Hi, our names are Sarah McCarthy and Mark Howard. We are creating this fundraiser for a wonderful family from Venezuela/Peru. They have a 10 month old and 22 month old baby. They have been through unimaginably horrible and traumatic events and are now temporarily staying in a cold tent shelter at Floyd Bennett Field with 2,000-3,000 other migrants in South Brooklyn.

Mayor Eric Adams put a 60 day limit on shelters regardless if you have babies. They are being kicked out onto the streets in one week, on February 15th. Their immigration hearing is set for March 29th.

Mari has experience in cleaning, childcare, and factory work. Alexander has experience in construction, mechanics, and landscaping. They are determined to work hard to provide for themselves, and to create a better future for their children. We are fundraising to help them relocate and find a longer-term housing solution to help them get started.

$25-$100 will help provide food/medicine/diapers.

$250-$500 will cover work permit costs.

$1000-$1500 will cover part of their first months rent or immigration lawyer fees.

Here is a backstory on the family and their terrifying journey to the United States:

Maricielo (25), her husband Alexander (32) and their sons David (10 months) and Rodrigo (22 months).

They lived in Venezuela, and Alexander worked in construction and mechanics. Mari worked in a shoe factory, as well as in childcare and cleaning. Over time, due to the government corruption, they earned less and less. Mari explained, “there was no food… one could not eat.” They moved to Mari’s home country of Peru to try to make a life there but the circumstances were equally bad. Corruption was rampant and the economy was just as broken. Mari explained Alexander could work “My partner works in motorcycles and construction but there was a lot of extortion in Peru, they didn't let him work.” Peru was also incredibly unsafe for Mari and their children. Violence against women, particularly rape and kidnapping; it was not safe for Mari to leave the house.

With no way to work or even live safely, Mari and Alexander decided to flee to the United States to provide a future for their sons. Little by little, they sold their belongings, and in September of 2023, with many tears, they left their families and their home. They traveled across Ecuador, and rested one day on the border of Colombia before taking several buses over several days to Medellin. They slept on the ground that night, and took a bus to Necocli, the last town in Colombia before hiking through the deadly Darien Gap into Panama.

They spent two days in unbearable heat on the streets of Necocli before taking a boat to the entrance of the Darien Gap. They did not know if they would survive the trip through the jungle, Mari said, “we were very afraid, especially me, for my babies. [I didn’t know] if we were going to get out of there alive.” Mari described seeing many people left behind by the groups they were traveling with, abandoned and alone. They passed dead bodies of those who did not survive. They ran out of food quickly, suffered injuries on their feet and were robbed, but they moved forward. They crossed large rivers and hiked through rain and slept in wet clothes. Mari recalls, “Without food, and wounds on our feet… my babies crying is something so sad, that just remembering makes me cry.”

They made it through the Darien Gap alive. The family spent 4 days in scorching heat at the UN in Panama while their documents were reviewed, before taking a bus across Costa Rica. Mari described the journey from Panama to Mexico. “Everything is very hard… advancing little by little... We always slept on the floor because we didn't have enough money because they robbed us. We had to walk hard. My husband’s feet were swollen… We lost a lot of weight, my babies got sick, it was horrible. Guatemala, we had to walk the whole country. I often cried asking God to give us strength. My feet were hurt with blisters. My children cried because of the heat. We kept going. It was several days, weeks walking. 1 month must have passed.”

Finally, the family arrived in Mexico, again facing a difficult passage. “A lot of drug traffickers, a lot of terror—Mexico was worse than the Darien jungle. We had to go through about 20 towns to get to Mexico City. It is a very sad memory for me because they stole what we had. We had to eat and sleep on the floor of the bus station. I will never forget it.” In Monterrey, Alexander found work for 3 weeks and were able to save up enough for the next steps on their journey.

From Monterrey, they took La Bestia or the Beast Train, a freight train up to 500,000 migrants a year hop on. The Beast Train, or the Train of Death, earned its dark name due to the high risk of death and injury for those who ride it. “We lasted 2 days on the train, constantly afraid. My babies got sick and I couldn't take it. I was just asking God to help us.” After the train, Alexander, Mari and the boys spent a night in Piedras Negras and crossed the Rio Grande on November 11th.

“I will never forget that day… November 11th. With my eyes, children drowned, people died. I will never forget that day.. It remains permanently marked for us. We waited and went the other way. A Mexican man helped us cross. And thank God we crossed the river safely. The river was very big and very cold. But we arrived... We crossed and handed ourselves over to United States immigration.” The family spent three days processing in immigration, fearing deportation. They were finally welcomed to the United States on November 13th and given a bus ride to San Antonio. The shelter moved the family and sent them to Denver, but they were relocated again to New York City with an immigration hearing not scheduled until March 29th.

Please help anyway you can and please share