LSNA Staff Volunteer on Arizona Border

Last summer, LSNA staff members Wendy Lehman and Sara Rickard spent a week on the Arizona/Mexico desert border, providing medical care to migrants.

This year over 257 people are known to have died while crossing the Arizona border. Security has tightened in border cities, forcing migrants to make the treacherous journey through the desert in search of work in the U.S. Sara worked with No More Deaths (NMD), an Arizona-based coalition of churches and human rights groups. She lived in NMD’s Ark of the Covenant, a camp outside of the small town of Arivaca. The Ark houses teams that search the surrounding area for migrants in need of medical attention.  During the hot summer, NMD volunteers rescued hundreds of migrants. “It takes 2-4 days to cross over,” Wendy explained. “If someone breaks an ankle or gets sick, they are often left behind by their coyotes (paid guides).”

In Arizona, Wendy spent several days with NMD and Christian Peacemaker Teams, an organization that offers nonviolent alternatives to war and other violent conflict.. CPT provides medical aid to migrants, holds public vigils near the border wall, and monitors border patrol checkpoints and the movement of anti-migrant groups such as the Minutemen. For more information, call Wendy or Sara at LSNA.