Over the past year, the Odebrecht Foundation has garnered many achievements and signed several commitments that produced robust results in benefit of the communities it supports in the Southern Bahia Lowlands. To present to its partners and to society the highlights of its activities, the institution is publishing its Annual Report 2018 in a digital and trilingual version.
According to Fabio Wanderley, the foundation’s superintendent, the publication reinforces the institution’s ethical conduct, with integrity and transparency, and demonstrates its commitment to the beneficiaries of its activities. “We aspire to forge horizontal relationships, foster dialogue with various actors and create synergies between people and organizations to leverage increasingly sustainable practices,” he explained.
The report presents an overview of the Odebrecht Foundation and its efforts to transform the lives of youth and families through the Development and Integrated Growth Program with Sustainability (PDCIS). This commitment of the foundation draws on the collaboration of various partners and social investors, such as Braskem and Mitsubishi Corporation, which believe in education as a pathway to building a more sustainable future. In 2018, over R$ 16 million was invested in PDCIS.
Today, five institutions execute the program, which was created in 2003 and is coordinated by the foundation in the Southern Bahia Lowlands state: the Land Conservation Organization (OCT); the Presidente Tancredo Neves Rural Producers' Cooperative (Coopatan); and three agricultural technical high schools: Agroforest Family House (Cfaf), Igrapiúna Rural Family House (CFR-I) and Presidente Tancredo Neves Rural Family House (CFR-PTN).
Building the future
In 2018, the foundation’s social program benefitted 260 communities in 19 municipalities. A highlight was the number of 440 farmers in the region who received technical assistance and were incentivized to adopt environmentally responsible farming practices. Jailton Rodrigues, a famer who has been a member of Coopatan since 2015, explains how the cooperative has made a difference in his agricultural production. “When we became cooperative members, we saw how we could work differently. We adopted new practices and methods, which improved our yields and renewed our spirit as farmers,” he said.
To ensure bright opportunities in the region for a new generation of proactive youth, last year 318 students were studying at the Family Houses, receiving an education in sustainable development. Álvaro de Almeida, 17, was a student at Cfaf. More than just learning, he worked to share his newly acquired knowledge. “In addition to introducing new techniques in the community where I live, I have taught my entire family how to maintain a garden. Now everyone is eating food that they grow themselves,” he said.
Growing together
The beneficiaries of PDCIS produced more than five thousand tons of food and earned a monthly income of R$ 1,661.37. For the sake of comparison, according to last year’s census conducted by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE), average monthly income per capita was R$ 841 in the state of Bahia and R$ 1,373 nationally.
In 2018, important results also were achieved in environmental conservation. More than 27,000 trees were planted by OCT in the period. Since 2012, the organization already has planted some 240,000 saplings. In addition, 373 hectares of land were conserved and 30 headwaters were restored.
A major focus in the year was on sharing the knowledge acquired, with 10,635 people indirectly benefitted by the more than one thousand Replication Actions carried out. Students at the Family Houses and the farmers benefitted by OCT conducted field days, farming seminars and lectures to pass on their newly acquired knowledge to other farmers in the region.
Positive transformations
The Annual Report 2018 of the Odebrecht Foundation also presents the results of the PDCIS's Impacts Evaluation, which confirmed, with scientific rigor, that the foundation’s social program produces significant economic, social and environmental transformations for its beneficiaries, and presented a rendering of accounts of the last campaign of Tribute to the Future, an initiatives that foster the culture of donations. The report also presents the awards and recognition garnered by the foundation, such as the SDG Brazil Award given to Cfaf.
Click here to access the full version of the report. And to continue accompanying the foundation’s actions, see its official channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube (only in Portuguese).
