Yurelsi’s story is similar to that of the rest of the Venezuelan refugees that come into Brazil. She dreams about a better future and looks to support her family through the abilities and knowledge she acquired by watching her mother work in the ancestral handicrafts of the Warao people. Little by little, together with her husband, she is building a new life of dignity and autonomy.
With the money she makes from the sale of the handicrafts, she buys medications for the children as well as basic necessities. With a feeling of victory, she tells about her journey up until she reached the Janokoida Shelter, in Pacaraima, under the management of the Fraternity – International Humanitarian Federation (FFHI).
With a great deal of sacrifice, she found transportation to Santa Elena, and from there to Pacaraima she continued on foot with a group of seven people, among who were her two small children.
For three months she was on the streets of Pacaraima because she couldn’t find a vacancy in the shelter. As a roof, just a piece of plastic. When a vacancy opened up in the shelter, Yurelsi and the children got in, since they were a priority. It was only afterwards that the other members of the family managed to join her.
Thinking about Yurelsi’s reality and the rest of those housed in the shelters, in 2021, the Humanitarian Fraternity (FFHI), through the Means of Life Sector, will dedicate itself to implementing projects that go beyond the emergency and provide lasting solutions appropriate to the reality of the refugee indigenous peoples.
