COVID-19 brought an alarming picture to the country. Economists estimate that Brazil will end 2020 with an unemployment rate of 15% and the peak of the crisis will be in the middle of 2021, when emergency measures are withdrawn. In a recently launched survey, Fundação Getúlio Vargas showed that in August more than 270 thousand people from Rio de Janeiro entered the poverty line, which increased 1.55%, according to data from the Covid-19 National Household Sample Survey (PNAD), led by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics – IBGE. Faced with this emergency scenario, Instituto Dara (formerly known as Saúde Criança) saw the need to intensify its actions and will launch, on October 28th, the “Enough! Poverty is not normal” campaign.
The initiative aims to engage and raise funds through different actors in Brazilian society and abroad in order to collectively build a “normal” without poverty. Throughout 29 years of work, the NGO, according to Muhammad Yunus, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, “created a powerful methodology for the inclusion of the poorest”. The Plano de Ação Familiar (PAF – Family Action Plan), a social technology developed by the institute, is designed according to the needs of each family, establishing goals and actions in the areas of health care, education, citizenship, housing and income so that they become protagonists of their own development. With this intersectoral and integrated vision of combating poverty, on average, a family takes two years to overcome a situation of social vulnerability to fully exercise their citizenship.
Most of the more than 1,400 people/month assisted by Dara today live in communities spread across the state of Rio de Janeiro. More than 40% of families are in the Baixada Fluminense region and have an average per capita income of BRL 380 per month. Many lost their main source of income when social isolation began. “We need to break the cycle of poverty so that it does not perpetuate itself. Our proposal is to put an end to poverty”, says Vera Cordeiro, founder and president of the institution’s Board of Directors. “Because poverty is multidimensional, a lasting solution has to take into account an integral view of families”, she adds.
Since the beginning of the quarantine, the institute readapted the action plan, raised funds and provided remote assistance for people to survive the crisis, as was the case with Angel Silva. The 28-year-old, who lives in the neighborhood of Santa Cruz, west of Rio de Janeiro, had her first contact with the NGO in 2018, when her son received medical and nutritional monitoring due to a severe case of malnutrition. Months later, Angel’s home was devastated by a flood and, once again, she was assisted and had her house renovated.
“During the pandemic, Dara contributed a lot to my family. I participated in joint efforts, had my food stamp recharged and received several medical and nutritional consultations over the phone. Now, with this new campaign, they will be able to help other families living in conditions like the ones I lived in, so that they have a chance to overcome a situation of misery and never return. For that, it is necessary that people understand that poverty cannot be normalized”, reports Angel.
The launch of the campaign “Enough! Poverty is not normal” will be held on October 28th, at 7 pm, through an online panel/debate. To date, confirmed participants are Vera Cordeiro, founder and chairman of the board of Instituto Dara (Saúde Criança), Vandré Brilhante, CEO of CIEDS, Ana Paula Santos, a mother assisted by Instituto Dara and Mônica de Roure, CEO of the Brazil Foundation. The debate, which will be broadcast on the organization’s official YouTube page (https://youtube.com/c/institutodarasaudecrianca), will be mediated by Mirella Domenich, CEO of Instituto Dara (Saúde Criança).
Enough! Poverty is not normal
Poverty has a solution. Be part of that solution you as well. Donate now:
With BRL 40/month – you help ensure nutritional monitoring for a child.
With BRL 70/month – you guarantee internet access for a family.
With BRL 100/month – you guarantee a basic food basket for a family.
With BRL 150/month – you guarantee a month of professional training for a young woman from a low-income community.
With BRL 300/month – you guarantee basic food baskets for three families in social vulnerability.
With BRL 500/month – you offer special milk for two children with dysphagia and neuropsychomotor delay.
With BRL 700/month – you guarantee monthly inter-sector service for a family.
With BRL 1,000/month – you guarantee management training for 2 nano entrepreneurs from a low-income community.
To donate, visit:
www.dara.org.br/doe
To learn more about our actions, read our latest annual report: https://www.saudecrianca.org.br/wp-content/uploads/DARA_RA19_arte-final_250820_port-1.pdf
