The BrasiLusans
The younger members of the Anglo-Brazilian and Anglo-Portuguese Societies came together as “The BrasiLusans” over 25 years ago to organise and promote Portuguese and Brazilian social and cultural events in the UK, whilst at the same time raising funds for children in need in both Portugal and Brazil. We organise Carnival balls, caipirinha evenings, fado nights, wine tastings, Portuguese and Brazilian dinners and evenings. The most recent events were a Caipirinha evening in June and a Taste of Fado and Wine in November. Please see the Events page for more details.
Some of the institutions in Portugal that have benefited from the funds raised over the last few years are:
Lar de Betania (Estremoz): Two homes, mainly for orphans, with some 50 boys in one and 50 girls in the other. We agreed to help them by donating £3,000 to buy various pieces of sports equipment for football, handball and hockey.
Casa de Santana (Algueirão, Mem Martins): Home to some 25 abused, homeless women and their 35 children. Run by 9 nuns without any help from church or state. Their aim is to reintegrate mothers and children into society. We provided £2,000 for them to buy beds, wardrobes, sofas and chairs.
Cooperativa de S. Pedro (Barcarena): There are currently 52 children and young mentally-handicapped adults in their care, 30 of whom are boarders. Some of these youngsters are in wheelchairs. We contributed £2,000 which nearly covers the total cost of a second shower bed which makes life easier for both the person taking the shower and the helper.
SOS Estoril-Bicesse: This is one of 3 villages in Portugal with children taken away from homes that are ‘at risk’. This one has some 80 children aged between 2 and 20 who are cared for in homes of up to 7 in a home. The courts decide who goes to the village and try to keep brothers and sisters together. Presently SOS’s priority is education, especially languages and IT. We donated £1,000 towards a long list of computer software.
RDA – Riding for the Disabled Association (Cascais): Their mission is to make free riding facilities available to medically approved, handicapped children and young adults from state-run facilities and independent sources. Following the retirement of a pony, we agreed to donate £1,000 towards the purchase of an urgently-needed replacement.