The church basement was way too small for the 65 migrants filling every chair, perched on tables, kids clustered on the floor. Not to mention the table with platters of rice, chicken, paper plates, water bottles. Backpacks stuffed in corners. Discarded cardboard boxes emptied of their give-away toiletry kits and kids’ socks.

Three volunteers sat with fathers, mothers, young people, one by one, gathering the information needed to get each from D.C. to their next destination: New York, Chicago, Miami. Or to help them find somewhere to sleep that night. Or to understand what their papers meant. Two volunteers typed madly into laptops, interspersed with shout-outs: «Tickets for Garcia family! Tres boletos! Vamanos!» «Diop, s’il vous plait, all 5, we’re ready!»

Before the group started to break up, a stocky man of about 45 stood, speaking in careful English. «Wait. I want to say something from all of us here.» Everyone paused.

«We thank you from deep in our hearts. Never have we been treated so kindly. Never with so much respect. You help us, for no reason. We are not your family. But you take care of us like we are.» Others nodded, offering thanks across languages. They gathered their bags, packs, and kids, hugged each other and the volunteers, and moved on.

This scene plays out in basements, social centers, and makeshift way-stations in cities and towns around the world, wherever migrants travel and can find a helping hand. In every one, it is the volunteers who make it happen.

What does it mean to volunteer to help migrants, during what is likely one of the most traumatic moments of their lives?

To hand a child a stuffie before they board yet another overnight bus? To give sneakers to a man who’s been walking barefoot for days?

It means you have the opportunity to treat strangers like family. With dignity and respect. To make a difference in their lives. To offer a respite, a moment of peace and care for a fellow traveller on this earth. And to help make migrants’ next steps just a little bit stronger.

Help migrants through Morelia

When Morelia’s Albergue Sagrado Corazón Pro Migrante opens its doors, volunteers will be crucial to helping meet immediate practical needs: food, water, showers. Kid care. Information about routes and transport. Help with communications and internet connections. Providing whatever we are able to supply: toiletries, clothing, shoes, bags. Band-aids. Toys.

Volunteers will be crucial, too, for creating that respite, a pause, a space and time of peace and care and just being people together.

Subscribe to Adelante for up-to-date information about volunteering at the Albergue, and check the website www.alberguemigrantemorelia.org.

We look forward to hearing from you.

What’s App: +52 443 953 3965