São Paulo – The NGO Refugee Reintegration Institute (Adus) will hold its first charity bazaar on April 11th and 12th in São Paulo. The organization offers assistance to 300 foreigners, among them Syrians, with Portuguese classes, cultural activities, career and technical courses and labor market placement.
The goal of the event is to raise funds to help cover the organization’s regular costs, such as water, power, phone and internet, among others. “We spend around R$ 2,500 (US$ 808.3) monthly for a R$ 1,500 (US$ 485.03) budget”, says Marcelo Haydu, Adus’s executive director. “At the end of the month, we often take our own money to pay for these costs”, he explains, referring to the 170 volunteers that work with the organization.
Besides the regular costs, there are also expenses with study material and the food given to refugees. Together, these expanses reach around R$ 600 to R$ 700 (US$ 194.01 to US$ 226.35) per month and also end up being paid by the NGO volunteers.
The bazaar will display around 2,000 pieces for sales, among pants, dresses, ties, shirts, shows, purses, books and jewelry. One of the main attractions of the event, however, will be a small place for Syrian food, with dishes such as roasted, fried or raw Kibbeh, chicken, cheese and meat sfihas, besides hummus and moutabal (eggplant purée).
Haydu says that the food will be prepared by the family of a Syrian refugee called Talal. According to Haydu, Talal’s family is living in Brazil for 15 months already and that the couple’s youngest daughter, a two-year-old, was born in the country. An engineer, Talal speaks Portuguese well and was able to get a job in his field of work.
The amount raised with the food will go to this Syrian family. For the Adus’s executive director, the Arab food will help to promote the bazaar. “A lot of people said that will come more for the food that for the clothing (that will be for sale). I’m sure that their presence will help promote the bazaar”, he says. The expectation is for the event to raise R$ 5,000 (US$ 1,616.76).
According to Haydu, Syrians are the biggest group currently being assisted by Adus, followed by the Congolese. The NGO also attends to a smaller number of people from Palestine, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, among other countries.
One curiosity about the work of the NGO is that the demand for Portuguese classes by Syrian women refugees made Adus create a group only for them. “Because they only speak Arabic, we created a group only for Syrians and were able to get a teacher that speaks Arabic”, he says. The classes of the Arab women take place on Mondays and Wednesdays and, while they study, their children stay on a toy library.
Service:
NGO Adus Charity bazaar
Date: April 11th and 12th (Saturday and Sunday)
Time: from 10 AM to 5 PM
Place: Rua Rodésia, 398, Pinheiros – São Paulo
The purchases can be made through debit and credit cards.
More information about Adus is available at the website www.adus.org.br
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
