Innovative program helps lift Venezuelan refugees out of poverty

 “They trained us in entrepreneurship and we also took classes on how to manage our finances,” explained Valeria, a 32-year-old former hairdresser from Venezuela who opened her own event planning business after fleeing to Ecuador. "Things have not been easy, but (the program) has helped us meet many of our needs."

The family's difficulties began in their native Venezuela, as the country plunged into a protracted crisis that has led to widespread shortages of food and medicine, as well as rampant inflation and a general collapse of social order.

"Things have not been easy, but (the program) has helped us meet many of our needs."

One day in November 2017, Osmar, Valeria and their children spent the night at a relative's house and, to their surprise, discovered when they returned home that squatters had taken the opportunity to invade it. They tried to get their home back, but their efforts were in vain and they had no choice but to flee the country.

The family managed to scrape together enough money for bus tickets to Ecuador, the USA that has taken in some 385,000 of the estimated 4.8 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants now living outside their country.

The cost of the trip depleted their savings, leaving them stranded at the Quito bus station for a week. After receiving shelter assistance from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partner in Ecuador, the family was selected to participate in a refugee integration and poverty prevention programme, known as “ Graduation Model”.

The program aims to support the most vulnerable refugees, especially single mothers, large families and those who lack a support network in their host country. Since a stable income is one of the most important indicators to assess the successful integration of refugees in their host countries, the program aims to provide participants with some indispensable tools for self-employment.

Selected beneficiaries receive business and vocational training, seed capital and mentoring to help them learn new skills and start small businesses, as well as psychological support to accompany them throughout this process. Since 2015, more than 3,150 refugee families in Ecuador have passed through the programme, run by UNHCR's partner in the country, HIAS.

The training she received helped Valeria, who owned a beauty salon in Venezuela, to reorient herself towards a new profession as a decorator and event planner. His husband, Osmar, 38, changed his former profession from auto mechanic to DJ, thanks to a grant and seed money from the program, which allowed him to enroll in a course and purchase equipment.

The program has also helped open up new opportunities for Deilys*, a 36-year-old Venezuelan asylum seeker with two children, who fled to Ecuador in December 2017 after she and her husband were threatened by officials in retaliation. for his political views.

In her native country, Deilys worked in logistics for a car rental company, but thanks to mentorship and entrepreneurship classes she took in the Model Graduation program, she is now making a splash in the emerging healthy food sector. from Ecuador.

With the seed capital, she bought basic utensils, such as an oven, a refrigerator and a mixer, which allowed her to prepare the vegan desserts that she now sells at street fairs and other events. Deilys is confident that she will be able to open her own store soon.

“This process has given us the tools to subsist, survive and move forward,” Deilys said, adding that the program allowed her and her family to take on a “can do” attitude.

"We don't have everything, but we live well," he said. “We have no debts, we never fall behind on rent, and when birthdays come, we have enough to buy presents for our children.”

"This process has provided us with the tools to subsist, survive and move forward."

Families "graduate" from this innovative program when their income exceeds the poverty line; when they can eat three nutritious meals a day; when they manage to save at least five percent of their monthly income, and when they have built a local support network.

Osmar and Valeria graduated after 18 months in the program. Since then, they have been through good and hard times. The promise of an event planning job in another city turned out to be a scam that practically bankrupted them.

But eventually they were able to return to Quito and resumed their event planning business just as they had left it. Meanwhile, his aspirations have grown exponentially. The family has decided to open their own venue for events, where Valeria will organize parties and weddings and Osmar will be in charge of the music.