World Senior Citizens' Day

Today, 1 October, we are celebrating Dia Mundial do Idoso. This commemorative date was established by the UN in 1990 and, since then, has been observed in various countries around the world, including Brazil, to recognise the contributions of older people to society.

It is also an occasion for us to reflect on the challenges faced by older people and the possible solutions we can adopt to address the problems faced by this section of the population.

Ageing of the Brazilian population

It is worth remembering that, as we have already mentioned in the post on the Statute of the Elderly, according to the survey IBGE 2018 Population Projection , older people will account for 25 per cent of the Brazilian population by 2043 – there will be more than 58 million older people in a country with a total population of 233 million.

The same survey shows that, in 13 years’ time, our country will have more older people than children aged 14 and under. In 2013, there were 50 people aged over 60 for every 100 children under the age of 14. Today, this ratio stands at 63 older people for every 100 children, and by 2031 it will be 102 to 100. If the IBGE’s projection comes to pass, by 2055 Brazil will have twice as many older people as children.

For this reason, the British Charitable Foundation, which has been working on behalf of older people for several decades, has been re-evaluating its approach and developing new projects to address the emerging challenges facing older people in Brazil.

Community Centre

We are proud to announce that, this October, we will be taking another important step in this process: we will be launching our Community Centre for the Elderly in the Butantã area! And what better way to share the news with everyone than on World Senior Citizens’ Day.

The Community Centre is a space offering a range of activities that contribute to healthy ageing, the development of independence and social skills, the strengthening of family ties and community life, and the prevention of situations of social risk.

Our Centre will be based at Cultura Inglesa’s Butantã branch and is scheduled to open on 16 October. Initially, we will be offering Occupational therapy, memory and drama workshops, as well as other activities designed to stimulate the elderly, both physically and mentally, three mornings a week.

We invite anyone who is able to do so to make a monthly contribution to the British Foundation to provide financial support for our Community Centre. The project involves various costs (such as purchasing materials, providing snacks for the elderly, and employing qualified workshop leaders to work with older people) and we are seeking new partners who can help us fund it.

If you are interested in making a donation to the Community Centre, simply click on one of the links below:

I’d like to donate R$ 50,00 per month

I want to donate R$ 100.00 per month

I’d like to donate a different amount

If you have any questions about the project or would like to find out more about our work, simply send us a message and we’ll be happy to reply.