In Boa Vista, AVSI Brasil opens a multipurpose space to assist Venezuelan refugees and migrants and celebrates AVSI 50 anniversary.
Since 2016, more than 6 million people have fled Venezuela. About 5 million of them have found refuge in other countries of Latin America. The country’s oppressive political climate and worsening economic conditions has made the Venezuelan crisis one of the largest migration events in modern history.
Amid the crisis, AVSI has stepped up its work with refugees and migrants in the region, leveraging the little money available to create pathways for long-term integration and development for Venezuelans in host countries. Through the project Integrados, funded by the US Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, AVSI provides legal protection, housing, and livelihoods assistance for Venezuelan refugees and migrants in three regions of Ecuador: Pichincha, Manabi, and El Oro.
When children are forced to leave their country, running away from war, hunger, climate change, or political instability, they leave behind family, friends, and much more.
Sometimes, little objects can bring back memories of their homes, and details that seemed to be lost forever. To celebrate World Refugee Day, we invited children we support in eight countries to describe in a drawing what home means to them. Enjoy!
“This work was a great help. With the income, we paid part of the rent, and I sent some money to my mother in Venezuela so she can buy medicine and food.”
Marilú, a beneficiary of the “Activados” project, implemented by AVSI in the province of Manabí with funding from UNHCR.
Equipped with a mask, protective clothing, and a great desire to help, Ernesto Luque hugs his loved ones early in the morning and heads to work. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ecuador, Ernesto has been delivering food rations and basic kits of protection and personal hygiene to Venezuelan refugee families. Streets are quiet and almost empty, but anxiety and uncertainty fill the air and leave a strong impression on anyone passing through the towns.
