Husband and wife Loly Rico and Francisco Rico-Martinez are honoured with one YMCA Peace Medallion to recognize the impact they make as one unit, and the harmony and power their togetherness brings to the cause of peace and justice.

In 1990, Loly and Francisco came to Canada from El Salvador as refugees with their two children, Giovanni and Ana Teresa.  A third child, Manuel, was born in Canada.  They had withstood separation, imprisonment and many threats to their lives.  Loly arrived with a background in physiotherapy, while Francisco was a lawyer and economist. 

In 1991 they founded the FCJ Hamilton House Refugee Project, with the help of the FCJ Sisters.  It has become the FCJ Refugee Centre—which runs out of Loly and Francisco’s home and provides a network of services and programs for more than 1,000 refugees a year. 

The doors of the FCJ Refugee Centre are always open to anyone in need, including people in town for refugee hearings, refugees for whom shelters are inappropriate and children who require guardianship.  The welcome home environment provides a connection to a new life in Canada. In an atmosphere of love, support and compassion, Loly and Rico are able to meet newcomers’ immediate and survival-based needs and attend to their fears and hurts as well.  

In addition to their work at the centre, Loly donates her time to several settlement and refugee-serving organizations including OCASI (Ontario Coalition of Agencies Serving Immigrants) and the Canadian Council for Refugees.  Francisco was the (volunteer) President of the Canadian Council for Refugees for four years, is frequently asked to consult by a variety of organizations and serves on the Refugee Task Force, a committee of Toronto City Council, in addition to many other agencies. 

As one worker at the FCJ Refugee Centre put it, “[Loly and Francisco] represent the great spirit of Latin culture and they represent hope for a lot of people…they are a living example of love and community.”