A Mother’s Story: Valentina

Beginning Mother's Day weekend, Global Refuge will be sharing a weekly story celebrating mothers and mother figures who have risked everything to pursue safety and a brighter future for the children in their care.

She Finally Reached Safety. Now She’s Helping Others Do the Same.

Across the country, refugee mothers are working every day to create safe, stable lives for their families in places they’re just beginning to call home. Even as fewer new families are arriving in the U.S., the mothers already here continue to navigate daily challenges—finding work, securing housing, enrolling children in school—all while adjusting to life in a new culture. For Valentina,* seeing her daughter safe, happy, and thriving in the U.S. makes every hardship along the way feel worth it.

Valentina and her family fled the devastating economic and healthcare crises in their home country of Venezuela, seeking safety in Colombia. But life there proved just as difficult.

“Colombia is going through its own crisis, so it was really hard for us to find a decent job and become economically self-sufficient,” Valentina says.

After seven years there, Valentina and her husband applied for entry to the United States. Months later, and after an extensive vetting process, they received approval. But when they first arrived in the U.S., fear and anxiety overwhelmed them.

“We had nobody here that we knew—nobody who could provide us with the support we needed,” she says.

But after receiving a warm greeting on their arrival at the San Antonio airport from Global Refuge staff, Valentina and her family instantly felt at ease. Our team provided them with a comfortable, secure home, shared a hot meal with them, and made sure their home was stocked with essentials needed to begin their new lives.

Over the following months, our San Antonio resettlement team helped the family get work permits, assisted in enrolling their daughter in school, and helped them apply for social services benefits.

“Global Refuge staff provided a lot of support through the hard times,” Valentina says. “They became that family that we needed to get ahead.”

Today, Valentina’s family is thriving. Both she and her husband have stable jobs and have even received promotions. And their daughter, who struggled emotionally at first, is now doing great in school. “She is happy,” Valentina says.

Valentina is also looking to give back. “I want to lend a hand to support those who came here after us,” she says.

She knows firsthand how important it is to have a supportive community.

“The people who are coming through this resettlement process are people who are suffering,” Valentina says. “They don’t have healthcare, they have no food, no housing. They’re coming here to work hard, become good citizens, and have a good life. And I will help them in any way I can.”

*Names have been changed for our clients’ protection.