Therefore it was decided to make the non-negotiable commitment to utilise a percentage of our company profits to sustain projects that give young people opportunities in Brazil. This can be defined in 3 key parts:

1) Community development and support: Projects that provide a nucleus for an impoverished community, providing holistic support for a marginalised group of people

2) Help where it is urgently needed: Projects that provide aid or protection for very vulnerable children and youths

3) Projects that provide a step up out of poverty for young people, promoting a sense of empowerment for those born into a situation of very limited opportunities e.g. youth training programmes.

To date Jinga has focussed its efforts in the first area, working with projects offering Community Development and Support and in particular working with a Brazilian NGO, REDEH that is active in developing programs that promote human rights and citizenship. Together with REDEH, since 2007, Jinga has been working with the Julio Otoni Community a small low income community (favela) with approximately 2,000 inhabitants in Rio de Janeiro. As in other poor areas of Rio de Janeiro, the area has been heavily affected over the years by the presence of criminal gangs, drugs and guns. Due to the extreme conditions of poverty andlack of occupational alternatives in the community, it is not at all unusual for children as young as twelve and thirteen to become involved with the gang culture as well as dealing with other social problems such as teenage pregnancy, lack of schooling and illiteracy, lack of professional qualifications and the absence of basic social values. All these factors perpetuate the cycle of poverty.

The project offers an out-of-school activity programme for children between the ages of 7 and 17. The objective of the programme is to offer local young people alternative activities after school and especially in the school holidays (a time when they would otherwise spend all their free time on the streets) such as Educational Support, English, Capoeira, Computing and Environmental Education. Since its set up, the project has gone from strength to strength. It now has 70 regular attendees, and a computer room. The project has made a difference that is instantly visible in many of the children that use the facilities. The project relies on donations to exist: we have been involved with the project from the outset, and currently provide 25% of the running costs of this project. As we continue to grow, we have budgeted for our contributions to grow significantly with 25% of net income to be dedicated to these types of projects in the three areas outlined above.