brazil

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.

A new reception center in Brasilia to host venezuelan refugees

In early 2021, AVSI Brasil will open a new space in Brasília to temporarily host Venezuelan migrants moving to Brazil’s capital from the refugee centers in Roraima, near the border with Venezuela. The initiative is part of Welcomed Through Work, a project implemented by AVSI Brasil and The Migration and Human Rights Institute (IMDH) with funding from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).

VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS COMPLETE PORTUGUESE CLASS AND RECEIVE CERTIFICATES

In September, 160 Venezuelan migrants took another step towards complete integration in their new country, Brazil. They completed an eight weeks Portuguese course offered by AVSI Brazil and received certificates indicating their proficiency in the new language. Implemented in partnership with the National Commercial Learning Center of Roraima (Senac/RR), the classes are part of the project Welcomed Through Work, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

AVSI country offices and partners response to COVID-19 pandemic

AVSI is monitoring the continued development of the coronavirus pandemic in countries where we operate. We are aware of risks that local populations will face, especially having limited access to precarious health systems and already struggling with poverty, hunger, and conflict. AVSI staff continues to accompany our beneficiaries, following safety regulations implemented in each country. We are doing everything we can to ensure minimal interruption of our initiatives, which many people need even more right now. Below are some testimonials we have received from colleagues, who like all of us, have to adapt, be creative, and remain hopeful during these difficult times.

VENEZUELAN REFUGEES ARRIVE IN BRASILIA with secured jobs

In August, a group of 27 Venezuelan refugees landed at the Juscelino Kubitscheck International Airport in Brasilia to start new jobs and begin a new life in the Brazilian capital. Eleven of the refugees were hired by the fast-food chain Levvo Group, the others were family members.

Inmates reconnect with family and community by making 350,000 masks

Unable to receive family visits due to the COVID-19 restrictions, inmates Alisson Tomas Zanetti, Philipe Augusto Ferreira Leal, and Edemir Cardoso da Silva Júnior were feeling abandoned and even more isolated from their community. Together, they sum up a 74-year sentence which they serve inside three APACs (Association for Protection and Assistance to Convicts), a prison system without guards or weapons located in various Brazilian states.  To reconnect and feel useful, they have all joined “Humanize Prison Sentences, Promote Life.” Funded by the European Union and the Italian Bishop’s Conference and implemented by AVSI Brasil and the Fraternity of Assistance to Convicts (FBAC), the project will help 400 inmates in 23 APACs make 350,000 masks to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Former Venezuelan soccer player “dribbled” challenges and began a new life in Brazil

Miguel Arcangel’s love for sports began early, more precisely at the age of four, when he stepped for the first time on a field in Venezuela to practice his favorite sport: soccer. Since then, he had dedicated more than 30 years to soccer. Miguel achieved the top of his career playing for Monagas Sport Club, a soccer team playing at the top level, the Primera División Venezolana. Ricardo, his younger brother, recalls that Miguel used to travel a lot while playing for them.

brazilian inmates make masks during the covid-19 epidemic

In the Latin American country, where the pandemic is dramatic with 1 million cases and 50,000 deaths, 400 “recuperandos” in 23 APACs, Brazilian prisons with no guards, are making 350,000 masks to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. The protective equipment will be donated to the most vulnerable population thanks to a project implemented by AVSI and funded by the European Union.