In Brazil, Chevron funds programs that support health, education, small businesses and environmental protection in the communities where we work.
Chevron also focuses on creating economic opportunities for women in the states of Río de Janeiro and Espírito Santo. The institutions and social initiatives that help us in this work are:
- Federação de Instituições Beneficentes – The Mão na Massa Project offers construction job training to 100 low-income women from the city of Río de Janeiro. The program works through partnerships with private companies and government projects. The women who take part are also encouraged to set up a cooperative to help find more work.
- Fundo Social Elas – The Mulheres em Movimento Project promotes opportunities for young women in Dona Marta, Cidade de Deus and Batan. The program promotes cooperatives and workshops on entrepreneurship, business planning, communications and marketing.
- Aliança Institute – The Com.domínio Digital Project provides job training to 50 girls and women aged 14 through 29 in Río de Janeiro and helps them obtain work. Another program, the Inclusão Comunitária Project, works with 120 women in the city of Itapemirim, in Espírito Santo state, to develop a production cooperative. The project presents workshops and helps guide the cooperative.
- Empreender Institute – The Enter Jovem Plus Project uses workshops to train and place 500 young people in the labor market in Río de Janeiro. The program aims to ensure that girls make up 65 percent of those in the project. The program also works to increase youth employment throughout Brazil.
Chevron promotes several health and educational initiatives in Brazil.
In partnership with World Vision International, Chevron Brasil supports the Iniciativa Esperança Chevron (Hope Initiative). The project's goal is to prevent and detect HIV/AIDS. The program educates youth, teachers and community leaders about HIV/AIDS. In two years, 108 adolescents were trained as peer educators and 54 as health care and education professionals. During that time, 231 people participated in educational and motivational activities. Ten schools are taking part in the project. From 2011 onward, the project also will focus on creating economic opportunities for girls and women.
Chevron Brazil began working with the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership in July 2009. The partnership creates audiovisual learning centers that complement the educational curriculum of under-resourced schools. As a result of this initiative, 140 teachers from five schools in Río de Janeiro have already been trained, with about 1,000 students benefiting directly.
We support Projeto Conhecer (Knowledge Project), which teaches basic English to underprivileged children living in Fundação Casa Santa Ignez in Río de Janeiro. The project also promotes understanding of foreign cultures. More than 600 children have already received a basic certificate in English.
As part of our demonstrated concern for the environment, Chevron made a $3 million grant to the Antonina Reforestation pilot project in the state of Paraná. The grant allows the Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education, a Brazilian conservation organization, to own and manage approximately 2,500 acres (10 sq km) of rainforest. The company works with the society and the Nature Conservancy to restore and protect the land.
Updated: March 2011
Cautionary Statement