The importance of partnerships in the humanitarian response and the Project “Come, You Can!” of Visão Mundial
It’s not anything new in any of the fields of human knowledge that different individuals joining forces in support of a common goal is the most efficient way for everyone involved to gain that goal. This concept is not something new in the world of humanitarian aid either, given the history of the emergence of the Sphere Handbook as a guide that establishes the minimum standards for a humanitarian response, created with the collaboration of different and multiple agents and with the goal of improving the result of the response in common, as an articulated whole.
Something that is also not new for those who follow the Brazilian humanitarian response to the Venezuelan immigration crisis, is that more than 100 institutions, between government agencies, agencies of the UN system, non-governmental organizations and religious associations participate in this response actively and together, making up Operation Welcome, coordinated by the Humanitarian Taskforce of the Armed Forces, representing the Brazilian government.
In spite of none of that being new, the work in partnership among organizations that work for the benefit of human life somewhat transcends the popular jargon that exalts cooperation. It is a symbiosis that can only be experienced in daily practice, in working shoulder to shoulder. A chemical reaction that is catalyzed through the “foot on the hot gravel,” a reference to the floor of most of the shelters in Roraima. It’s something that’s a little closer to the concept of synergy, but goes even further, considering that the ultimate purpose of the association of those involved is to benefit a third party. It is the materialization of coinciding positive values and principles, generating a meshing in which one helps the other to help.
It is the routine in the humanitarian shelters and in other locations of Operation Welcome, in Pacaraima and Boa Vista, in the State of Roraima, or in Manaus, in Amazonas, which testifies to the importance of establishing partnerships between institutions for improving the quality of the response. It is innumerable organizations working simultaneously in the same space, each one providing assistance and acting in a different area, so that the population of refugees and immigrants given shelter can be protected, with their basic needs provided, recovering their dignity and receiving an opportunity for rebuilding their lives.
During this year, when the efforts of the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF) were more emphatically targeting the building of lasting solutions and livelihoods for the recipients of the five indigenous shelters they manage, one partnership in particular provided a very important contribution to the creation of alternatives for the socioeconomic integration of the Venezuelan indigenous refugees and immigrants: the Project Come, You Can!, of the Visão Mundial (Global Vision), an organization that has been active since 1950 in defending the rights of vulnerable populations all over the world.
To find out a little more about the activities of the Visão Mundial and about this project, we give the floor to Bárbara Gil, projects coordinator of the institution, who responded to some questions from the Communications Team of the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF):
The Come, You Can! Project
(Bárbara Gil): The central idea of Come, You Can! is to allow people to have access to their own means of livelihood. It comes as a response of Visão Mundial Brazil to the humanitarian emergency caused by the Venezuelan immigration crisis, helping immigrants and refugees from that country, and their children and adolescents, with projects for their adaptation and financial independence.
Begun in September of 2019, the employability and entrepreneurship project aims to train the recipitents for the Brazilian job market. Besides professional training and Portuguese language classes, Visão Mundial Brazil acts in engaging companies to hire refugees and immigrants through making them aware and educating them on the matter.
The project’s objective is to strengthen the family in the matter of generating income. Through training and support, we help the heads of families, men and women, to have a means of livelihood, and in this way, provide a more secure environment for their children.
Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF): For Visão Mundial, what is the importance of developing lasting solutions projects for the refugee and immigrant indigenous population?
(Bárbara Gil): The development of projects related to the area of livelihood and lasting solutions is seen as uniquely important to us at Visão Mundial. We believe that everone, irrespective of their gender, nationality, ethnicity or social and cultural group, must have the right to a dignified life as a citizen. For this reason, working with socioeconomic integration tools is fundamental in accomplishing the objective of fostering a dignified life based on individuals’ autonomy so they may be fulfilled and happy.
Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF): How does the partnership with the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF) strengthen the activities of the Visão Mundial?
(Bárbara Gil): The partnership with the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF) is precious to the Visão Mundial, since it confers on us the possibility of having a positive impact in the lives of more people. But it’s not about reaching more people from the exclusively quantitative point of view, but rather a qualitative one, because thanks to this partnership, in a collaborative way, we were able to work in the area of the creation of lasting solutions also for the indigenous refugee populations. It’s important for us to remember that leaving the shelters in a safe way is one of the greatest challenges placed on the organizations that work in the response to the Venezuelan immigration crisis, and when it’s about the indigenous populations, that challenge becomes a little more complex. That’s why this opportunity of ours is so valuable in contributing to putting together a strategy that may be able to bring greater social and economic integration for these populations, mainly if those solutions are in line with preserving and valuing their respective cultures.
Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF): Speak about the challenges and lessons learned in acting with the Venezuelan refugee and immigrant population.
(Bárbara Gil): One of the biggest challenges in these actions has certainly been the cultural adaptation, which without any doubt, includes the question of the language. In addition, the very conditions imposed by the situation of vulnerability in which this population finds itself is a separate factor, because besides working on learning as a technical skill, it’s also necessary that we work in the area of self-esteem and empowerment of the people and their groups. But it’s not only challenges we experience in this context; and one of the greatest lessons learned is in observing the joy, solidarity and mainly persistence of those we care for, men and women. These are intense and acute stories, but full of life, because they show the power and the empathy that can only be born in and through human contact.
Courses offered to the indigenous populations through the Come, You Can! Project:
- 1 – Portuguese language (exclusive classes)
- 2 – Basic Dressmaking/Tailoring and Sewing (exclusive classes)
- 3 – Mentoring in a Business Plan and Methodology (exclusive classes)
- 4 – Basic Care of the Elderly (exclusive classes)
- 5 – Hygiene and Environment Cleaning Techniques (exclusive classes)
- 6 – Cleaning, Sanitation and Environment Conservation Services (exclusive classes)
- 7 – Residential Electrician Installer (mixed classes)
- 8 – Building Painting (mixed classes)
- 9 – Furniture Planning (mixed classes)
- 10 – MDF Crafts (mixed classes)
The doors of the Indigenous Culture and Training Center (ICTC), under the management of the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF) in partnership with the UNAgency for Refugees (UNHCR) and with Operation Welcome, were opened so that the Visão Mundial could also develop its project with the indigenous populations. It was still up to the field teams of the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF) to do all the work of articulation and communication with the shelter community, so that the information on the course would be very clear and access to the corresponding spaces be facilitated, as well as accompanying the beneficiaries who were participating in the courses.
It’s interesting to see how there is an alignment of perspectives between the projects coordinator of Visão Mundial and the manager of lasting solution of the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF), Imer. According to him:
“The development projects try to strengthen people, families, eventually the groups and the community as a whole, so they can have an outlook for the future and leave emergency assistance, which the humanitarian crisis somehow at first generates.”
He emphasizes that the partnership with Visão Mundial had many positive aspects, because besides offering technical training opportunities, in some cases with a certificate from SENAC (National Service of Commercial Learning), which is broadly recognized, there have also been informative forums on work laws, access to the job market and entrepreneurism, and even providing CBI (Cash Based Intervention) financial assistance for potential entrepreneurs, which is fundamental so that the knowledge is not just theory, and a business plan can be implemented.
The work of the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF), in all its work fronts, continues in the sense of constantly expanding this network of partnerships focused on the dignity of human life and the preservation of the environment, so that more and more hands can join this current for the good.
