Women, who are part of the research project, farming their hectare of land in Indaiatuba, Brazil. - Miriam Nobre
Celebrating our history
Christian Aid started working in Brazil in the 1970s to promote justice and equality for all.
We worked to tackle the root causes of inequality by collaborating with a small but strategic number of social movements and faith-based partners.
We are proud of all the accomplishments of our team, local partners, donors and supporters in Brazil over the past 40 years.
Looking to the future
Christian Aid is exiting from Brazil as part of a change programme to deliver greater impact globally. Inspired by our new global strategy, Standing Together, we are deepening our interventions in fewer countries and living as good stewards within our means.
In future, our presence in Latin America and the Caribbean will be led by a regional programme which includes a few projects and partners in Brazil.
Three decades of working with social movements
This report explores how Christian Aid Brazil has operated within the changing social and political context of the country, its partnerships with social and ecumenical movements, the operational model that it developed, and how it contributed to the work of partners.
Highlights of our work in Brazil
Equality for all in the Amazon
Christian Aid and our partners supported marginalised communities to exercise their power and influence decisions that directly affect their lives. We have helped people to secure access and control over land and natural resources.
Gender equality
Some groups have been particularly excluded in Brazil, such as women, LGBT+, indigenous people, black people and quilombolas (descendants of escaped slaves who fled to many different parts of Brazil).
Addressing gender inequalities has been an essential part of the Brazil programme. 85% of our funds were dedicated to address gender inequality.
Faith in action
We’ve actively promoted theological thinking and practical tools for churches and faith-based organisations working on key development issues such as access to water, LGBT+ rights and gender-based violence.
We’ve actively promoted theological thinking and practical tools for churches and faith-based organisations working on key development issues such as access to water, LGBT+ rights and gender-based violence.
Please send a big hug to the people who support Christian Aid. Tell them that God will give them back twice!
- Edilson, Quilombola local leader.
Key achievements
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 a 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 São 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.