Yoselin: ‘Our motivation to get out of Venezuela was our son’s health’
HIAS support programmes for migrants.
The life of Sebastian (9) was in danger in his country due to a lack of health services. His family took the courageous decision to leave Venezuela. UNICEF and ECHO support families like Sebastian's.
Sebastian (9) plays with his neighbor’s dog on the terrace of his house in Quito. Six months ago, Ecuador became his new home. He is one of the thousands of children who left Venezuela with his family because of the economic and political crisis.
But that wasn’t the only reason to take such an important decision. ‘We were motivated to leave Venezuela because of Sebastian’s health condition. He has an aortic narrowing, and we were afraid he might have a relapse and there was no money or health care available for him’, says Yoselin (28), Sebastian’s mother.
At his young age, Sebastian is aware of his illness. ‘I have gone through four catheterizations and four surgeries. Sometimes it hurts me. I feel stitches in my heart’, says the courageous child.
Starting a new life in a new country is difficult. The first thing to do was to get a job, but that wasn't easy either.
‘We arrived in Ecuador without any money because we spent it on the trip. Sometimes I got jobs fixing cars, but they didn’t need me every day’, says José Luis (28), Sebastián’s father.
Beyond the lack of a job, Yoselin and José Luis were concerned about not getting a school place for Sebastian and his sister Arantza and not being able to get a medical appointment for continuing Sebastian’s heart treatment.
A friend of José Luis listened to his worries and advised him to contact HIAS, a UNICEF partner that might be able to help his family. ‘I went to the HIAS office to request some help. We received a food card from the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF helped us with financial support to buy a small stove to cook and sell Venezuelan empanadas’, says José Luis with joy.
With the support and guidance of HIAS, the family could access medical services for Sebastian. They also got school places for Sebastian and Arantza, his sister.
‘Our stove has been our principal tool to produce daily sustenance. We pay rental and food. We know this is only the beginning and we still have a lot of challenges to face, but we are very thankful for the support we have received. It has made us feel we are not alone’, says Yoselin.
Monetary transfers
Sebastian’s family was a beneficiary of the monetary transfer service provided by UNICEF in Ecuador with the support of the Humanitarian Aid department of the European Commission (ECHO). The purpose is to enable girls, boys, adolescents, and their families who are in a vulnerable situation and have decided to reside in Ecuador, to begin settling in their host country under decent conditions: giving them the right to live with their family, rather than be separated. This subsidy complements the food assistance provided by the World Food Program (WFP).
