Embracing Children’s Voices on World Refugee Day

This year’s World Refugee Day marks a moment of heightened urgency given the significant cuts in humanitarian aid that have left millions facing unprecedented challenges. With escalating conflicts, climate crises, and economic instability, the situation for refugees is increasingly dire. We know that children are particularly vulnerable both physically and socio-emotionally, with consequences that can endure through adulthood. So let this day be a reminder for us to redouble our commitment to vulnerable children around the world and in so doing—to listen to their perspectives and support their self-described needs and their own ideas for change.

We recently saw firsthand the power of children as changemakers when working with Venezuelan children who had fled their country for neighboring Colombia. Through the Sueños en Ruta project,[1] we witnessed how giving young children a platform to raise their voices and share their stories could be transformational for them, their families, and their communities, while also providing a balance to current negative narratives about migrants.

In this project, children aged 3-12 and their families shared stories of their migration journeys and their experience in a new country.

We heard from the grinning, impish 8-year-old Ana Victoria, who left Venezuela when she just a few days old. Her parents said, “We walked for months looking for work and food. Sometimes we found work, sometimes we did not.” After 8 years living in Colombia, they still lived in a pay-per-day hotel where they shared a tiny, dark room. “We cannot work because we cannot get the necessary documents,” they said,” so we sell candy and water on the street.” They could afford the hotel and food on most days but sometimes had to skip a meal. Since getting to know them last September, they attempted passage to the US through the Darien Gap and we don’t know what happened to them.

Another parent shared similar struggles. Marlin, mother of 4 daughters, explained that political changes in Venezuela led to inflation and food shortages and her daughters started to go to bed without eating. “My daughter cried for food, and I had no way to feed her.” So, she packed up all our things and told them they were going to seek a better life. “During the journey,” she said, “my daughters had to sleep on the floor, on the streets, on the asphalt, on the sidewalks. One of my little daughters was 8 months old.”

Many children talked about the challenges they faced on their journeys. When asked to imagine an object that could help other children on their migration journey, Johely, age 4, and her sister Yohemily, age 7, proposed a bus that always travels in a straight line, so kids don’t get carsick during the journey. Antonella, 6 years-old, identified a problem that afflicts many migrants along the route: thirst. So, she created a magic cup that was always full of water.

Other children shared their migration stories through the voice of a character they created named “Recollister,” a storyteller who collected the journeys of migrant children. Each child designed their own version of Recollister, using simple art supplies and recycled materials to bring this character to life. This imaginative exercise allowed them to reflect on their migration journeys in a playful and creative way and in a safe and supportive environment. Hearing their stories—filled with both hardship and hope—was profoundly moving. The narratives were not just stories, but also expressions of their hopes, fears, and dreams.

By inviting these children to voice their experiences, the project provided them with a platform to be heard, fostering a sense of agency that is often denied in their daily lives. A staff member of PALCO, a Venezuelan-migrant-led NGO supporting implementation said the project gave children a space to speak freely and safely, to be heard, and to activate their dreams. The children were able to “frame their story as one of strength and turn toward the future.”

Many of the children asserted that they want others to hear their stories, saying: “I want voices of migrant children to be heard around the world” and “I want this to help people who don’t feel comfortable being in another country to feel safe.”

On this World Refugee Day, let us honor the stories of children around the world. Let us commit to listening, learning, and advocating for a world where every child’s voice is valued and their ideas can shape the way we try to change the world.

You can find more stories and other materials from the project in English or in Spanish.

[1] The project was funded by Moving Minds Alliance and the LEGO Foundation and implemented by ChildArise, La Otra Juventud, PALCO and Fraternidad Venezolana.

By Lucy Bassett, Professor of Practice & co-Director Humanitarian Collaborative, Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia, co-Founder ChildArise
Sweta Shah, Brookings Institution Fellow, co-founder ChildArise