Brazil

Brazil is preparing to host the 2014 Football World Cup, and it's increasingly a place the world wants to trade with. But it’s also a country of enormous inequality, where millions continue to be denied their basic rights.

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Brazil's national economy is the most powerful in Latin America, but the richest 10% of the population enjoy 85 times the income of the poorest 10%. Despite significant levels of agricultural, mineral and industrial production, 60% of Brazilians live in poverty. An estimated
32 million people go hungry every day.

In Brazil, we have projects providing support around sexual and reproductive health, and sustainable livelihoods. All of our work aims to support local people to take part in the decision-making that affects their communities.

International Service has been active in Brazil for 30 years, working in the impoverished North East and in the Amazon Basin. The two regions share problems in providing access to health care, sanitation, clean water and education. The North suffers from lack of accessibility and the North East suffers from drought. 

Much of our work in the North East happens in Pernambuco State - one of the poorest states where 64% of people live on less than $1 a day. The best quality land in the state is occupied by large sugar cane estates producing bio-fuel. Working 12-hour shifts in scorching heat and appalling conditions, workers earn the equivalent of 50p for every tonne of sugar cane they cut.

The alternatives are equally difficult. Poor quality land and a lack of available space means that small farmers are generally restricted to growing maize and beans. This leaves farmers vulnerable to crop failures and price fluctuations.