“A disaster of this scale really takes a toll, not only on the victims but on the responders. It’s not easy to be in the field and see this kind of sadness,” said Sabrina Lustgarten, director of HIAS Ecuador. “Our goal is to support those doing this very difficult emergency work, to prevent burnout and enable them to continue to respond effectively.”
The powerful earthquake which ripped through Ecuador on Saturday evening, killing hundreds and injuring thousands, has had a dramatic impact on the country, including the hundreds of thousands of refugees who live there.
In our work on four continents, we continue to be amazed by the strength and resilience of the women we encounter and serve. This International Women’s Day, let’s all speak up for the women and girls who have been displaced from their homes in staggering numbers.
Working with the Agrollipteños Business Association is just one example of how HIAS Ecuador helps engage refugees in entrepreneurial initiatives, encouraging groups of Colombians and Ecuadorians to collaborate in order to grow the scale and presence of their businesses. Such cooperative ventures are important because so many Colombians living in Ecuador are trapped in informal, unregulated jobs.
Larissa Converti describes Ecuador's long history as a host country for refugees and notes HIAS' role in the region. "During the first ten months of 2010, HIAS assisted nearly 45,000 Colombian, Venezuelan, Panamanian, and Argentinian refugees," she writes.
Daniel*, a Colombian refugee living in Ecuador, showed me this music video when I visited his family’s home. Like so many other Colombian families we work with in Central America, gang violence made their life there untenable. When a local gang tried to force Daniel’s older brother to join, his mother Lorena* decided that their only choice was to flee.
HIAS Ecuador Shows Their Team Spirit Dec 16, 2014 (HIAS) HIAS Ecuador staff take a break to show some team spirit during annual national training, which took place this past week in the Cumbaya Valley, east of Quito. 130 staffers from all nine cities where HIAS operates attended the event to receive training focused on […]
