In July, Angelina Estrada, a Venezuelan journalist from Maracaibo, found herself crossing the Rio Grande with her 2-year-old son, Martín, in tow. The goal was to make it to the U.S. from the Mexico border and then, eventually, to travel to South Florida.
Just a bit over two months later — and after having navigated a short stay in a detention center in McAllen, Texas — Estrada was in Miami. Again with Martín in tow, she spent a recent Friday afternoon browsing through donated goods at a storage unit tucked to the west of Miami’s international airport.
The organization helping her make a new start is called Raíces Venezolanas, or Venezuelan Roots. Founded in 2016 by human rights activist and Venezuelan immigrant Patricia Andrade, Raíces gives donated household goods such as furniture, clothing, toys, blankets and plates to newly arrived Venezuelans in need.
Original note in Miami Herald
