![Jacir José de Souza (right) and Pierlângela Nascimento da Cunha from the Makuxi and Wapixana tribes. Jacir is also founder of CAFOD partner the Indigenous Council of Roraima [Joelle Hernandez/CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/brazil/images/jacir-and-pierlangela-from-the-makuxi-and-wapixana-tribes/6602-4-eng-GB/jacir-and-pierlangela-from-the-makuxi-and-wapixana-tribes_3column00_nospace_landscape.jpg)
Brazil is the fifth largest and ninth-wealthiest country in the world, yet 54 million Brazilians live below the poverty line.This extreme gap between rich and poor sees the wealthiest 10% enjoying more of the national income than the poorest 50%.
We have set up an Urban Livelihood Programme in São Paulo with local organisations MDF (The Movimento de Defesa dos Favelado), APOIO (The Associacão de Auxilio Mutuo da Região Leste) and CCJ (The Centro Capacitacão da Juventude).
It pushes the government to provide good quality housing for people living in the "favelas" and tenements - which then, in turn, provides better access to education, work and health facilities, and ensures people know their rights.
But the struggle for homes is not limited to the cities - throughout the Amazon region, indigenous groups are fighting for their rights to land.
Jacir José de Souza (pictured right) is a founding member of our partner CIR (the Indigenous Council of Roraima), and he says: "For us our land is our Mother. It gives us a home, soil, fruit, vegetables, fish.
"Without our land we would starve, we would be reduced to steal for survival, and this is why we defend our land.”
A film about the fight of the Macuxi people in the state of Roraima, Brazil, to safeguard the land rights they were legally granted, which powerful rice farmers are trying to have overturned
Simon Giarchi, diocesan manager for CAFOD Plymouth, visits indigenous villages in Brazil fighting for their right to land
(Video made by BBC TV Southwest)
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![Jacir José de Souza (right) and Pierlângela Nascimento da Cunha from the Makuxi and Wapixana tribes. Jacir is also founder of CAFOD partner the Indigenous Council of Roraima [Joelle Hernandez/CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/about-cafod/where-we-work/brazil/images/jacir-and-pierlangela-from-the-makuxi-and-wapixana-tribes/6602-4-eng-GB/jacir-and-pierlangela-from-the-makuxi-and-wapixana-tribes_0column75_06space_landscape.jpg) | Brazil: Victory for indigenous people Brazil's Supreme Court has made a final historic ruling that will ensure the indigenous people of Raposa Serra do Sol can keep control of their own land |
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Video Story: Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo is home to a momentous 11 million people - more than two million live in corrugated shacks, one million in run-down tenement buildings and, with jobs hard to find, 15,000 are living on the streets |
![CAFOD's Anne-Marie Hanlon (centre), Tony Sheen (right) and Simon Giarchi (left) showing their solidarity to the cause of Jacir (centre right) and Pierlângela and their people from Raposa Serra do Sol [Joelle Hernandez/CAFOD]](/var/storage/images/lobbying-parliament/773542-1-eng-GB/lobbying-parliament_0column75_06space_landscape.jpg) | Court backs fight for indigenous land rights Brazil’s Supreme Court rules to uphold rights of indigenous people to remain on their ancestral land - but CAFOD warns the fight is far from over |
 | Homes for the homeless: Success stories Our partner APOIO is pressuring the government to provide decent housing. Some of the poorest families are now being re-housed; 800 families are receiving financial support towards their rent. But more still needs to be done |
 | Homes for the homeless: The struggle for a home Finding work in Sao Paulo is not easy, especially without a fixed address. Even with a job, many families live on the streets as sky-high rents mean they can’t afford food for their children |
 | Being a good neighbour to the homeless Ivanete once lived under a bridge in Sao Paulo - one of the world's most dangerous cities. Today she can offer others alternatives to life on the street |
 | Human Rights Day: Fighting modern-day slavery To mark UN Human Rights Day (December 10), we showcase a CAFOD partner helping the poor in Brazil stand up for their rights against some of the powerful landowners |
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Slavery was abolished in Brazil 120 years ago and yet there are still 25,000 people living in slave-like conditions there today. Aleque was lucky enough to escape |
