One of the main components of the projects are the community assessments. Using as a starting point essential themes such as homelessness, job insertion, housing, health, integration, access to information, regularization, separated or unaccompanied adolescents, education, and child labor, AVSI Ecuador generates a dialogue that wouldn’t take place otherwise. Different communication tools will be used during community assessments. AVSI Ecuador is motivating older adults, women, men, youth, and even children to discuss these different themes by asking them to pretend they are community reporters. Hand-crafted materials with cardboard boxes that simulated a TV, video cameras, mobile phones, hearing aids, radios, and a megaphone were specially designed to fulfill this playful activity.
Between August and December 2019, the project will reach 944 people in the cities of Manta and Portoviejo and foster peaceful coexistence between the host communities and the refugees and migrants.