Fast facts
Population 184,184,000

Capital Brasília

Area 8,547,403 km2 (3,300,169 sq miles)

Language Portuguese

Religion Roman Catholic

Currency Real

Life Expectancy 69

Literacy 86%
 

The Diocese of South West Brazil in southern Brazil is a poor diocese which faces many challenges; one of which is to pay the final expenses and to cover the costs of building the Centro Social Alvorada.

This project is part of the constant work of the church identifying with the poor and assisting them to higher standards of living.

The Alvorada Settlement is situated 45km from the Diocesan offices in Santa Maria, and 15km from Julio de Castilhos, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil.

The Settlement comprises a group of about 500 former landless people living in minifúndios (smallholdings).

The Centro Social Alvorada will, when completed, be a social centre run by the Anglican Episcopal Church in Brazil. It will serve 75 families in most need in the village of Alvorada, a poor and marginalized area of Brazil.

The centre is a needed resource for the village, as there is nowhere else for the families to receive the support that is required. It will offer them a complete package of life-enhancing support, leading them to become self-sufficient, e.g. to have their own milk, to grow their own vegetables and keep bees providing honey to sell, and securing the prospect of a better future for them and their families, with skills that are transferable to others in the community.

Justice, human rights and advocacy are core elements of the work that will be undertaken by the centre.

Money is required to put a roof on the building and to build the floor. There is a kitchen, two toilets and a big hall (100m2). The people are now working in mutirão (working in solidarity) at the weekends; which demonstrates the level of commitment of the local people with this project.

What your money will buy

£5,000 finishes the building works at the Centro Social Alvorada.
£20,000 enables training courses to be increased, greater long-term security for staff posts and the potential for the community to become independent of outside help will become more of a reality.