Right about now, dozens of children and their families who made a risky and frightening journey across the Southern U.S. border are getting a small bit of comfort from people like you. Your donations of clothes, blankets, diapers, women’s feminine care products and other necessities collected by San Jose’s Working Partnerships USA were sent to the Interfaith Center for Worker Justice in San Diego for distribution to Central American refugees. As we wait for our leaders in the Federal Government to stop fighting long enough to do what is right about the refugee crisis, some of us are digging in and doing something.
The massive migration of Central American children has garnered tremendous media attention. We have seen conflicting responses of anti-immigration protests and heart-breaking images of children in detention centers. As the U.S. has had a history of military, economic, and political influence in countries from which these children are migrating, it is important that we as a nation remember our foundation as a place that assists displaced immigrants and refugees.
Many of these children have gone through a traumatic journey of physical and mental abuse. While they are seeking to locate their families, they deserve to at least have decent shelter and basic necessities in the interim. Working Partnerships USA, with the support of other community groups, started a donation drive one week ago. In that time, we have collected dozens of giant boxes filled with needed supplies. We recognize that this crisis migration is part of bigger issue that should be addressed from the root cause.
While we acknowledge that this one act alone will not resolve the larger crisis, we must organize and act quickly to provide for these children in need. For the past weeks community members and groups including Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and SIREN have shown tremendous support by collecting donations.
On July 21st we sent the first batch of donations down south. We plan to continue collecting donations until August 16th. We hope that our community continues to support this effort and put pressure on our representatives to use their power to implement humanitarian and just solutions – not deportation.
If you’re interested in donating, please stop by our office at 2102 Almaden Road, Suite 112, San Jose, CA. For more information, contact Sarait at 408-809-2121 or Sarait@wpusa.org.
Sarait Martinez-Ortega is an organizer for Working Partnerships USA
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