After providing aid in the immediate aftermath of the emergency, AVSI continues working in Aleppo to provide psycho-social support and essential items to people affected by the Turkey-Syria earthquake.
A festive atmosphere filled the air in the village of Nagounkaha in the district of Karakoro, 5 miles from the town of Korhogo. The Ambassador of the United States of America to Ivory Coast, Her Excellency Jessica Davis Ba, accompanied by a delegation, visited the village’s public elementary school on May 23, 2023. She went to see and learn about the McGovern-Dole program on school canteen operations and reading instruction.
How visiting the Crecemos libraries reignited my childhood love for the social bond of reading.
We share a couple’s story of resilience. Peace Besime and Nsanze Sepiria were struggling after years of failed farming ventures, they could barely pay for their basic needs (medical expenses, school dues for their five children, and the construction of a decent shelter). Thankfully, they were introduced to the Graduating to Resilience Activity funded by USAID (led by AVSI Foundation, in partnership with American Institute for Research and Trickle Up). Peace and Nsanze were empowered with practical tools: goal setting, business coaching, good agronomic practices, and even more; finally, their voyage to self-reliance began!
The President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella, during his visit in Kenya, met the students of St. Kizito Vocational Training Institute in Nairobi, funded by AVSI thanks to funds from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.
We tell the story of Florence, 42 years old and the mother of nine children, just one of the 6,824 households actively involved in the USAID-funded Graduating to Resilience Activity in Kamwenge District, Southwestern Uganda.
Florence’s children had no access to quality education, and in and out of their school since she had no money to pay for their fees. Worse, the family couldn’t afford to feed the children with nutritious meals and their health was in disarray. Florence’s hopes of guiding her children to a bright future appeared dim.
“The worst thing that could happen to Syria, on top of the many other adversities, is to be forgotten” says Italian Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nuncio in Syria.
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.
AVSI is ready: we are on the ground and helping the thousands of injured and displaced people in Aleppo, just over 100 km from the epicenter of the Turkey-Syria earthquake. This emergency is said to be “the most devastating one the region has seen in over 24 years.”
UN data reveals that more than 393 million children have failed to gain the basic literacy skills at age 10; and in the case of Ivory Coast, the reading rates have always been low, with the reality that one third of children who start in 1st grade will drop out before finishing primary school. In response, AVSI has been working to improve literacy rates in 613 schools of Ivory Coast through the USDA/McGovern-Dole Program. Led by the World Food Program from 2016 to 2021, 150,000 students were able to receive quality school meals. 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.
