About Us
Organization Overview
Community in Action is a non-profit non-governmental organization (NGO) located in one of Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela (slum) communities; it was established in March, 2005. The organization was founded on two over-arching principles: (1) community change truly begins from the ground-up: individuals helping individuals, neighbors helping neighbors, the community helping the community; (2) a well-organized administrative structure that includes short- and long-term strategies is the key to sustainable community development.
Local Human Resources: The majority of NGOs in Rio offer outreach programs on a service model: slum inhabitants simply use the services others (who live outside the community) deem they need. Community in Action implemented a new approach, a new vision – one that fosters the possibility of long-term community change by putting problem solving directly in the hands of local residents. Currently, slum inhabitants staff the majority of human resource and administrative positions at the NGO. These present and future community leaders are the volunteers, the teachers, and the administrative teams.
Administration: Community in Action’s leaders understood the importance of building a solid administrative structure during the design stages of the organization. One year before opening (in April 2004), strategic business plans were developed for all areas of the NGO: educational classes, marketing, finance, human resources, and other administrative processes. Over the past four years, Community in Action’s Executive and Program Directors have continued to follow this mindset, continuously building upon and enhancing the organization’s administrative framework. Combining local human resources with a well-organized administrative structure has allowed Community in Action to serve thousands of underserved impoverished residents since its inception.
Population Served
Community in Action is located in the Complexo do Alemão in the Zona Norte (North Zone) of Rio de Janeiro:
- Youth population in the favelas: According to the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook, 35% of Brazil’s 190 million population consists of youth and adolescents versus 20% in the U.S. 60% of those who go to school are illiterate after studying four years and many have to drop out to help support their families;
- Low educational attainment: About 75% of residents in the Complexo do Alemão, versus a national average of 62%, have not completed 4th grade. Barely 1% finish high school. Elementary age children only spend 4.5 hours daily attending school;
- High unemployment: Almost 20% of favela residents are actively looking for work. An equally high percentage of residents have given up hope of finding employment and stopped looking. The vast majority of people who are employed earn less than US$100 each month, half the Brazilian minimum wage of 460 reais (US$200) per month;
- Densely populated: In 2005 the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicilio (National Housing and Population Statistics Research Center) estimated 97,000 people lived amid 12 favelas in the 1.1 square mile area of the Complexo;
- Violence: People living in Rio de Janeiro refer to the Complexo do Alemão favela as the “Faixa de Gaza” (Gaza Strip) because of the ubiquitous conflicts between drug traffickers, rival gangs, and police. This favela community is widely considered as one of the most violent in the city (and country). Over 40% of the crimes that occur in Rio are localized in the Complexo do Alemão. Due to the number of violent crimes, Rio’s favelas have been compared to civil wars in other parts of the world.