In 2025 we celebrate fifty years of Via International, five decades of walking alongside communities, building bridges across borders, and proving that real change happens when we do it together

Via began with a simple and powerful belief: community members are the experts in their own future. Our mission has always been rooted in listening first, lifting local leadership, and fostering dignity, equity, and opportunity for all.

For fifty years we have connected students and volunteers, grassroots leaders, migrant families, promotoras, scholars, neighbors, and global partners. Every program, every workshop, every journey, and every shared meal reminds us that transformation grows from relationship, trust, and collective action.

This year we honor our history, celebrate the visionaries who planted the first seeds, and look forward with renewed commitment. We aim to amplify community voices, strengthen sustainable solutions, and continue shaping generations of socially conscious leaders.

“Together” is not a slogan. It is who we are.
Together we have cooked and served meals.
Together we have built microbusinesses and opportunities for families.
Together we have made music.
Together we have created safe and loving spaces at the border.
Together we have learned, taught, celebrated, and dreamed.

And this year we invite you to walk with us once again. To celebrate every story, every family, every student, and every community that has touched and shaped Via. To join us as we carry this legacy forward into the next fifty years of solidarity, belonging, and shared hope.

Because when we stand together, everything is possible.

Via International — 50 Years Together

Via International was established 50 years ago, as Los Niños, a direct aid organization responding to the needs of impoverished children living in the outskirts of Tijuana and Mexicali. This direct aid model served an immediate purpose but fostered dependency. To have greater impact, the organization developed programming to offer people the tools and opportunities for personal, educational and economic development that would in turn, benefit their families. Our programs in Mexico, focused on family health, food security, economic stability and leadership education are coordinated though our sister organization "Los Niños de Baja California." Since 2012, Via has focused its efforts in building cross border relationships and in developing similarly focused programs in and around the Logan Heights neighborhood of San Diego. Our mission remains the empowerment of local leaders and support of civic engagement that unites community members and volunteers through community development programming.

Via 50th: Building Community Together