The Refugee App

The city of Fortaleza, located in the state of Ceará, Brazil, has received large numbers of refugees from Venezuela, Africa and Syria. Ceará was the 9th Brazilian state that received the most requests for recognition of refugee status last year, with 490 applications. Of the total, there were 312 Venezuelans. These people come to Brazil without knowing the law that assists them, their labor rights, without access to the labor market, without knowing how to regularize documents or which public bodies have the competence to assist them. The idea is through a mobile application to bring together people, universities, public entities and companies willing to register and hire refugees in order to integrate the refugee into the labor market and the community.

Only in 2017 there were 33,866 applications for recognition of refugee status in Brazil. Of these, 17,865 are from Venezuela. This number only increases. Ceará, for example, was the 9th state that received the most requests for recognition of refugee status in 2018 (490). Of the total, there were 312 Venezuelans, which positions the state as the 4th most received requests from immigrants from Venezuela - a country that is experiencing a growing political, economic and social crisis. A gateway to the migratory cycle in Brazil, the State of Roraima has received the highest number of requests for refuge. There were 50,422 throughout 2018. Part of this contingent spreads to other states in Brazil. A balance sheet through April indicates that at least 79 people sought refuge in Ceará in 2019. Of these, 39 are Cubans, 29 are Venezuelans, and the rest are from Guinea Bissau, Senegal, China, Mauritania and India. These people arrive in Brazil without knowing the law and the public entities that assist them, their labor rights, without access to the labor market and with irregular documents. The Application aims to integrate refugees into the labor market and the community in which they are based.

In Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil, there is an entity called Pastoral of the Migrant, linked to the Catholic Church. Most of the refugees residing in Ceará are under the care of this entity. I was able to see the work promoted there and realized that one of the greatest difficulties faced is the legal question. Many of the migrants who are cared for by the Ministry do not carry out any remuneration activities, do not have a work permit or have an irregular visa. Often these migrants have a profession in their home country, so the idea is to create an application that has legal information that can be used to contact and address legal and documentation-related questions and to create a database migrants and companies willing to hire them. The Application would connect them. In addition, we would seek to establish partnerships with various entities with similar interests, such as Universities, Public Defender's Office and Bar Association, in order to create a network of assistance to migrants and refugees.

My solution is to use the technology available on the cell phone to make life easier for migrants residing in the state of Ceará and, if successful, to expand to the rest of the country. Imagine that the migrants who arrive here often had a job in their country of origin. Why not integrate them into the local labor market? the aim is to create a network of contacts and a database capable of connecting companies and migrants. To do so, it is necessary that all legal documentation of the migrant is regular. If the migrant has doubts about legal documentation, in relation to his rights guaranteed by the legislation and in relation to the public entities that can help them, they can consult the application and even contact for a more in-depth consultation. Partnerships with universities would be sought in order to create a personal service channel, when necessary. Scheduling would also be done by the application.

I understand that my idea is innovative because it is able to unite socially vulnerable people to companies willing to hire. The idea is to integrate people on the margins of society through employment. It would also be an easier way for those interested to have access to information and consultation. imagine factories that need a lot of manpower. It will be able to access the application and check if there are any migrants in the database that meet your expectations. Imagine a language course you want to hire a teacher. This could be a registered refugee in the application.

Or imagine that a particular company needs the services of an electrician. It can hire some national or opt-in to access the application, check if there are any migrants qualified for the service and hire it. The idea is to create a network of working contacts aimed at the migrant public.

I want to impact millions of displaced people around the world. Just have access to a mobile phone that can find job openings in that community

Participating in Solve would be interesting to bring visibility to the proposed project in order to facilitate the realization of partnerships that could help develop the application.

Universities

International Law Commission at the Brazilian Bar Association in Fortaleza / CE

University of Fortaleza

Federal Police

Catholic Church

Before using the award, I would try to partner with universities and public entities in order to reduce the initial costs. The award would be used to maintain the initiative, seek innovations, publicize and seek partner companies.