The city of Manaus has a special place in my heart. After leaving Venezuela in 2019 with the hope of building a better future for my family, it was my first home. Manaus is one of the cities with the highest concentration of Venezuelan immigrants in Brazil, and, therefore, one of the cities that is always on AIRE’s radar when it comes to offering opportunities to Venezuelan refugees.
After I arrived in São Paulo, I understood how opportunities in Manaus are much more limited and that is one of the reasons why Venezuelans there go through such a hard time. Job options or chances of starting a business are much scarcer and the obstacles seem much greater. An example of this is a Venezuelan family I met on this trip, all women. The mother and her 3 daughters, who are between 18 and 23 years old, have found it very difficult to find a job. Only one of them has a registered job, the others sometimes do odd jobs, but the income often ends up not being enough to get through the month.
I also work with the Free Methodist Church and returned there with the intention of visiting, sharing, supporting, and encouraging the local church. I arrived on September 28th and immediately noticed the small changes that had happened in my absence, but it was also rewarding to visit friends I hadn’t met in months and see that despite the ups and downs they face, they continue to move forward.
It’s sad to see the difficult situation my country is facing, but I thank God because this difficulty allowed me to get to know Brazil, a neighboring country, but completely different from my homeland. I was able to learn a new culture, a new language and now I have the opportunity to help other Venezuelans to help build dreams here too.
