Performing research, informing and raising awareness on how the agri-food chain is closely connected to these global crises is the…
Discover moreWeWorld has been working in Brazil since 2008, in particular in the State of Cearà, in the Northeast, in the fields of education, gender rights and equality, socio-economic development and health.
Context
Brazil, with over 210 million inhabitants, is the largest country in South America and the sixth most populous in the world. Its economy is marked by deep social and economic inequalities. The country faces challenges related to politics, the economy, the environment, and human rights.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing problems, negatively impacting social protection and the rights of marginalized groups living in favelas in major cities and indigenous peoples. The expansion of criminal factions and "commands," now controlling small and large municipalities, has brought additional challenges, especially for public security. These factions, founded around drug trafficking, influence the lives of millions of families, limiting access to schools and other public facilities.
Brazil is one of the most dangerous countries for civil society activists, especially those involved in disputes over land and environmental issues. There is an increase in murders and threats against human rights defenders. Conflicts in rural areas, especially in the north and northeast of the country, are frequent and involve disputes over land, water resources, and working conditions. These conflicts are further exacerbated in the Amazon region, where deforestation expansion, illegal mining, and agribusiness intensify tensions over land and natural resources, increasing violence and human rights violations.
The Brazilian Semi-Arid region, called sertão, covering 12% of the national territory, faces challenges such as land concentration, vulnerability to climate change, and food insecurity. Indigenous communities, particularly in the northern areas, face gender discrimination, violence, limitations in access to education, and food insecurity, exacerbating their social and economic exclusion.
Our intervention
In Brazil, we are committed to supporting vulnerable populations, with a special focus on children, women, education, and human rights, strengthening organizations working on these issues. This approach highlights an understanding of the deep social inequalities present in the country.
Through the Solidariedade à Distância (SAD) program, the organization addresses emerging health and education needs, mitigating climate and social impacts on thousands of families facing nutritional risks.
Our initiatives aim to empower organizations operating in violence-affected communities, especially in high-risk areas. We encourage restorative and educational practices as positive responses in areas where homicide and femicide rates are high.
In defense of human rights, we give priority to entities protecting activists in land conflicts and environmental issues, such as in the Amazon. Our mission includes empowering and consolidating the administration of local organizations dedicated to human rights and sustainable development, thus helping safeguard thousands of activists and indigenous communities in disputes with miners and owners of large land areas.
We pay special attention to the territories of the Brazilian Semi-Arid, known for adverse climatic conditions and socio-economic challenges. Through projects focused on WASH programs and sustainable development in isolated rural communities, we seek to alleviate challenges faced by the most vulnerable groups.
We strive to support indigenous communities, often confronted with gender discrimination, violence, and restrictions in access to education and basic resources. This support is essential to combat the social and economic exclusion these communities face.
We’re deeply dedicated to promoting sustainable transformations in the communities it works with, strengthening them against the complex challenges the country faces.
Together for a fairer world.
Our projects
- Education for Freedom Project (SAD program): Focuses on training teachers in public schools to implement didactic tools that contribute to reducing school violence and fostering a peaceful environment. With the goal of turning these practices into a national public policy, the project involves prevention and combat strategies against gender-based violence, aiming to increase school attendance and reduce conflicts for 5,375 students from 24 public schools.
- Contextualized Education for Coexistence with the Semi-Arid Project (SAD program): Aims to promote schools adapted to regions with severe rainfall and water shortages, emphasizing the inclusion of gender issues and combating violence against women. The project seeks to benefit 3,875 children, 420 women farmers with pedagogical campaigns on preventive health and the production of healthy food, and train 1,750 professionals in education adapted to these arid areas.
- Trilha Democrática: this action aims at strengthening Rights Councils for Policy Advocacy, in partnership with Municipal Education and Child and Adolescent Rights Councils, we aim to strengthen social participation in public management in five municipalities in the Brazilian state of Ceará. Through advocacy and the training of 230 civil society representatives and councilors, we seek to strengthen the implementation of the Law of Contextualized Education for Coexistence with the Semi-Arid and promote community participation in public management and defense of their rights.
- Sementes de Proteção: the program is financially supported by the European Union, aims to strengthen human rights defenders in 21 Brazilian states, thus being a significant milestone in promoting and protecting human rights in Brazil. Covering traditional peoples and communities, LGBTQI+ activists, environmentalists, landless communities, and urban favela youth, the project enhances the defense and promotion capacity of human rights among 7,540 defenders, of which 75% are women. Noteworthy for its geographical scope and commitment to gender equity and women's empowerment, the project reinforces organizations and social movements in the territory, promoting essential principles of freedom, equality, and justice.
- Cunhã Crodí, Young Women Multiplying Knowledge: this project flourishes in the Brazilian northeast as a beacon of hope for the socioeconomic strengthening of young indigenous women. Through feminist economics and ethnodevelopment, the project promotes the autonomy and leadership of 480 women from 30 different ethnicities in four Brazilian states. By creating a network of knowledge multipliers, we aim to value the central role of indigenous women in the economy and community life, combating gender inequality, food insecurity, domestic violence, and workplace discrimination.