Plan Brazil Annual Progress Report 2010

A YEAR IN

BRAZIL

SUMMARY REPORT

2010

The Ecological Graffiti Artists project is helping young people increase their self respect and community awareness

3

GOOD REASONS

OUR PRIORITIES

why Plan works in Brazil

in Brazil

• More than 15 million Brazilians live on less than US$1 a day • Every month 18,000 children are victims of domestic violence • Over a third of the rural population do not have access to clean, safe water

• Protecting the safety of children and young people, and helping them to understand and promote their rights • Promoting the health, nutrition and care of children under six • Ensuring children and young people are healthy, active and have the chance of a decent education

‘We express what we feel, with a language and way of expression which represent us’

• Making sure families have the means to give their children clean water, nutritious food and a healthy living environment • Increasing the number of people, including children, who play an active role in the progress of their communities

SURINAME

GUYANA

FRENCH GUIANA

VENEZUELA COLOMBIA

Belém

ECUADOR

Manaus

Community Schooling has taken off in Plan project areas in Brazil

Codó

Brazil Facts Capital: Brasilia Population: 198 million Languages: Portuguese (official

and most widely spoken).

Also Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages.

Climate: Brazil hosts five major climatic subtypes: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, and temperate; ranging from equatorial rainforests in the north and semi-arid deserts in

the northeast, to temperate coniferous forests in the south and tropical savannas in central Brazil.

Economy: Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America, the world’s tenth largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest in purchasing power parity (PPP), according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; with large and developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors, as well as a large labour pool.

São Luís Teresina Recife

Jaboatão dos Guararapes PERU BOLIVIA

Cabo de Santo Agostinho Salvador Cuiabá Brasília Belo Horizonte Rio de Janeiro

CHILE

BRAZIL Country Office Program Units

São Paulo PARAGUAY

Porto Alegre ARGENTINA

BRAZIL

Focus on:

healthy environments for better lives Plan works in the poorest areas of Brazil to ensure children grow up in clean, safe surroundings, promoting their chance of a healthy and productive life. Our work includes helping families to access clean water. We support training in good hygiene to protect children from diseases. We teach young people and their communities how to

protect their environment, and this increases their self-confidence. We have also provided emergency help for families affected by flooding, and will be working to reduce the impact on their communities.

A child’s weight is measured as part of a health assessment

Urban Regeneration a focus for young people

Graffiti: urban art, or blot on the landscape?

Whatever we think of it, it’s not often we associate it with saving the environment.

The residents of Itaqui-Bacanga, a district of the city of São Luís in north-east Brazil, have a different view of the colourful designs cropping up around their community.

Each has a message to convey about how they could make their local area a cleaner, safer place to live.

It’s part of a project called Ecological Graffiti Artists, which was begun by Plan and is carried out by the Itaqui-Bacanga Community Association, a non-governmental organisation that promotes environmental education.

The project brings together young people to develop their graffiti talents and use their art to teach their communities about caring for the environment.

In Itaqui-Bacanga, an initiative like this is badly needed. Many people living here came to São Luís from other areas of Brazil in search of a better life. But high levels of unemployment and few opportunities means that most families struggle to survive. The streets and rivers are dirty and the landscape run-down.

Living in such a degraded area has a profound effect on young people. The attraction of drugs or crime is hard to resist and violence is an almost daily part of life. Last year in São Luís, more than 250 teenagers were murdered.

Environmental messages Ecological Graffiti Artists aims to help young people reclaim their respect for themselves and others by showing them how to value their surroundings. So far, 200 adolescents have taken part in the project.

The scheme combines practical teaching on making graffiti art with training on environmental issues like preserving the local rivers. The students learn how to express themselves through graffiti, communicating their opinions to the wider community. Then, they are let loose on local hoardings, walls, community centres and schools. They also hold exhibitions.

Produced for Brazil by Plan International Australia.

For every community member who might think graffiti is a nuisance, dozens more have responded enthusiastically to the young people’s work. Through graffiti they have raised local awareness about rubbish in the streets, encouraging people to clear it up. Now, some households are also benefiting from a rubbish collection service.

They have also successfully educated their communities about the dangers of polluting the rivers, prompting action to clean them.

Building confidence Seeing their art persuade people to think differently about their surroundings has given young people confidence and a belief they have something worthwhile to say.

‘We express what we feel, with a language and way of expression which represent us,’ says Agacia, 20.

Fellow artist Matthew, 19, lives in Vila Embratel, one of the communities with the highest levels of violence in São Luís. Being involved in the project has given him a sense of belonging.

‘Today, I see I can express what is happening in the world and in the environment,’ he says.

‘I also learned to coexist in a group, and to interact and exchange experiences with other young people.’

For Rudi, 17, the project may just have saved him. ‘It led me away from the streets, made me value my studies more and made me conscious to avoid doing wrong things,’ he explains.

All the young people taking part in Ecological Graffiti Artists have discovered their talent is a force for change. Every time a new piece of graffiti appears in their neighbourhoods, one more young voice is being heard. Gradually, São Luís is becoming a cleaner, healthier place to live.

In time, as more young people realise violence cannot solve their communities’ problems, it may become safer too.

Some names have been changed for child protection and privacy reasons

The Bigger Picture Plan is working with children, families and communities to find sustainable solutions to the challenges in Brazil. We have only given you a small insight into Plan’s work in Brazil with this report but over the past year we also: • Opened child education centres in Codó and Timbaras, north-east Brazil, to promote the care, development and education of 400 children under six • Launched our Learn Without Fear campaign to reduce violence in schools and make them safer, more peaceful places to learn • Gave practical, emotional and educational support to 10,780 families displaced by floods in the areas where we work • Helped to keep children safe by training 1500 community members and volunteers on child protection Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these results. With the resources provided by sponsors, Plan expertise and the collaboration of communities and local partners we are making a big difference to the lives of people in Brazil.

Thank you for your involvement!

To learn more about Plan’s work in Brazil visit plan.org.au/ourwork/southernamerica/brazil

‘The project brings together young people to develop their graffiti talents and use their art to teach their communities about caring for the environment.’