It is the aim of Punho Forte to provide basic educational and health improvements for the children of Itacaré while working with local government to improve the infrastructure of the city. It is also a priority of the organization to provide a safe and supportive environment for recreational activities for children in order to enable their emotional development. We encourage the participation of all children and teenagers in the running and organization of the project in order to foster a sense of personal development and responsibility.

Punho Forte was the name chosen for this organization by one of its founders, Marcio Carvalho. Marcio is a chef and amateur boxer, and Punho Forte translates loosely as “Fight Back”. Our association aims to equip the most marginalized children in the community with the skills and environment they need to develop into productive members of society. They have been disenfranchised due to circumstance and Punho Forte wants to help them “Fight Back” and overcome their circumstance so they can reach their full potential.

Punho Forte was established as a voluntary association in the city of Itacaré, state of Bahia, Northern Brazil in June of 2007. Prior to this, two members of the community, Marcio Carvalho and Wanderson Panniset, had been opening the doors of their home to children from the nearby favela neighbourhood every Saturday evening for soup. From this gesture, developed a group of interested citizens, both foreign and local, who came together to form a civil association. Thanks to donations from local association members we were able to offer art, games and English classes, as well as the soup every Saturday for the first year and a half. A growing number of children were attending the project.

Unfortunately, however, in December 2008 the association was evicted from its premises for development and due to financial constraints had to close for a number of months. In the meantime substantial fundraising was done by Bridget Freyne, an Irish Paediatric Doctor from Ireland through a sister charity that she established in Ireland called Punho Forte Ireland. Punho Forte Ireland was established in August 2008 in order to provide technical and fundraising support to the project in Brazil. With its help, and that of a number of volunteers, both local and from abroad, the project is back up and running in a newer, larger and more functional premises.

Spending time with the children in this environment has helped us to better understand their needs and the needs of their community. Educational advancement is very poor, especially for girls. Basic health care for children is completely lacking and where serious illness or disability affects a child this can be devastating. A variety of psychological problems became apparent, often due to unstable home environments and violence or substance abuse in the home. Teenage pregnancy is common and sexual education almost non-existent. Punho Forte is now trying to move into the next phase of its development in an attempt to meet these needs.

As with any community organisation in a resource limited setting the operations of Punho Forte are only limited by financial constraints and the available time of its volunteers. In terms of need within the community, the work could be limitless. The disorganised and rapid growth of favela neighbourhoods means there is an ever growing population of young families, without the infrastructure to support them. In the surrounding rural communities the situation is even more precarious. Punho Forte is currently raising funds to purchase a larger property which could house the work of the project permanently and would allow the provision of structured educational, recreational and health programs for children. As well as such structured programs, Punho Forte believes in providing a safe, secure and supportive environment where children can interact on a more informal basis, an essential part of every child’s development. Punho Forte also believes in working with associations and official structures already in existence in the community to maximise cohesion and prevent duplication of efforts. In order to develop and sustain the project WE NEED YOUR HELP!! We are looking for interested people from all backgrounds and all nationalities to become involved in the activities of the project both in Brazil and through supporting Punho Forte Ireland, the technical and fundraising body of the organization.

Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world with an estimated population of 190 million people. It is the economic leader in South America with the 9th largest economy in the world.

Brazilian society has developed due to waves of migration from Africa and Europe. According to the 2000 census the number of people who considered themselves as black had increased from 5% to 6.2% although this was felt to be due to a change in attitude rather then a demographic change as the number of mixed race people fell from 42.6% to 39.1%. The majority of the population 53.7% consider themselves white. The remainder are 0.4% Indian and 0.5% Asian. These demographics vary significantly between geographical locations with the North-eastern region of the country having the highest population of African origin. Racial inequalities are visible in health, education and employment statistics from across the country.

Brazil gained independence in 1882 but remained as a monarchy until 1889. Slavery was abolished in 1888. The regime established in 1891 was overthrown in 1930 by Vargas. Vargas was deposed in 1945 and democracy was restored. Brazilian politics since then has been characterized by periods of democracy usually terminated by a military coup or dictatorship. In 1985, unable to deal with a mounting economic crisis, military leaders handed over to Jose Sarnay; an interim government was formed while a new constitution was drawn up and democratic elections have been held in 1989, 1994, 2000, and 2006.

There have been significant improvements in Brazilian health statistics over the past fifty years. The rate of infant mortality fell 38% between 1991 – 2000 from 49.2 – 29.6 per thousand live births. These figures however are based on national estimates and mask important regional differences. Bad housing, poor sanitation and poor health infrastructure contribute to high infant mortality in many areas. Children born to uneducated mothers in shanty towns have twice the mortality from diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections as those born to mothers with primary education, and six times the mortality of those whose mothers have university education.

Primary school is in theory free and compulsory for children aged from 7 – 14 years. However education standards also reflect regional as well as local inequalities. Up to five times as many children do not have access to any schooling in the Northeast compared to in the south. In 1989 40% of Brazilian children had failed to complete 4 years of primary schooling and 68% of these were in the Northeast. 4 years of schooling is considered the minimum required for basic literacy.

The economic growth in the country has led to improvements in its national statistics with current GDP at $4050 and an average expenditure on health of $2055 per person. These figures place Brazil as the most developed country in Latin America. In reality however the distribution of wealth in the country is the most unequal of any country in the world. Development of social services has been stunted by the international debt repayments. More then half of Brazilian children live in families surviving below the poverty line ( less then half the minimum wage), and again regional differences are important here, with the North and Northeast consistently the most impoverished.

Another interesting feature of economic development has been the phenomenon of rapid urbanization and the growth of a large migrant workforce. People have migrated to urban areas in the hope of finding employment and escaping rural poverty and infrastructural deficits. This has led to the rapid and haphazard development of “Favelas”, or shantytowns on the outskirts of all major cities and towns. It is estimated that 21% of the population of Rio de Janeiro now live in favelas. There are no such statistics available for Itacaré, however it is estimated that the population has trebled in the last ten years. Development of schools, health facilities and social services has not occurred.

Community organizations and local associations play an important part in bridging the gap for the most marginalized sectors of society. Unfortunately despite the dedication and enthusiasm of their volunteers these projects are often limited in their effectiveness due to a lack of funding, human resources, monitoring and evaluation and volunteer training. There is also a lack of communication and collaboration with local government offices and other community groups leading to a duplication of efforts.

Itacaré was just a small town of a few hundred inhabitants 15 years ago, where the only significant industry was fishing. Since then it has become a fashionable tourist resort, both with the rich and wealthy, and also the international surfing and backpacking scene. It has the beaches and natural attractions that most other Brazilian towns and could only dream of, but there is a dark side to the success story.

With this rapid growth of a highly lucrative tourism industry some of the native families, who had placed little emphasis on education, got quickly left behind. In addition, news spread throughout the region that the streets of Itacaré were “paved with gold”, and misinformed families with little or no chance of employment, moved en mass to the formerly sleepy town, hoping to earn their fortune.

Today, a lot of the native families still live in abject poverty alongside the riches of the town’s new residents; whereas desperate migrants with little money and nowhere else to go invaded private properties to build shelter, resulting in the town’s first shanty-town, or favela. Those outside the loop struggle to make ends meet, while drugs such as crack are new problems with few resources or knowledge of how to tackle them in addition to leading to further crime. As always, in this breakdown in the traditional social system, children are among those most greatly affected. From basic neglect to abuse within families, there are few places they can turn for help.

In addition to the social problems, the local environment is seriously at threat. At what can be considered to be the most beautiful beaches of the world, you can see some locals throw their rubbish nonchalantly, unaware, not only of such a beauty they are devastating a natural beauty, but also that they are destroying what their tourism industry relies on. Some seem oblivious that their natural environment it is the lifeblood and livelihood of the whole community.

Currently the future of Itacaré is uncertain. This context saw the humble beginning of Punho Forte in 2007, the basic desire of its volunteers for this special place to grow and grow in a positive direction for all of the community.