The Casa Hogar Mis Pequeños Valientes (My Little Brave Ones) in Lago Agrio, Ecuador is a place of reception for boys and girls who have suffered violations of their rights, including migrants and refugees.
Through the Activados project, it has been possible to enlarge the building, thus giving to the children and young people it houses their own spaces to live in peacefully.

The area the house is located in is on the border with Colombia: many Colombian and Venezuelan migrants arrive here, hoping to start a new life. They are among the main targets of the project, which started off in 2019 in order to promote local integration and the protection of migrants and refugees in Ecuador.
Through various actions, Activados aims at defending their rights, including having a decent and safe home to live in.

In this context, the Casa Hogar Mis Pequeños Valientes was created. This home is essential for the reconstruction of a dignified life for all young people, as well as for the integration and empowerment of migrant and refugee children in particular.

Here different educational and recreational activities are carried out for the growth and development of children in an environment free of violence, in which they can live without fear and their dreams can continue to grow as the time goes by.

Children and teenagers used to live together in the same bedroom blocks: therefore AVSI, after evaluating the architectural state of the house, opted for building new comfortable and safe bedrooms to create a safe space for everyone.
The works were made possible thanks to the cooperation established with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the municipality of Lago Agrio.

The new 175 m2 dormitory blocks were built in record time, just over one month. The "little brave ones" living in the center were able to make use of the new, fully equipped facilities straight away.

AVSI representative in Ecuador, Yubari Valero, underlined the human side of this project in her statement: “AVSI's greatest motivation was to see the smile of the children who looked out to see what we were doing every day. Now they already have the space and can enjoy it ”.

Edited by Coralía Proaño.