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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.
Venezuelan refugees have been living in Roraima for the last ten months and will move to Santa Catarina in the following weeks with guaranteed jobs thanks to the PRM-funded project “Welcomed Through Work.”
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.
“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.
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.
