Help 1,100 Venezuelans rebuild their life in Peru

Dear friend,

This month we are going to expand our current visa support program and start a subsidies scheme to help migrants and refugees have their undergraduate and graduate degrees formally recognized by Peruvian authorities. This will allow them to apply to qualified job opportunities and improve their livelihoods. In turn, through their qualified work and skills, they will benefit the local society of which they are now part.

Moreover, at AGTR we have been working to keep supporting Venezuelan migrants during the ongoing pandemic. As you know, although most restrictions have been lifted, the situation is far from being back to normal. The pandemic came when migrants and refugees had just left their country of origin and were trying to start over in Peru. Most of them lost their jobs, were unable to make a living during the quarantine and are still struggling to recover. They were not included in any of the economic relief funds implemented by the Peruvian government and have very limited access to healthcare.

During the past few months, we were able to provide over 300 Venezuelan migrants and refugees (and their families) with food baskets and essential goods. We are now almost ready to start a new round of deliveries, this time including sanitary material, such as face masks and hydroalcoholic gel, in the baskets.

Together, we can reach more and more vulnerable migrants and refugees who need our help to get through this rough times. Thank you for your support!

Peru is in mandatory isolation (with an additional curfew from 9pm to 4am) since March 16. All non-essential activities have been suspended and, up until June 3, people’s movement  have been limited to the procurement of food and medicine. Venezuelan migrants are particularly affected by this situation, as most of them make a living selling food in the street or as day laborers. In fact, shortly after the beginning of the quarantine, we started receiving dozens of help requests from vulnerable individuals who were unable to provide food for their children and families.

To respond to this emergency, AGTR has been delivering emergency food baskets to the most vulnerable households. The average basket contained approximately 12 kg of non-perishable food, such as rice, beans, oats or canned tuna. We also included the special flour used to cook arepas, a traditional Venezuelan dish, to try to give migrants and refugees a taste from home.

With the help of local allies, we were able to provide aid to over 150 households. We are now working to secure additional funding to help many others who are still in need of assistance. Unfortunately, migrants and refugees were not included in Government aid programmes and have nowhere to turn to. With a little help, together we can keep this initiative going!

Thank you for helping us making all of this possible!

Sincerely,

Andrea Gandolfi