British Charitable Foundation receives the Silver Salva from São Paulo City Council

On the evening of 19 February 2018, the British Charitable Foundation was awarded the Silver Salva at a formal ceremony at São Paulo City Council. The honour was bestowed upon us on the initiative of the Councillor Atílio Francisco, whose legislative work stands out for sharing our concern for the welfare of the elderly, in honour of our 70 years of working for the good of the city.

The Silver Salva

The Silver Salve is the highest honour awarded by the São Paulo City Council to organisations that carry out work of significance to the municipality. For this to happen, one or more councillors must propose the honour, by means of a draft legislative decree, and the proposal must be approved by a majority of São Paulo’s councillors.

In our case, the proposal was put forward by Councillor Atílio Francisco and approved by his peers in December 2017, in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 55/2017.

For Councillor Atílio Francisco, this recognition of the Foundation, which looks after the wellbeing of many elderly people, is more than fair:

“This organisation has been based here in São Paulo since 1947, providing social services. And it has a number of extremely important programmes for older people. And when we learnt about this work – and the way they support older people – we decided to pay this tribute. I am sure that, from today onwards, the Foundation will grow even further thanks to this recognition from the Council.”

Gertrude Vigar is awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of São Paulo

At the same formal sitting, our client Gertrude Vigar, a 106-year-old British woman who has lived in São Paulo since she was 45, was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of São Paulo, also on the initiative of Councillor Atílio, who emphasised in his speech:

“She came from England, settled in Paraguay for a while, and when she came to visit her family in São Paulo, she fell in love with the city. And today, at the age of 106, she continues to live here, happily in São Paulo. So the aim of conferring this Title of Citizen of São Paulo is precisely because of the life lesson she offers us. And for us in the City Council, paying this tribute to her also means showing that São Paulo is a welcoming city, blessed by God.”

Damaris Vigar, her daughter and representative at the Session, expressed her gratitude for the initiative and undertook to pass on the warmth shown by everyone to her mother, who is an example and an inspiration to all of us at the British Foundation. Rachel Govier, our Vice-President, took the opportunity to say a few words about our relationship with her:

“Gertie is in a long-term care home. We give her all the support she needs. We give her the care she needs so that she can live the dignified life she deserves. There, she can enjoy her afternoon tea, just like a proper English lady.” [risos]. She drinks her tea, chats and enjoys having people round for a natter. And she still gets up, goes for walks and has a good social life.”

Speeches by the British Charitable Foundation

Finally, the floor was opened so that we, from the Foundation, could express our gratitude for the Silver Salva and say a few words about our work. It was an excellent opportunity to celebrate our mission and all the work we have carried out over the last 70 years.

Rachel Govier, Vice-President of the FBB

"Good evening, everyone.

First and foremost, I would like to extend my greetings to our host, Councillor Atílio Francisco, to the City Council and to all its representatives present here today. I would also like to extend my greetings to the members of the British community, to my colleagues, and indeed to everyone in the audience.

I would like to begin my speech by expressing my pride at receiving, from Councillor Atílio Francisco, this award from the São Paulo City Council to the British Charitable Foundation.

The Silver Salva is an official and important honour awarded to our foundation in recognition of the work we are doing to support the elderly.

This cause, Councillor Atílio, is not just the cause of a single term of office, or of a single party. It is a cause for all of us. We are growing older and seeing our loved ones, who are further along in this process than we are.

I feel proud because, in receiving this honour, I also feel that I represent the women of the FBB and women everywhere and throughout history, who know just how difficult it is for us to receive fair and appropriate honours.

I also feel proud because, as Vice-Chair of the British Charitable Foundation, my primary focus is on chairing the Welfare Committee. In our day-to-day work, together with Fernanda, our Co-ordinator in this area, we gain a real sense of the struggles faced by older people and strive to develop social policies, projects and strategies for the Foundation. And I believe that the Cuidar Programme is a direct result of this welfare work.

The Foundation’s ‘Cuidar’ Project; its legislative acumen, as demonstrated by its draft bill; its parliamentary advisory services; and Fernanda’s personal commitment all made this evening possible. And that is no small feat, given that we are all here!

Older people need more care! That is what we need to recognise during this celebration. Whether it is the care of having someone to accompany them to the doctor, or laws that reward their efforts as citizens whilst they are still alive.

We all need to come together more closely to discuss the cause of older people: civil society organisations, OSCIPs, representatives of public authorities and the private sector. All of us.

I am certain that the British Charitable Foundation, which has been in existence for over 70 years, is open to social dialogue. This ceremony reaffirms that too.

The Silver Medal, awarded by São Paulo City Council in 2018 in recognition of Councillor Atílio, will be recorded in the minutes of the British Charitable Foundation.

"Thank you very much!"

Ricardo Rosado, Institutional Development Co-ordinator at FBB

"Good evening, everyone.

First and foremost, I would like to extend my greetings to our host, Councillor Atílio Francisco, and to all the other representatives and guests of the Council present at this Formal Sitting.

It is an honour to represent the British Charitable Foundation this evening, alongside our Vice-President Rachel Govier and some of our staff and supporters who are here tonight. The Salva de Prata award is a great recognition of our work on behalf of the elderly in our municipality, carried out over more than 70 years by the dozens of people who have been part of our organisation. 

An NGO founded in 1947 by members of the British community living in São Paulo, the Foundation we represent strives every day to move closer to its mission, which is “to preserve the dignity and promote the wellbeing of vulnerable elderly people, whose independence and support networks have been compromised by the passage of time, thereby giving back to those who have done so much for us.”

The key word here is ‘giving back’, which for us has two meanings: the first is the British community’s desire to repay São Paulo society for the welcome and care it received when settling in the city of São Paulo. For this reason, the organisation that emerged in the 1940s to look after British servicemen returning from the Second World War in precarious circumstances became, over the following decades, less and less British and more and more São Paulist.

The second meaning of our key word is giving back to the elderly, who have already done so much for us, for our community, for our city, for our state and for our country. We firmly believe that we have only reached our society’s current stage of development thanks to the hard work, effort and sacrifice of the generations that came before us. The very least that these people—who have done so much for us and are now in their twilight years—deserve, at this stage of life when their frailties and needs become more pronounced, is well-being and dignity.

It is this desire to give back to the people of São Paulo – who have done so much for the founders of our organisation – and to the older generations, who have done so much for us all, that guides our work. This desire to give back is what drives us, day in, day out, in our work with older people, and it is what motivates us whenever we encounter an obstacle.

It is therefore a great pleasure to see our work recognised, particularly thanks to the initiative of Councillor Atílio Francisco, who shares our respect and gratitude for older people and who is guided by the same concern to ensure they can live in dignity.

On behalf of all the directors, staff, supporters and beneficiaries of the British Charitable Foundation, I would like to express my gratitude for Councillor Atílio Francisco’s initiative, Councillor Milton Leite’s invitation to this formal sitting, and the vote of confidence given by all members of the Council who supported this tribute and awarded us the Silver Salvo.

"Thank you very much!"

For further information, please also read the article written by the City Council: http://www.camara.sp.gov.br/blog/britanica-que-fugiu-da-segunda-guerra-recebe-titulo-de-cidada-paulistana/