Norwegian Church Aid in Brazil
- Been here since: 1967
- Money spent in 2017: 352.970 NOK
Our work in Brazil is focused on climate justice and economic justice. Indigenous people and young people in urban areas are important target groups. Norwegian Chruch Aid have now phased out much of our work in Brazil.
The Republic of Brazil is a democracy that is still in its infancy. Brazil has, on the one hand, one of the world’s most progressive constitutions that goes far in terms of securing people’s rights, but it has, on the other hand, enormous challenges in putting these rights into practice.
Brazil’s social inequities are among the largest in the world – a legacy from the colonial era and the subsequent period until 2002, in which the country's leadership exclusively represented the country's elite. One of the main challenges for such a society is their lack of democratic culture and tradition.
Norwegian Church Aid has worked with Brazilian organisations since the early 1980s.
Norwegian Church Aid works to ensure that poor people and their communities have access to clean energy, including bioenergy. This is particularly important in remote areas where electricity networks are inaccessible and transport costs for regular diesel and petrol are high. Access to energy contributes to poor farmers’ being able to further refine raw materials and acquire a more sustainable revenue base.
Awareness raising and the mobilisation of young people at local and national levels who can contribute to political advocacy within the environment and climate are central to Norwegian Church Aid’s work.
Because of climate change, Brazil has in recent years been increasingly prone to natural disasters, such as flood and drought. Through various climate change adaptation measures, Norwegian Church Aid contributes to ensure that particularly vulnerable population groups (indigenous people, descendants of escaped slaves and poor farmers) become less vulnerable to climate change by, among other measures, harvesting rainwater, combating deforestation and planting trees.
Despite strong economic growth in Brazil in recent years, there remains a large portion of the population who have not taken part in this progress. Norwegian Church Aid will support the mobilisation of groups and communities, both in cities and rural areas, in their demands for economic and sustainable development to ensure future perspectives and a secure livelihood.
We are also working to follow up business activities, especially those linked to Norwegian interests, in order to ensure that these do not have negative social and environmental consequences.
Brazil’s social inequalities are among the largest in the world. An important tool in fighting this injustice is the creation of greater transparency in public budgets. Norwegian Church Aid will support work to train local populations so that they can use this instrument in making authorities accountable.
Violence in poor, urban communities is a serious problem that increasingly limits people’s opportunities in living their lives and participating in their communities.
Norwegian Church Aid works with our partners to promote a culture of peace in these areas through mobilisation and by providing educational activities that give young people real hope for the future. In addition, we are working politically to promote stricter control of the availability of weapons and to ensure a stronger human rights perspective in security policy.
Norwegian Church Aid is in active cooperation with the ACT Alliance in Brazil.