About two million people have been internally displaced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by armed conflicts. The situation here is characterized by chronic and rampant sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls.

Learn more on the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA website: bit.ly/AB1J6c

Regardless of nationality, race, religion, socio-economic status or gender, every human has a fundamental right to a decent life and to be able to live in security, peace and dignity. Unfortunately, this is a far distant dream than a reality for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Two years after an earthquake struck Haiti the community of Los Cacaos has demonstrated what happens when neighbors work together to solve a problem. Fresh, clean water is now available to 700 families thanks to the community’s commitment to build a positive foundation for long-term improvements.

Catholic nuns based across the Artibonite river in San Francisco of Banica Parish in the Dominican Republic organized the project in consultation with community leaders. Jesuit Refugee Service/USA provided $113,000 to fund the project, and members of the community supplied the labor to build roads, construct cisterns and lay miles of plastic pipe and tubing.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/wzccCh

Their experience is typical of that told by thousands of Colombian women and men forced to cross the border to find protection. Their flight marks the beginning of a long and difficult journey to find peace and dignity. Their lack of knowledge about refugee rights reduces the likelihood their applications will be accepted by their host countries.

These men and women continue struggling in their new country, working and trying to rebuild their lives. The risk is that they will exhaust the administrative procedures and be detained, or returned to their country of origin where their safety cannot be guaranteed.

"Yeah, they believe we got afraid and came here after hearing a few gunshots… it's one thing to talk about it and another to have personally experienced such horrible things,” said Ana.

We pray that these families find strength, and that states take the necessary steps to guarantee a more inclusive world, where refugees can live with dignity.

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"We are perceiving that the Colombian conflict is becoming forgotten," said Fr. Fernando Ponce Leon, S.J., during a recent visit to Washington, D.C. Fr. Fernando is the National Director of Jesuit Refugee Service Ecuador, and was in Washington for meetings to refresh the Mexico Plan of Action, a framework for durable solutions for the Colombian refugee crisis.

The Mexico Plan of Action, adopted by 20 governments, is a continent-wide framework for the protection of displaced people. By adopting the Plan, governments have committed themselves to strengthening refugee protection and implementing an integrated approach to durable solutions.

Interview with Fr. Fernando Ponce Leon, S.J. the National Director of Jesuit Refugee Service — Ecuador.

Learn more about JRS and the Colombia refugee crisis bit.ly/s7eC4R

Interview with Fr. Fernando Ponce Leon, S.J. the National Director of Jesuit Refugee Service — Ecuador.

The Mexico Plan of Action, adopted by 20 governments, is a continent-wide framework for the protection of displaced people. By adopting the Plan, governments have committed themselves to strengthening refugee protection and implementing an integrated approach to durable solutions.

The Plan has three main pillars for finding durable solutions: Borders of Solidarity; Cities of Solidarity; and Resettlement in Solidarity. The first pillar strives to assist both refugees and local host communities in border areas to coexist. The second pillar caters to the vast majority of displaced people living in urban areas. This pillar advocates local integration through self-reliance by providing job placements, vocational training, community-based childcare centers and microcredit schemes. The third pillar seeks the promotion of regional resettlement, emphasizing responsibility sharing and durable solutions for vulnerable Colombian refugees in Ecuador and elsewhere by resettling them in other countries in the continent.

Learn more about JRS and the Colombia refugee crisis bit.ly/s7eC4R