Child Aid Project participants relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Child Aid
With the support of Planet Aid, Humana Povo a Povo em Brasil (HPP-Brazil) launched its first Child Aid project in Cansanção, in the State of Bahia, in 2007. The Child Aid project in Cansanção now serves 3,000 participating families, helping them to take action in order to create a better future for their children. The program in Cansanção was so successful that only six months later, a second Child Aid project began in nearby Quijingue, enrolling another 3,000 families. The two projects cooperate with each other and have earned the respect and support of the local business community and the Bahia Ministry of Agriculture.
Child Aid is an adaptable model that builds capacity based on the needs of each community. The program has different focus areas that it pursues to help people create sustainable development. In Brazil, these lines of development include improving the family economy, health & hygiene, education, preschool education, aid for orphans and vulnerable children, community development, the environment and agriculture and encouraging children to be active participants in society.
Brazil: Fast Facts
Population: 198, 739, 269
Life Expectancy: 71..9 years
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate: .6%
Est. number of People Living with HIV/AIDS: 730,000
Percent of population living below poverty line: 26%
HPP-Brazil has organized and empowered participating families to carry out more than 200 community cleaning actions in order to improve health and hygiene. Since the onset of the program, more than 600 families have gained access to potable drinking water, and more than 25 latrines have been constructed.
A major focus of each project has been increasing the income of participating families, and to that end, 20 capacity-building courses have been held in subjects ranging from beekeeping to food preparation. Participants have established 50 seed banks and distributed 11 tons of seeds.
Staff and volunteers from both projects have been working to ensure that all children are enrolled in pre-school and primary school. The programs have established 12 after-school tutoring programs for students with learning difficulties with 300 children enrolled. They have renovated 30 schools, established 15 communal/school vegetable gardens and restored or created 20 sports fields and playgrounds.
The generosity of Planet Aid’s donors makes it possible for HPP-Brazil to empower families to improve their communities and create opportunities for their children.
