Brazil’s Petrobras Sets Aside Close to US$ 700 Million to Help 4 Million Poor

The Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras launched on November 21, at Brazil's presidential office Planalto Palace, the Development and Citizenship program, which should finance, until 2012, projects turned to reduction of poverty, support to youths and children, and promotion of professional training.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that, by means of the initiative, the company shares some of its profit with society. "The company is sharing some of the money it earns. This means that there is going to be more bread on the tables of poor people in this country," he said in a press conference.

According to Petrobras, 1.2 billion Brazilian reais (US$ 671 million) will be invested in the program, which aims to cater to approximately four million people directly, and other 14 million indirectly.

José Sérgio Gabrielli, the company's president, claimed that Petrobras wants to include into the economy the part of society that is left out of the country's development.
 
Some of the company's goals are for 50% of the selected proposals to prioritize youths from 15 to 29 years of age, for 20% of the participants in the professional training projects to enter the labor market, for 60% of the children and adolescents to improve their performance at school, and for the income of those contemplated to increase by more than twofold.

ABr