Bartica’s Corner of Care
How Migrant Children in Guyana are finding Health, Hygiene and Hope
In the heart of Bartica, the vibrant “Gateway to the Interior” of Guyana, hope unfolded in a most practical form, a soap bar, menstrual hygiene materials, an HPV vaccine, and a kind, informed conversation.
Amid Guyana’s rising tide of migration - nearly 25,000 registered migrants now live across the country - a small but powerful initiative is reshaping what it means to be cared for in crisis. Blossom Inc’s Child Advocacy Centre, with critical support from UNICEF, is helping Venezuelan migrant families receive care and support, including through Mobile Hygiene Corners, a beacon of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Clean Water and Sanitation for All.
Recently in Bartica- - a bustling riverine town that bridges the coast to Guyana’s mineral-rich hinterlands - the first Mobile Hygiene Corner in Region 7 mobilized key service providers to deliver essential care to over 1000 persons, including more than 370 school children. For two days, the Bartica Community Centre Ground transformed into a vibrant hub of health and education, offering services like immunization, menstrual health awareness and supplies, oral hygiene support, nutrition advice and supplies, and the distribution of hygiene kits.
“I learned how to take care of myself during my period,” said 12-year-old Treynnis, a Venezuelan migrant, who attends a secondary school in the small town. Her words, spoken softly but confidently, carried the weight of thousands of girls like her, growing up between the borders of uncertainty and resilience.
Her schoolmate, Joshua, 12, found new knowledge in the form of good eating habits, a critical insight in a community where food security often teeters on the edge. “It was fun, and I learned a lot,” he said with a shy smile.
The Mobile Hygiene Corner is more than a one-off event. It’s a mobile lifeline, targeted, data-informed, and deeply human. It also serves as a catalyst for critical service providers to deliver essential care and knowledge to migrants in one location. According to Shona Jones, Migrant Support Manager at Blossom Inc, it was designed after needs assessments revealed dire hygiene and health gaps, especially among border-dwelling migrants in regions 2 and 7 in Guyana.
“We meet them where they are,” Jones shared. “And we do it in a way that respects their culture, their needs, and their dignity.”
For 29-year-old YoeLianny Mejias, who fled Venezuela two years ago with her two sons, the initiative was more than helpful; it was affirming. “I liked the handwashing demonstration and menstrual health booth,” she said through a translator. “And the packages were very good.”
Women made up the majority of those served, receiving HPV vaccines, menstrual education, and eco-friendly hygiene kits made from sustainable materials, a nod to SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. These efforts were supported by a coalition of partners including the Hope Foundation, Project New Nation Man Up Foundation, and Guyana’s regional health and immigration offices.
In communities like Bartica, where diversity, remoteness, and shifting populations converge, the Mobile Hygiene Corner offers more than just essential services; it fosters resilience, inclusion and trust.
And for children like Treynnis and Joshua, it’s also a rare moment to feel seen, heard, and hopeful.
UNICEF remains committed to supporting local partners like Blossom Inc, ensuring that migrant populations, especially children, are not left behind. Through hygiene education, mental health support, and community engagement, these efforts are not only transforming lives – they are advancing global goals, particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 6 and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
As Guyana continues to welcome and care for those seeking refuge, initiatives like the Mobile Hygiene Corner remind us that dignity, health, and hope must be within reach for every child—no matter where they come from.
