Compassiva exists to create opportunities for transforming the lives of people in vulnerable situations.
Headquartered in Glicério, a challenging region of São Paulo, the biggest city in Brazil and one of the biggest in the world, Compassiva’s mission is also to seek the transformation of our metropolis.
World Cities Day is a commemorative day created by the United Nations, whose objective is to “highlight the important role of urbanisation as a source of global development and social inclusion”.1
Brazil is one of the most unequal countries in the world. Since 2015, income inequality has grown steadily, reaching “the highest level ever registered in the first trimester of 2019”.2
The contrast caused by inequality is often more visible in urban centres.
Our work is based on the construction of healthy relationships; for this to happen, understanding the reality of the people served is essential.
Part of our programmes exist to serve people in the area surrounding our headquarters. The neighbourhood of Glicério is known for various social challenges, in particular drugs trafficking. At Compassiva, we seek to offer a safe space for some of the people living in this urban context.
Frequently, women carry the burden which comes with living in this scenario; violence, a lack of basic sanitation, raising children as a single mother and all the associated challenges.
We therefore have a project with local women, using craft as a tool to create a space of trust where they can relax, share and chat. Recently, through talks, we have breached a number of issues which they have to face in their daily lives, from female health to sexual abuse.
For these women, as well as the children and young people served through our jiu-jitsu project, this hard reality is often all they know.
On the other hand, a major part of our work is designed for residents of this city who came from a significantly different context and had to leave almost everything behind: refugees.
Adapting to such a vibrant, dynamic and often overwhelming city can be tough. Through our LAR programme, which includes the degree revalidation project in partnership with UNHCR and the Portuguese course for refugees, we seek to facilitate this process of adaptation and insertion.
Through the LAR programme, we specifically seek to help overcome the barrier of unemployment, a reality often present in urban centres. And the refugee families that most need it, such as those who find themselves living in occupations (organised squats) – another difficult reality of our city -, are served with dedication by our social worker.
We hope that our work, both with residents of Glicério and with refugees spread around the city, can contribute to the development of a São Paulo that’s fairer, more sustainable and better adapted to meet the needs of all its inhabitants.
- https://news.un.org/pt/tags/dia-mundial-das-cidades
- https://g1.globo.com/economia/noticia/2019/05/21/desigualdade-de-renda-no-brasil-atinge-o-maior-patamar-ja-registrado-diz-fgvibre.ghtml
