother found work in Santa Marta shortly after she arrived, she worried it would never be enough to support a child. The Samaritan’s Purse medical team not only ensured that she and the child were healthy, but reminded her that God is in control.

“God is always with us,” Shalom said. “Like [the chaplain] said: we are not abandoned. He is always there, especially in the hardest moments.”

Karen was another expectant mother who left the mobile clinic rejuvenated and confident. She, too, escaped Venezuela with her husband and her twin boys. But now, she is expecting a third child. Karen had met Samaritan’s Purse through an outreach event at her sons’ school some months ago, so when she saw the logo, there was no doubt she’d receive quality care.

“You can feel love in how they serve, meeting needs out of a true desire to help,” Karen said. “I’m so thankful, because beyond caring for people, they are saving lives.”

Continuing to Share God’s Love in Colombia

Samaritan’s Purse opened a field office in Colombia shortly after the Venezuelan economy collapsed in the mid-2010s.

We quickly responded to the influx of migrants flooding into Colombia, setting up shelters, distributing hot meals to thousands, meeting basic medical needs, and sharing the hope of the Gospel with these families as they were forced from their homes.

Samaritan’s Purse has continued these relief efforts ever since.

With a field office in the country, Samaritan’s Purse teams in Colombia are sharing God’s love to Venezuelan mothers at our various maternal clinics along the border. Our teams also venture into makeshift migrant settlement communities to share Jesus with families and equip the local church with teaching resources, programme support, and more.

Please pray for Colombia and our ongoing work in the South American nation.

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