On International Women's Day, read the stories of women who are #AcceleratingAction in their communities as part of Habitat's Home Equals campaign.
Leaders in Parque das Tribos, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Manaus, Brazil, have successfully advocated for access to a wide range of services, from water and sewer to electricity, schools and health facilities. But with no tenure security giving them clear rights to land, they know much work remains. Through the Home Equals campaign, Habitat and our partners will be seeking policy and systems changes that help communities much like Parque das Tribos access basic services and tenure security through participation in processes that give them real input into solutions.
Rapid urbanisation with little planning in parts of Brazil mean many households lack clean water, sanitation, waste management and electricity. Despite the fact that access to basic services is a fundamental right, more than 18.3 million people in the country don’t have daily access to water. Diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and zika are more frequent as a result, and diarrhoea has been identified as one of the leading causes of child deaths in the country.
The lack of access to these services is greatest among non-white populations, such as the indigenous communities living in informal settlements in and around Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, located on the banks of the Negro River in the country’s northwest. This is the reality faced by people in Parque das Tribos, a community of more than 900 families from 35 indigenous villages. They left their homes due to mining operations, searching for better living, studying, and working conditions.
Lutana, the "cacique” or leader of the Kokama ethnic group, was one of the founders of the community when it was established in 2013. Today, she is the president of the Community Development Association after being elected by residents, a breakthrough in terms of female representation in the community.
She represents her neighbours and their interests before the public authorities. With the association´s team, she follows up on residents’ demands and takes these to government officials and attends public hearings seeking solutions to the community´s needs. Within three years, residents faced 12 eviction orders. "Once they were evicted at night, forcing them to leave even their clothes behind", said Adnamar Santos, a social worker with Habitat for Humanity Brazil. But many resisted and continue living in the area.
Thanks to the work of Lutana and other community leaders, they are now in the process of legalization and currently have a permit to stay. Despite this achievement, there are many other challenges, including limited access to water and electricity services, sanitation, education, and health facilities.
Lutana recounts how in the past they had to fetch water from the nearby river, using demijohns or jars. The lack of water puts disproportionate pressure on women, as they bear the entire responsibility of supplying this precious resource for their families. This can jeopardize the education of girls, who often must miss school to perform these and other tasks at home.
This is why Lutana is particularly proud of having pressured the municipality to connect water pumps from nearby tributaries to bring water to their homes. “Many thought I was not going to make it because I am a woman," she added, referring to some of the residents. Even so, periodic rains interrupt the service for up to several days. Today, a private company is working on drilling wells to provide more consistent service to Parque das Tribos. But this creates another difficulty: the need to pay for basic services. Although low-income families are entitled to apply for social rates, paying for a basic service can still compromise other needs such as food security and rent.
Lutana's work to mediate both within and outside her community has been critical. She is an advocate for working within the system and with municipal officials. But if there is one thing that quickly brings a smile to Lutana's face, it is when she talks about the hospital being built in the community. "A dream, everyone's dream, not just mine," she says when referring to the health centre that is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023. The facility is being built thanks in part to indigenous communities’ raising their voice about the need for access to better health care in the region.
While the hospital is being completed, members of the Ministry of Health make periodic visits to the community to provide medical assistance. Lutana is almost always there, wanting to ensure that the community members are receiving high-quality care. Lutana is constantly thinking of new ways to improve the community. The dirt roads are next in her sights. "I would like the streets to be made of concrete,” she said, “to improve traffic.”.
