Despite the growth in the Brazilian economy in recent years, today one in four Brazilians live in poverty.
With mass unemployment, many of the poorest people in São Paulo have no formal employment, and depend on unofficial jobs – such as sorting rubbish for recycling and selling low-value items on the streets – to make ends meet.
Many of the families living in the city centre slums are forced to live in appalling conditions. Overcrowding is rife and there is often no clean water or sanitation. Without outside support, there is no way that poor families could stand up for their housing rights, as they have no money to access legal advice and challenging one’s landlord can result in immediate eviction and homelessness.
With power so overwhelmingly in the hands of the much richer landlords, Christian Aid partner Gaspar Garcia is helping to redress the balance by informing poor tenants of their legal rights and helping them to work together to challenge unscrupulous landlords.
This project will also develop people's skills to increase the range and security of jobs open to them. Finally the project will support local initiatives to increase access for these people to the social safety nets that exist in Brazil.
European Commission funding
Every £1 that your group gives will be matched by £3 from the European Commission – so a pledge of £5000 from your group would be worth almost £20,000 for the project!
The closing date for this project is summer 2013.
Find out more
Find out more about how your church, business or school can get involved with the Partnership Scheme by emailing partnershipscheme@christian-aid.org or contact one of our offices directly.