Brazil
Stories from change-makers in Brazil
Evellen grew up in the state of Piauí, in the northeast region of Brazil.
Marked by poverty, the region has no internet or telephone access and public transport is limited.
Before joining Plan’s International’s Leaders of Change project in 2018, Evellen was shy and quiet. But, after taking part in various training workshops, Evellen found her voice. Today, she is an enthusiastic youth activist. And together with other girls in the project, she organizes workshops on menstrual hygiene and gender-based violence prevention for adolescents and young women.
“I try to help women who are experiencing violence, and I’ve learned about new laws that protect women,” Evellen says.
Evellen is also sharing what she’s learned with people in her community: standing up for girls’ rights.
“When I see prejudice, I have the courage to speak up,” she says. “I call out boys, because we girls have the same rights as they do.”
Read about how COVID-19 is affecting girls in Latin America like Evellen
Before joining Plan’s International’s Leaders of Change project in 2018, Evellen was shy and quiet. But, after taking part in various training workshops, Evellen found her voice. Today, she is an enthusiastic youth activist. And together with other girls in the project, she organizes workshops on menstrual hygiene and gender-based violence prevention for adolescents and young women.
“I try to help women who are experiencing violence, and I’ve learned about new laws that protect women,” Evellen says.
Evellen is also sharing what she’s learned with people in her community: standing up for girls’ rights.
“When I see prejudice, I have the courage to speak up,” she says. “I call out boys, because we girls have the same rights as they do.”
Cássia lives in a rural village in Brazil’s Maranhão state.
Growing up, she and her sisters were responsible for all household chores, while her brothers played and enjoyed their childhood. It never seemed strange to her — until she started learning about gender equality through Plan.
After reading Brazil’s Child and Adolescent Statute, which enshrines children’s rights in law, Cássia decided that there would be a change in the way chores were divided in her home.
“I studied the Statute, which says that young people and adolescents are all the same and our rights must be respected,” Cássia explains. “Girls have rights too. I learned a lot and brought it into my house.”
Later on, Cássia also became a sponsored child through Plan — something that changed her life. Without the help of her sponsor, she believes she might not have graduated from secondary school.
“It is through resources raised from child sponsorship that Plan is able to carry out educational projects and activities for children,” Cássia says. “The help of our sponsors is very important for the development of children and adolescents.”
Now, she has big plans for her future.
“I want to change history,” Cássia says. “I believe that when we have responsible leaders, and young people and children see these leaders as an example, we will also have a better community and a better Brazil.”
Learn more about child sponsorship
After reading Brazil’s Child and Adolescent Statute, which enshrines children’s rights in law, Cássia decided that there would be a change in the way chores were divided in her home.
“I studied the Statute, which says that young people and adolescents are all the same and our rights must be respected,” Cássia explains. “Girls have rights too. I learned a lot and brought it into my house.”
Later on, Cássia also became a sponsored child through Plan — something that changed her life. Without the help of her sponsor, she believes she might not have graduated from secondary school.
“It is through resources raised from child sponsorship that Plan is able to carry out educational projects and activities for children,” Cássia says. “The help of our sponsors is very important for the development of children and adolescents.”
Now, she has big plans for her future.
“I want to change history,” Cássia says. “I believe that when we have responsible leaders, and young people and children see these leaders as an example, we will also have a better community and a better Brazil.”
“For as long as I can remember, I was told that soccer was only meant for boys,” Gilcielen says.
Thanks to this gender stereotype, she thought that there must be other things she could not do because she was a girl.
“My community is small, but preconceptions are huge,” Gilcielen adds. “I thought that boys didn’t feel any pain and that we, women, were fragile.”
Then she joined La League, a Plan project that uses soccer to teach girls and their communities about gender equality. The project brings together girls and boys aged 12 to 18 years old from nine communities in the rural area of Brazil where Gilcielen lives.
Joining La League was a turning point for Gilcielen. In addition to generating discussion about social and political issues, the project helps girls develop their self-confidence, leadership and teamwork skills, while also promoting economic empowerment and employability skills. In addition, participating boys learn about their rights and how gender stereotypes can harm them, too.
Now, Gilcielen knows that being a girl shouldn’t limit her opportunities. In fact, girls can do anything they set out to do.
Learn about our other Champions of Change projects
“My community is small, but preconceptions are huge,” Gilcielen adds. “I thought that boys didn’t feel any pain and that we, women, were fragile.”
Then she joined La League, a Plan project that uses soccer to teach girls and their communities about gender equality. The project brings together girls and boys aged 12 to 18 years old from nine communities in the rural area of Brazil where Gilcielen lives.
Joining La League was a turning point for Gilcielen. In addition to generating discussion about social and political issues, the project helps girls develop their self-confidence, leadership and teamwork skills, while also promoting economic empowerment and employability skills. In addition, participating boys learn about their rights and how gender stereotypes can harm them, too.
Now, Gilcielen knows that being a girl shouldn’t limit her opportunities. In fact, girls can do anything they set out to do.
Plan International has been working to improve children’s lives in Brazil since 1997.
Our work in Brazil
Office & operations
Plan Brazil’s country office is located in Sao Luis, with programs in Codo, Recife, Salvador, Sao Luis, Sao Paulo and Teresina.
Technical areas
Education, health and protection.
Number of sponsored children
As of June 30, 2022, people like you sponsor 13,549 children in Brazil through Plan International.
Gender equality is a fight we must all take on together. Through sponsorship, you can change lives and create long-term impact in communities.
The full circle of Fate
When you sponsor a child through Plan, you form an incredible friendship.
But that’s just the beginning. With Plan, you also have the unique opportunity to:
Send them birthday gifts and cards.
Give them special holiday presents called Little Treasures.
Subscribe them to Plan’s educational kids’ magazine, Sunny Days.
Arrange a visit (pending any travel restrictions), with individual travel assistance from us.
Each gift offering is safely hand-delivered by us, and given to your child with personalized cards from you. It’s likely that the child you sponsor will have never seen anything like these gifts, and with the exception of Little Treasures they’re available year-round to make the bond between you and your sponsored child even stronger.
Meet a child to sponsor