In early 2012, Ecuador’s Department of Refugees (DR) organized mobile offices to facilitate the renewal of refugee visas in remote communities. Through these efforts, it came to light that there…
Region: Latin America
Refugee Legal Aid in Ecuador
A Photo Essay by Nitsan Tal Above, Maria shows us a certificate from a journalism course. She is a second-generation refugee who left Colombia with her family when she was…
Empowering Refugee Women Survivors of Violence
I first attended the “Encuentros de Mujeres” (Meetings of Women) in August 2011, during my first weekend in Quito, Ecuador. I have long been interested in sexual and gender-based violence…
A Day in the Life of a VLA – Rita Crowley-Ornelas
Published May 2012 Name: Rita Crowley-Ornelas Office: Ecuador Age: 25 Hometown: Albuquerque, New Mexico What made you volunteer as a VLA? I was intrigued by the opportunity to work abroad,…
Andrew’s Story
His name is Andrew, but he could be called Edwin, Nelson or Hector. The first time I saw him, it took about an hour – an hour that I spent…
Summer Soiree 2011 Video – Keynote Speaker: Nora Quiñonez
Nora Quiñonez is a refugee from Colombia who fled across the border to Ecuador in 2003. Today, she is a businesswoman, a volunteer Community Legal Advisor and a social entrepreneur.…
Day in the Life of a VLA- Elizabeth Sandoval
Name: Elizabeth Sandoval Office: Ecuador Age: 31 Hometown: Quito, Ecuador What made you volunteer as a VLA? My passion for human rights -- refugee issues are interconnected with human rights…
Reaching Wrongly-Detained Refugees
In September 2010, VLA Ashley Connell and I nervously waited as prison guards searched us before letting us into the Centro de Rehabilitación Social de Varones de Quito #2, one…
To have work is to have life
“To have work is to have life: Refugees experience with the right to work in Ecuador” was published in June 2011 to highlight the experiences of refugees in Ecuador who…
Day in the Life of a VLA- Anne Davis
Fulbright Scholar and current VLA at Asylum Access Ecuador in Quito, Anne Davis is originally from San Diego, California. Anne received her Bachelors in Political Science and Spanish from the…