How emergency aid became sustainable economic initiatives
When southern Brazil was hit by devastating floods in May 2024, two women's groups provided rapid assistance. Terre des Hommes and the Volkswagen Employee Foundation supported them. Today, these emergency relief efforts have evolved into successful economic initiatives that secure jobs and income for women and their families.
It began with a catastrophe: In May 2024, southern Brazil was hit by repeated heavy rains and floods. More than 140 people died, and over half a million were forced to leave their homes. Roads, bridges, and communication networks were destroyed; hundreds of thousands of households were without electricity and clean water. Schools became emergency shelters, production chains were disrupted, and there were supply shortages.
Help in times of need
Two women's groups from Morró da Cruz and Viamão, poor suburbs of Porto Alegre, didn't hesitate to organize aid. Terre des Hommes and the Volkswagen Employee Foundation pledged their support: nearly 500 families were provided with fresh food for a year. That was twice the number planned in the project.
But the future was also considered. Before the floods, many women worked in the wealthy neighborhoods of Porto Alegre—for example, as domestic workers or cleaners. They had no social security, and when their employment ended, they were left with nothing. The women desperately needed economic prospects.
This led to the creation of a bakery in Morró da Cruz, which sells its goods at fair prices. The solidarity kitchen, which was already run by the women's group before the flood, was expanded and now supplies flood victims who have fled to the district and community members in need. For this purpose, the vegetable garden was expanded and equipped with rainwater storage tanks. A sewing workshop was set up in Viamão, which transforms the surplus clothing donations resulting from the flood into blankets and other textiles.
From maid to own boss
Today, a year and a half later, the emergency aid effort has given rise to sustainable economic initiatives: The solidarity kitchen supplies the district at affordable prices and now generates good revenue from catering at events. Both the baked goods and pastries, as well as the sewing products, are sold successfully – not only in Porto Alegre and Viamão, but also as far away as Recife in northeastern Brazil, some 3,000 km away.
At the end of the one-year project, over 100 women have at least as much income as before the floods – in most cases, significantly higher. And the work is more enjoyable. Before, they often had to toil in exploitative conditions, for example, as maids. Now, the women are their own bosses and founders of successful businesses.