USAID Announces $1.17 Million for Awards to Support Venezuelans

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced $1.17 million for five BetterTogether Challenge awards to directly benefit Venezuelans in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

The awardees will provide critical solutions to improve access to food, education, and employment opportunities, as well as promote entrepreneurship, social cohesion, and women’s economic empowerment.

In Colombia, the International Rescue Committee(link is external) will support learning outcomes in 16 major schools in the border city of Cúcuta, while also addressing youth violence and xenophobia toward migrants.

In Brazil and Ecuador, Caritas Brasileira(link is external) will launch a dynamic, comprehensive online portal in both Portuguese and Spanish to provide thousands of Venezuelans with access to a trusted network of legal, logistical, and humanitarian services available.

In Brazil, the Instituto Terroa(link is external) will build on its nationally recognized program and work with Venezuelan and Brazilian youth to enhance social cohesion, employability, and integration in Brasilia, Manaus, and São Paulo through an innovative in-person and remote entrepreneurship skills-building program.

In Venezuela, with USAID funds, a local organization will work with communities to develop innovative, sustainable agriculture techniques to improve food security, while also developing leadership skills for women and strengthening community self-reliance. Another organization will support entrepreneurship in the food industry by implementing a comprehensive skills-building and pilot entrepreneurship program for women.

The BetterTogether (JuntosEsMejor) Challenge is a partnership between USAID and the Inter American Development Bank to crowdsource, fund, and scale innovative solutions to support Venezuelans and communities that host them across Latin America and the Caribbean. For more information, visit JuntosEsMejorVE.org(link is external).