brazil

You are the Heart of Development: AVSI-USA 2021-2022 Annual Campaign

In last year’s Annual Campaign, we invited you to “Expand your Horizons” and to join us as we reached out with hope towards communities fighting to counter the negative impact of the COVID pandemic. Over the difficult year, we have all experienced how much our destinies are tied to each other. The life of someone across the globe can impact mine, just as my life can impact theirs. It’s time to take a leap forward in how we conceive of our self and our responsibility towards one another, especially towards those suffering, on the margins of society and at risk of falling short of their fullest potential.
Human development is something that must concern us all. You are the heart of development. These are times that require bravery. AVSI-USA offers you this chance to say yes to the dramatic needs in our backyard and around the world, by supporting important projects in Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, Haiti, Lebanon and Los Angeles.

AVSI’s “Welcomed Through Work” project celebrates two years with photo exhibit and impact study

Antonello Veneri could not hide his excitement as he led groups of patrons through the halls of the new exhibit, “Welcomed: A Journey from Venezuela to Integration in Brazil,” at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center in Brasilia. Veneri, an award-winning photographer from Italy, seemed to pulse with energy as he described the process and decisions behind each brilliant photograph.

SEMINAR AND PHOTO EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHT THE JOURNEY OF VENEZUELAN REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS TOWARDS SOCIAL INTEGRATION IN BRAZIL

AVSI Brasil will host two events in Brasilia to share reflections on the migration experience of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, from crossing the border in Pacaraima (RR) to achieving autonomy in Brazil, thanks to integration activities implemented by the project Welcomed through Work, funded by the US State Department Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

#fleetingdetails: a virtual exhibit to celebrate world refugee day

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!

first screening of acclaimed documentary “unguarded” in an american prison

The first showing of Unguarded will take place on May 27, 2021 at the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Transitional Work Program in Louisiana. The documentary chronicles APAC’s (Association for the Protection and Assistance of Convicts) revolutionary method for prison system transformation that’s centered on the full recovery and rehabilitation of the person.

500 Venezuelan refugees integrated in Brazil with guaranteed jobs and housing

Thanks to the project “Welcomed Through Work,” funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), AVSI Brasil has facilitated a dignified integration for more than 500 Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Brazil, with more still to come. In the project’s first year, 284 Venezuelans were hired by Brazilian companies and relocated, along with 291 family members, from reception shelters in Boa Vista to other Brazilian cities where AVSI secured accommodations. Once the hired people and their families arrive in the new cities, AVSI Brasil provides initial housing support and protection services through social workers.

AVSI Brasil opens reception center in Brasília to host newly hired Venezuelan refugees and their families

The building will serve as temporary housing for people selected to work in Brazil’s capital through the PRM-funded project Welcomed Through Work. The new space will officially open on February 4 at a ceremony with a select group of guests, including Todd Chapman, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil. Due to the pandemic, the ceremony will take place outside, in the front garden. All guests will have to follow strict safety protocols, including mandatory masks and temperature checks.

Crisis in Manaus: Agricultural School surviving in midst of alarming COVID-19 case numbers and oxygen shortage

The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting Manaus again. With a record number of hospitalizations, deaths, and burials in January, the second wave of the new coronavirus is much worse than the first. This is likely due to a combination of factors: First, a new, more contagious strain of the virus. Second, because the population decided not to follow safety protocols in place during the first wave.