Only two NGOs were dedicated to assisting refugees in the city of São Paulo, according to a survey that Compassiva conducted, before developing the LAR program (Bringing Help To Refugees) in 2014.
In order to serve these people, Portuguese classes for Arabs were created. This was the smallest group, among the refugees in São Paulo, who needed to learn the language. There was a need for 900 vacancies from other nationalities for Portuguese language classes, while there were only 180 Arabs, explains André Leitão, Compassiva CEO:
“For us, it was logical to start with a smaller group. Focusing on a specific group would help us to offer a job with excellence, because, even if sometimes it is not a big job in quantity, we want to make a big difference in the lives of the people we serve ”.
To learn more about the reality of refugees, visit Refugilar.
Portuguese classes were just the gateway. Over time, the proximity to the reality of the refugees has increased and their needs have become more noticeable. Then, more initiatives emerged in the LAR program.
The first of these was Amparo, a social assistance project, which supports refugee families with emergency needs, also identified through face-to-face visits to their homes. Food baskets, diapers and medicines are distributed, based on donations received by Compassiva.
Through legal assistance, processes to revalidate refugee undergraduate degrees also began. Lawyers, nurses, economists … refugees have many professions, which are unable to practice them because their diplomas are not recognized in Brazil. With support from UNHCR, contributing to these people to rescue and develop their professional skills has also been an effort.
“Not only that, because a group of volunteers also started supporting with the production of resumes, in addition to indicating job vacancies and places to search for job”, says Leitão. “We got involved to try to do a job that reached all life areas of these people, so that they can become independent and reestablish their lives in Brazil”.
Since 2014, Compassiva has directly served more than 3,000 people in refugee situations. Get to know the LAR (Bringing Help To Refugees) program and make your donation.
