In 2016 Life for Lives created the Sertão Vivo project. Our will was and always will be to bring life and hope to those people so suffering that they live in a situation of extreme social vulnerability. Despite the little resources we had at that time, we managed to raise 60 kits of school supplies for the children of that region. Since then, every year we have increased our challenge to try to meet the needs for school supplies. Because we believe that Education transforms people and people transform the world.

Over these five years, we can follow some significant changes in the lives of those families and children who are served by the Sertão Vivo project and our mission is to make each individual potentially productive, autonomous, and socially integrated.

This project is the collection of school supplies in Canada, and the delivery of these school materials to poor eligible children in the far Northeast Brazil (Sertão) , a very poor region with extreme poverty rates. While the schools are technically publicly funded, school supplies are not provided. Families are too poor to purchase supplies, and children tend not to attend school without materials.

Life for Lives collects donations of school materials in Canada. We deliver the school materials annually, in person, using its own volunteers from Canada. The areas where we have been working is located in the State of Pernambuco, Municipality of Araripina. We have helped so far 428 children between the ages of 4 years old – 18 years old. 

Eligibility is based on poverty, need and enrollment in a local school. We have developed a relationship with a respected local mission in the region, which has a knowledge of the individuals living in the community and is able to confirm enrollment of children. Based on the criteria, the local mission make recommendations our team regarding the children who would be eligible to be beneficiaries.

Our goal for the year of 2022 is to bring over 500 school bags to help in the development of these children.