Practical help for vulnerable
families in the Amazon region

Brazil is the largest country in South America, and the region’s leading economic power, with vast natural resources. But at the same time, the country also has the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any country in the world. Most of the arable land is owned by only a handful of wealthy families and landlessness is rife. Brazil’s poorest people are hungry – not just for food, but for learning, for hope, and for the chance to help themselves.

The Anglican Church in Brazil is small, but it is committed to a real, transforming presence in the poorest communities, helping to address the problems faced by each one. USPG: Anglicans in World Mission is looking for support for the newly-established Diocese of the Amazon.

One of the mission areas of the Diocese is in the area of Pratinha – a former leper colony that is now right next to Belém airport. The area suffers from low levels of literacy and many young people drop out after the first grade. The church is working closely with local people to find out what their priorities are and to work together to improve their quality of life.

At the moment, their work includes three practical projects; a library project and an income generation project, and an initiative to engage young people.

Income generation project

This is a popular and expanding project, teaching women skills in cooking, craftwork and other activities. The women make items that they can go on and sell, bringing in a new source of income. Local people volunteer for the project both as pupils and as teachers. Funding is needed for the materials that they use for teaching new skills – once a group of women have learned the techniques in a new area, the project becomes self-sustaining as they are able to contribute out of the money that they raise.

Library project

This will make school material and other teaching material available in a community library so that people have a better chance to learn outside a school environment. By giving families access to written material, it will enable adults to learn to read and write, and it will help young people to get the resources that they need to keep up at school.

Youth work

A priority of the diocese is to reach out to young people who are at risk of involvement with gangs and drugs. When young people are engaged with churches, they are less likely to get involved with these activities, but adolescence is a time when young men and women may drift away from their congregations unless they are really engaged with their faith. The Diocese is organising a youth conference, which will mostly be attended by young people from poor communities, to give the young people a chance to be together, and to create a new reality of solidarity and compassion. Young people who have been on previous encounters have had their lives turned around.

The new Anglican Diocese of the Amazon is becoming a church both of and for the poor. These projects will improve the quality of life for some of the region’s poorest communities, thanks to Canterbury's Poverty and Hope Appeal.

For further information about the work of USPG:
Anglicans in World Mission please contact:
Valerie Bradfield
45A Cox Lane
West Ewell
Epsom
Surrey KT19 9NA

020 8974 1787 valerieb@uspg.org.uk www.uspg.org.uk