Amigos do Bem provides education and healthcare in Brazil’s poorest areas
The organization’s ‘Transformation Centers’ offer education as well as social and healthcare support
Current Project
The work of Amigos do Bem stems from the concern of a group of friends led by businesswoman Alcione Albanesi, and today it is one of the largest social service institutions in Brazil: it provides assistance to 75,000 people from 15,000 families residing in 140 villages in the states of Alagoas, Ceará and Pernambuco. With nearly thirty years of experience in implementing social development programs in this region of northeastern Brazil, Amigos do Bem’s activities are aimed at eradicating poverty and hunger.
Three-quarters of this Brazilian region is occupied by the so-called Polígono das Secas, an area comprising 1,300 towns, characterized by severe drought, low rainfall and arid soil. Thousands of families live there, often in isolated villages, without basic resources and subsisting in mud houses, with no water or food.
This organization develops free programs aimed at eradicating poverty, strengthening emotional ties, developing the autonomy of children, adolescents and adults, promoting and providing access to education and integration into the job market. This fight against poverty is based on a systemic transformation model structured into five areas: education, work and income, health, housing, and access to water.
The main objectives of the project conducted together with Fundación MAPFRE are to guarantee a quality education for all the students enrolled in the Transformation Centers managed by this entity and to increase food security, both for the students and their families, as a tool to fight poverty. On the other hand, the project also makes it possible to supply the organization’s regional health centers with medicines, dental material and all kinds of equipment to provide clinical care for the students and their families.