We have a strong record in promoting and securing the economic, social, cultural and environmental rights of the Brazilian people. Examples include:
Land rights
30,528 people are protected and an area of 983,100 hectares of the Amazon and the atlantic forests are preserved due to the successful suspension of three large infrastructure projects.
‘I must say something to you: please send a big hug to the people who support Christian Aid. They do believe in God, don’t they? So, tell them that God will give them twice!’ (Edilson, Quilombola local leader)
Tax justice
The exemption of Rural Land Tax (ITR) for the quilombolas communities by £4m. This benefitted around 1,170,000 quilombola people across the country. This was the result of innovative pro-bono support from a local law office, and the joint work of our partners, CPI and INESC.
Inclusive markets
With Christian Aid's support, our partner MST (Landless Workers’ Movement) transformed the COPPAT – rice cooperative – into Brazil and Latin America’s biggest producer of organic rice, producing 26,455 tonnes per year of organic rice.
In 2015, the cooperative agreed with the local government of São Paulo city to provide 1k tonnes of organic rice for school meals in a contract worth £626,000 annually.
Overcoming gender-based violence
- 27,000 women, children and LGBT people at risk from gender-based violence were protected by faith-based organisations. ‘Without the safe house, I would be dead’ (a woman assisted by the safe house, name kept under protection).
- 150 parishes were directly engaged with preventing gender-based violence as result of an innovative booklet on biblical teaching. It was actively used by church supporters in Scotland, and was called ‘Loving one another’.
Employment rights
About 4,000 women street vendors in the city of Sao Paulo now have the legal right to work due to our partners’ advocacy work, funded by the European Union.
Ending deforestation
The ‘We are the Amazon’ campaign, followed by the Amazon Solidarity Appeal, engaged 134 churches and faith-based organisations worldwide. We provided 2,000 seeds of native Amazon trees to communities whose trees were destroyed by the wildfire in the Amazon.