• Listening, collecting, archiving and sharing the first-person stories of migrants and refugees

Our Mission

TodoSomos is dedicated to preserving and amplifying the firsthand stories of migrants and refugees—centering dignity, memory, and truth. Through world-class archiving, and community-driven education and storytelling initiatives, we advocate for displaced voices to be heard, respected, and recognized as part of our shared human story.

We believe…

Every story matters—and that those most impacted by displacement should be the ones to tell it. Our work centers around a grassroots, trauma-informed approach rooted in listening, consent, and co-creation. Using the Storybook Methodology, we invite refugees and migrants to share their lived experiences in their own handwriting and voice. These testimonies are then preserved, studied, and shared—not just as documents of migration, but as acts of resilience and truth-telling. Through partnerships, listening, and ethical storytelling, we aim to build connection, spark change, and restore humanity to the broader narrative around the movement of people across borders.

Visit The Collection

  • “The personal stories collected by TodoSomos will have an important impact on the humanitarian response that is required, promoting inclusion and support for the most vulnerable. Organizations such as the UN Refugee Agency will continue to support TodoSomos to make sure people on the move will be at the center of our humanitarian and protection work.”

    Jozef Merkz — Resident Representative United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Colombia

  • “TodoSomos gives voice to the ongoing tragedy of Venezuelan migrant families trudging the roads of Colombia searching for peace and security.

    Steve Hide — Head of Mission, Médecins sans Frontières, Colombia

  • “I have used these stories in my own classroom…to help my students to understand the larger world around them and the good fortune they have to live in a stable democratic society. This would be a better world if we all were to listen with compassion and love.”

    Mrs. Rincon — a school teacher in Beaverton, Oregon, on working with her students to understand the Venezuelan crisis in Latin America.

  • “The brilliance of TodoSomos is in the way they are able to humanize an unprecedented refugee crisis while also offering a tangible way for their audience to interact with the material on an emotional as well as intellectual level.”

    Eric Huxley – Country Director, Samaritan’s Purse, Colombia

Our Process

The Storybook Methodology

At the core of TodoSomos is a simple but powerful approach: inviting people to write their own stories, by hand. Known as the Storybook Methodology, this process honors each participant’s voice, preserves the emotion of their words, and creates a permanent, unfiltered record of lived experience.

01.

Ethical Outreach →

We invite the participation of people in shelters, border towns, and transit zones, through trusted local partners, ensuring that every interaction is grounded in consent, safety, and respect.

04.

Translation & Transcription →

Each testimony is carefully transcribed and translated to maintain its original meaning while making it accessible to a wider audience across languages. Currently we work in English and Spanish.

02.

Handwritten Testimonies →

Participants are invited to share their story in their own handwriting, preserving voice, rhythm, and emotion—without filters or interpretation.

05.

Archival Preservation →

Testimonies are added to our growing digital and physical archive, organized for researchers, journalists, humanitarian agencies, and future generations.

06.

Public Sharing & Advocacy →

Select writings are curated into bilingual publications and multimedia stories, with the goal that these lived experiences inform policy, aid, and public awareness.

03.

Trauma-Informed Practice →

We center dignity and agency in every step of the process, never pressuring anyone to participate or to share more than they choose, and ensuring anonymity in all public-facing archive content.

Support the story

Your donation helps us preserve and share the voices of displaced individuals & families around the globe. Every contribution supports the gathering, translation, and public sharing of testimonies—fueling education, advocacy, and dignity through archiving our human stories.

Contact us to donate

Your gift directly funds testimony collection, community partnerships and outreach, educational materials and access, volunteer and translator support.

TodoSomos

PO Box 390, Brightwood, OR 97011, USA

+1 (503) 970-0353

Executive Director: douglas@todosomos.org

Inquiries: todosomosjuntos@gmail.com