The impact of the donations made by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world has been a ripple effect, reaching far beyond the millions of individuals directly afflicted with extreme hardships.
The Church’s Welfare and Self-Reliance Services in the Brazil Area announced in May 2023 four projects in the states of Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. Read a summary of each one of them.
1. Eye care equipment in Ribeirão Pires
The Center for Medical Specialties in Ribeirão Pires [the linked website is in Portuguese], São Paulo, received a donation from the Church of Jesus Christ that will provide eye care and diagnosis to more than 800 people per month.
The municipal health network received a corneal topographer, ophthalmic ultrasound, autorefractor, and specular microscopy. This equipment will allow the municipal network to offer corneal mapping and complete analysis of the anatomy of patients’ eyes. These tests are fundamental for diagnosing several eye diseases, including retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and tumors.
2. Materials and renovation of Community Centers in Salvador
Seeking to strengthen and increase the support provided by the Community Centers in the neighborhoods of Paz and São Cristóvão in Salvador, in the state of Bahia, the Church announced a donation to the Associação Clara Amizade [in Portuguese].
The donation will supply materials and renovations in the spaces available at the Community Centers, which offer global education through workshops and courses designed for children, adolescents and young people in situations of social risk.
The training courses offered cover the areas of Afro-beauty, information technology and programming. The donation includes notebooks, printers, projectors, network infrastructure, air conditioning and fans.
3. Donations to people in extreme vulnerability
The Church of Jesus Christ announced a donation to the Associação Esculpir [in Portuguese], an NGO that offers art, culture and music classes for children ages 5 to 16 in extreme vulnerability. The institution is located in the central region of Santos, on the coast of the state of São Paulo.
The donation includes wheelchairs, shower chairs, hospital beds and walkers, strengthening the institution’s support for people in extreme vulnerability. Such resources will improve the comfort, mobility and quality of life of those the project serves.
4. Solidarity kitchens in Rio de Janeiro
The Associação de Comunidades Vida Mariana (ACVM) [in Portuguese], linked to the Catholic Church in the state of Rio de Janeiro, was also one of the recipients of a donation announced by the Church .
According to the Self-Sufficiency Brazil page [in Portuguese] on Facebook, the association aims to “help homeless and young people recovering from chemical dependencies, offering shelter and training spaces, assistance and food prepared by solidarity kitchens.”
The donation from the Church of Jesus Christ seeks to enhance the quality of meals, offering refrigerators and freezers for the solidarity kitchens and helping to improve their structure by properly storing meat, cold cuts and perishables. The benefited units are located in São Cristóvão, Xerém and Cachoeiras de Macacu, in Rio de Janeiro.
