Nearly 80 million people like Maria have fled their homes worldwide. It’s the highest number since World War II, and the root causes are stark: conflict, violence, persecution, poverty, and food insecurity. According to the UN, a person is forced to leave home every two seconds—a crisis made worse by public policies that put families in harm’s way.
With few guarantees, Maria is searching for safety and opportunity—for the chance to live a life of dignity, free from want and fear, like generations of people that have come before her.

"We fled Honduras because our son and nephew were being pressured to join a gang to sell drugs in high school,” Maria said. Back home, she and her husband sold clothes and shoes for their small business. Narco-traffickers took a third of their income each week. If the couple didn’t pay up, they threatened to kidnap and ransom the children. “Some people imagine the people in the caravans are criminals. The reality is that we are fleeing the criminals."