Meet Luis from Venezuela. A young activist who strives to bring his community’s needs to the international scene.
The 2016 conflict in his country caused a deep humanitarian crisis. Dozens of people died because of a shortage of food and medicines. 7 million Venezuelans fled the country. The conflict pushed Luis to think, should he leave or stay?
Luis founded Fundación Váyalo – a youth-led organisation to help address the crisis in his country. With the aim of building long-term peace and protecting peoples’ human rights, Luis has worked tirelessly with local communities across Venezuela ever since.
Luis believes that dialogue is key to lasting peace, so he organises social mediation processes in communities affected by violence. He listens to his community’s stories, and trains young people on conflict resolution skills and violent prevention. Luis describes himself as “a peacebuilder, a healer, a human being in permanent evolution” and through his work with the community, he strives to cement values of trust and collaboration.
8 years into Fundacion Vayalo, the team was able to deliver more than 1500 kg of humanitarian assistance, supporting more than 1800 people across the country per year, facilitated 35 community-based dialogues and social mediation processes, contribute to the disincorporation of 120 young people from criminal gangs, trained more than 400 people in conflict prevention, violence mitigation and peacebuilding, and we have created a community-based media platform to transform narratives from the communities.
When he found out that women in Tacariguita region of Venezuela were unable to sustain a living, he organised a fair trade where these women grew and collected cocoa beans, that would later turn into delicious chocolate to be sold everywhere. The profits would then be reinvested in the community and into the families living there.
Violence has recently erupted again in Venezuela following an election. This has caused great uncertainty and fear across the country, particularly for those who are active in civic space.
Whilst those in the country continue to protest their rights, it’s times like these that remind us that building sustainable peace is a long and hard task. One that must centre local people in those efforts.
Luis continues to work in healing wounds and building bridges across Venezuela. Particularly ending transgenerational violence and building peace through truth.
