Introduction

To give you a better picture of the reality of Brazil, we borrow a part of an article written by John Fitzpatrick, published at www.gringoes.com

Brazil News: Helping the Helpless in Brazil

By John Fitzpatrick

If you visit Brazil as a tourist or on business you will get no real idea of how poor and underdeveloped the country is. You will see signs of poverty and misery, such as favela shanty towns, beggars, and children living in the streets, but these are only the tip of the iceberg. Poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and lack of access to decent housing, water and sewage treatment are prevalent in both urban and rural areas. Tackling these problems is beyond the ability of the federal, state and city governments, regardless of their political hue. The reason is simple - lack of money. The government taxes companies and individuals at extremely high rates but this does not bring in nearly enough resources to end social misery. One of the reasons is because most Brazilians are too poor to pay tax or they work in the unofficial sector, which accounts for at least 35% to 40% of the official economy. If the government were able to regularize this sector, it would have access to billions of dollars in extra revenues. Corruption is another chronic problem which means that public funds are often diverted into illicit bank accounts and often whisked abroad.

The authorities cooperate with international organizations like the World Bank and UNESCO, as well as church groups, NGOs and other voluntary bodies, but this is still not enough. The government also borrows from domestic and foreign investors but these loans have to be repaid with interest and the nation is highly indebted. In short, Brazil is bust and nowhere near eradicating its social problems and ending the wide gap between the poor and better off.

Private individuals and companies are aware of this problem on a daily basis. Middle class people pay taxes for public schools, hospitals, and security services but do not benefit because they are inefficient and unsatisfactory. The better off people end up sending their children to private schools, taking out private health insurance policies and hiring their own security. By doing so, they are freeing up resources for the government bodies, subsidizing the poor and preventing the current bad situation from becoming much worse.

Why

We at BahiaCapoeira believe that "you always can help anyone if you have the will."

We are not a big company, but we always tried to help the people we can. This is especially important in a third-world country like Brazil, in which its many problems are exacerbated by widespread corruption and the lack of access to education for the common people, thus depriving them of the sense of their own rights and duties as citizens.

For the past two years, we have supported, in the best way we could, the CAASAH (Casa de Apoio e Assistência aos Portadores do Vírus HIV) that gives support to children and adults with AIDS here in Salvador-Bahia.

The Idea

Some time ago we were talking about a better way to help CAASAH through our webshop. So we decided to make an exclusive product to support them, and give our customers the chance to help them too.

That's why we made this new product: the "Eu Amo Capoeira" shirt.

How

We will be the mediators between you and the instititution. We want to give you the opportunity to help people with AIDS.

So we will make the donations under your name as a 'person' (not a legal entity).

For each purchase of the "Eu Amo Capoeira" t-shirt, you will receive an invoice of the CAASAH issued to your name. It will include all the information, in case you want to check out your donation, get to know their work, or make a bigger donation.