J. and M. live in Santo André, in greater São Paulo. One day when they were in their car and stopped at a traffic light in São Bernardo do Campo, a neighboring city, they met Raul who was selling candy to support his family. They decided to stop and park to talk and learn a little more about him. They discovered that Raul is Venezuelan and came to Brazil with his wife Keily and their four children to try to rebuild their life here, but they were facing many challenges. Without the resources to go to the federal police and regularize get his official documents, he couldn’t get a job and the only alternative to meet his family’s needs at that time was to sell candy on the street.
J. and M. then decided to help the Venezuelan family. Together with a group of friends, they raised a food donation and looked for organizations that supported refugees in the area. And it was then that, through a friend who has been a supporter of AIRE since our foundation, they got in touch with us. They told us the family story and we contacted Raul and Keily. They were then integrated into our Vecinos Project, which aims to support refugees who live in the ABC region (greater Sao Paulo) and are in vulnerable situations.
The first step was to organize their Brazilian documentation, and soon after, through our support network, Raul got a job! During the period in which they are part of the project, they will also receive a monthly food basket, help with registration and consultations with the SUS (Brazilian public health system), for enrolling the children in public school and Portuguese classes.
Since the founding of AIRE, we have always believed that if we come together and each one helps a little, we can transform lives, like Raul and Keily’s. And here we leave the example of J. and M., who could have simply passed by and done nothing. But the simple decision to stop and help brought a new beginning to a family which had almost lost hope for the rebuilding of their life in Brazil.
So, we challenge you to leave your comfort zone, allow yourself to be empathetic and help someone. Also, to share our work and the cause of refugees with the people you know so that together we can build a more humane world.
