Self-assured: Maria’s Story
15-year-old Maria* was a student when the political and economic crisis hit Venezuela. Life was very challenging for Maria’s family, and they struggled to buy food and medicine.
Maria’s mother, Alejandra*, was away a lot working in Colombia trying to make money to support her family.
During this time, Maria started seeing a 28-year-old man. When she no longer wanted to be in the relationship, he became angry and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. Maria became pregnant and contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD).
“The doctors in Venezuela said I needed a c-section, but they said they couldn’t do it because of the power blackouts and that I’d be at risk,” Maria says. “They also said I needed to pay for all of the equipment and medication required for the operation.”
Due to the crisis, the health system in Venezuela has almost collapsed and there are severe shortages in medication, health workers and equipment.
“We tried to get all the medical supplies we needed (to have the c-section in Venezuela). I came to Colombia by myself and worked in a fast-food place to make money (to pay for the c-section),” Alejandra adds. “I talked to my daughter all the time and then I returned to Venezuela, and I spoke with the baby’s father and we had an argument about the fact we couldn’t get treatment.”
When they couldn’t raise the money needed for the c-section in Venezuela, Maria and Alejandra travelled to Colombia and have accessed counselling, prenatal care and postnatal care at Save the Children’s clinic in Maicao. Save the Children also referred her to the hospital and organized for the c-section and treatment of her STD.
“We came straight to the (Save the Children) clinic from the border. We talked to the counsellor here and she told us to come back to see the gynecologist. The gynecologist confirmed Maria* needed a c-section and within two days, she had organized for Maria to have the c-section at the hospital,” Alejandra says. “They have treated my daughter really well. I’m very thankful to Andrea (the counsellor) and the gynecologist.”
When Maria first arrived at the clinic, she was very withdrawn, cried when anyone asked about the baby’s father and didn’t want to be touched by anyone, including the medical staff.
“We’ve had 13 counselling sessions. We worked on tools and strategies to help [Maria] manage how she was feeling,” says Andrea, a Save the Children counsellor who has been working with Maria and Alejandra since their arrival in Colombia. “Now her posture is better, she talks with more confidence and has a stronger relationship with her mum. She has short and long-term plans. She looks at [her baby] Alberto* as a positive thing that’s come out of the situation. Now she’s more self-assured.”
“I have received lots of help here [at Save the Children’s clinic] and in the shelter and I like the social workers,” Maria adds. “When I got the infection after the c-section, we came to the clinic, and they referred us to the hospital where I got an IV treatment.”
Save the Children’s clinic was established by the Emergency Health Unit in April 2019 to provide prenatal care, postnatal care, mental health services, family planning resources and treatment for sexually transmitted infections for Venezuelan migrants and returning Colombians. Since it opened, the clinic has provided services for more than 1,000 patients.