Harvard University awarded the Brazilian Women’s Group with funds through the Harvard University Allston-Brighton Emergency Response Grant Program and the Harvard Allston Partnership Fund to support its efforts in supporting the community.
When Heloisa Maria Galvão answers the phone, it’s clear that she’s in the midst of a busy morning. She is in the office, jumping from digital meeting to phone call and back again – as she details what she and the Brazilian Women’s Group, the organization she leads, are up to, it’s obvious that her busy morning will turn into a busy day.
Her packed schedule is a daily occurrence and a clear illustration of how engaged the Brazilian Women’s Group is in the essential work advocating for the Brazilian immigrant community in Boston.
“We’re active in the community [working on] human rights, workers' rights,” says Galvão. “No matter how you got here, no matter your immigration status, if you live here you have rights and we want [people] to understand that.”
The Brazilian Women’s Group has been in operation since 1995, when a group of women interested in discussing issues of being an immigrant woman from Brazil in the United States got together. The organization is committed to promoting political and cultural awareness throughout the Brazilian community in Boston. Since COVID-19 hit, the group’s commitment to its work has only been amplified.
The Brazilian Women’s Group received funds from the Harvard Emergency Grant program to implement a support program for members of their community. “The biggest challenge has been matching the needs to the community,” says Galvão. “People have a lot of needs, paying for groceries and rent and utilizes. You can’t pay your rent if you can’t work.”
Additionally, Galvão and the Brazilian Women’s Group have been active on their social media channels, hosting live broadcasts every weekday since March. Galvão notes that the initial plan wasn’t to go live every day, but they felt they needed a platform to help inform the community about what was happening and what they could expect.
“The most important thing is we have engaged with people to help them understand how dangerous the virus is and inform people about what they can do and how they can care for their own mental health,” says Galvão. “People really believe the information we have provided, they tell us all the time, because the people we invite [to join their broadcasts] are good professionals, they are honest and open professionals.”
Some of the topics the Facebook Live events cover include immigration, health and safety, and voting and democracy. Last month two Harvard PhD candidates, recommended by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, joined Galvao on a broadcast to talk about the importance of the census and why members of the Brazilian community should fill out the form.
“We have done [over] 100 Facebook Live [events], most related to COVID-19 and topics like health, the economy, schools, and what the opening phases mean,” says Galvão. “Then we started to do trainings for people who were going back to work. We want to do more.”
Moving forward as the state begins to re-open and members of the community start to go back to work, Galvão expects to keep up the flow of information and resources available as well as a maintained focus on advocating for the people she is so committed to.
“These people don’t give up, and they are so grateful. How they find grace in the middle of this tragedy is [inspiring].”