If you are, this page is for you!
You will find here information about services for children and young people who have had to leave their home country and are now in Aruba.
😊 If you need information or support from UNHCR, you can contact us by email 📧 or through a hotline 📞. It’s a good idea to talk to your parents 👨👩👧 or a trusted adult 🧑🤝🧑 first, but you can also contact us on your own 🙋♀️🙋♂️. Make sure you tell us your name ✏️, age 🎂, and your phone 📞/WhatsApp number 💬 or email address 📧, or any other way to get in touch with you 🔗. It’s also a good idea to tell us the names of your parents or guardians 👨👩👦 if they are in Aruba 🇦🇼 with you. If you are not with your parents or guardians 🚶♂️🚶♀️, you can also tell us that.
I’m staying in Aruba without any adults. Can UNHCR help me find them or other people in my family? 🔍 👶🏽👧🏽👦🏽👩🏽👱🏽♂️👩🏽🦳👨🏽🦳
It’s not always easy 😔 or possible ❓ to find people who are missing, or to get families back together 👨👩👧👦, but children have a right to be with their adults and family ❤️. If you are not with your adults, it’s a good idea to let us know 🙋♀️🙋♂️ so that we can help you stay safe in Aruba 🇦🇼. We can also try to help you find them 🕵️♀️ and get in touch with them 📲.
I am not going to school right now, but I would like to. Where can I get help to go to school? 🏫📚
All children in Aruba have a right to an education 🎓! Please let your parents or adult guardians 👨👩👦 know that you can and should go to school 🏫. Most schools do need your adults to fill out some paperwork to get into 📝. Two schools though, SOAZA and SKOA, do not need as much ❌📄 and are schools dedicated💕 to helping kids like you, whether you are from Aruba or not 🌍🇦🇼.
Someone has hurt me, or I am afraid that they will. What should I do?
No one has the right to harm, abuse, neglect, or mistreat any child 🚫👶 – not even their parents, guardians, relatives, or teachers 👨👩👧👦❌. If someone has hurt you 🤕 or touched you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable 😟, or if you are afraid that someone will 😨, there are organizations that can help you 🤝. If you contact UNHCR 🌍, we will do our best to help you 💬. You can also contact 131 📞, which is in charge of providing support to children between 2 pm and 6 pm 🕑🕕. Another organisation you can contact for advice is Bureau Sostenemi. In case of emergencies, always call the police.
➡️Contact 131: Dial 131 on your phone 📞, download their app📱 or visit their website.
Someone is holding me prisoner, and they won’t let me go unless I pay them, work for them or do other things for them that I don’t want to do. What should I do?
It is illegal and wrong for someone to hold you prisoner or control you and ask for money, work or services from you against your will. If you are in this situation, please contact the police for more information and help.
➡️ Contact the police of Aruba: Dial 911 on your phone 📞