Articulação no Semi-Árido Brasileiro (ASA)

The Brazilian Semiarid Joint Endeavor (ASA) is a forum that brings together more than 750 civil society organizations working the Northeast of Brazil – NGOs, church groups, indigenous groups, school groups, sindicatos (local labor unions), and local, state, and federal governmental institutions. ASA was founded in 1999 following a United Nations conference on civil society with discussion about survival in the semi-arid region of Brazil.

One of ASA’s better known projects is the Programa Um Milhão de Cisternas (the “One Million Cisterns Project” called P1MC for short), a campaign to build one million cisterns throughout northeast Brazil. With the construction of cisterns, the program intends, within five years, to transform life in the semi-arid region by making potable water available to at least 50% of the rural population.

In addition to P1MC, ASA also has groups working on issues including desertification, water resources, education, and agro-ecology.

For more information, see the agency’s website.

Cáritas Brasileira

Cáritas Brasileira is the Brazilian chapter of Cáritas Internationalis, a large international NGO linked to the Catholic Church in Rome that supports community and social development projects and relief efforts in many countries around the world. Within the AMIGOS project, we will be working with Cáritas Diocesana de Caruaru, the local affiliate of Cáritas Brasileira.

Since 2004, Cáritas Diocesana de Caruaru has been one of the 8 executing agencies of P1MC (a program to build one million cisterns) in the Pernambuco region. They have a team of five animadores, who mobilize, administer, and coordinate the program in their region. Besides P1MC, Cáritas has programs dealing with survival in the semi-arid region, infancy and adolescence, support for the elderly, women’s health, and rural popular education.

For more information, see the agency’s website.