Instituto Fazer Acontecer

Despite the country’s rapid economic growth, low-income neighborhoods of Brazil’s major cities continue to be beset by violence, drug trafficking, and limited access to educational and employment opportunities for the next generation of Brazilian youth. Instituto Fazer Acontecer (IFA) was established in Salvador in 2003 to provide young people from some of the city’s most marginalized neighborhoods with access to values-based sports instruction programs, supplemented by participatory citizenship classes taught by local adults. IFA‘s programs use sports as an entry point to reinforce values such as teamwork, discipline, solidarity, and community service, as well as provide vital information on health, hygiene, and human rights, among other topics.

EMpower’s fifth grant to IFA continues support for the organization’s basketball and citizenship program in the Calabar neighborhood of Salvador, as well as supporting ongoing organizational development.