Peru: Salesian missionaries launch Casa Don Bosco to provide services for influx of Venezuelan migrants in Lima

Salesian missionaries in Lima, Peru have launched a new program to assist the many migrants who are fleeing from Venezuela. BBC news reports that tens of thousands of Venezuelans are fleeing their country because of chronic shortages of food and medicines. Since 2014, millions of citizens have left Venezuela given the country’s longstanding economic crisis. Surrounding countries are struggling to accommodate the influx of people needing support, shelter and assistance. UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, has warned that the continent faces a refugee “crisis moment” similar to that seen in the Mediterranean in 2015, according to a BBC article. UNHCR is in the process of setting up a special team to coordinate a regional response. Peru is already home to nearly 400,000 Venezuelan migrants, most of whom arrived in the past year. More…