250,000 VIncentians in Brazil

Renato Lima, CM writes…

“Do you know that Brazil is the home of the greatest vincentian nation in the world? Recently, the International General Council indicated that, in the Brazilian soil, 39% of the planet?s vincentian volunteers and 41% of the conferences, can be found.He continues…

Based on this information, we could point out two things: first, the Brazilian people are extremely solidary with the excluded, and second, Brazil is a rich country, however it has shadows of poverty.

The Brazilian?s Society of San Vincent de Paul is constituted by almost 260 thousand members (60% are young people), divided in 20 thousand parochial conferences, branched off in the 27 states of the federation. In the last report published by the National Council of Brazil, 1.2 million poor people were said to have been benefited by the vincentian assistance, in 2002. Besides the assistance of these families, the Brazilian vincentian perform actions in many social initiatives such as asylums, day-care houses, hospitals and dispensaries. Additionally, several special social works, such as formation and labor schools, are promoted in dozens of counties. The national president is Carlos Henrique David and the Brazilian headquarters is in Rio de Janeiro, since 1872, when the SSVP arrived in Brazil.

Brazil has 175 million inhabitants, in a territorial area of 8.5 million kilometers square. The country is the biggest in South America and the fifth in the world. Its Gross National Product (GNP) awards it the place of the 10th strongest economy worldwide. Despite the fact of its gigantic economic development, it is estimated that 22 million Brazilians are living below the poverty line, in other words, with less than a dollar a day.

(*) Renato Lima has been confere since 1986. He lives in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, and is the president of The San Francisco of Assisi Conference. Contact: renatolima1970@uol.com.br.

He also has a web site in English http://www.rededecaridade.hpg.ig.com.br/index.htm