Contribute

How to Donate:

To support the work of the catadores, please consider making a monetary contribution online for the benefit of ACAMJG under the auspices of IBISS via the BrazilFoundation:

BrazilFoundation provides a Donor Advised feature that allows a donor to recommend that a particular donation be earmarked for the work of ACAMJG (please note donations will be funneled through IBISS in Brazil).

BrazilFoundation is a non-profit organization under Section 501 (c) (3) of the United States Tax Code, EIN 13 4131482, and an OSCIP (Public Interest Civil Society Organization) under Brazilian Law nº 9.790/1999, CNPJ 048395720001-10. Contributions to BrazilFoundation are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law in the United States and in Brazil.

Not-for-Profit organizations constituted legally in Brazil can receive donations from donors in the U.S. in a secure and trustworthy manner through BrazilFoundation. The donor makes the donation to BrazilFoundation, which then directs the funds to the beneficiary organization following verification as required, thus acting as a fiscal agent. These donations are also deductible from U.S. tax return.

One hundred percent of the sales from Vik Muniz’s “Pictures of Garbage”, the portraits of the catadores, as seen in the film, went back to the Association of Recycling Pickers of Jardim Gramacho (Associação dos Catadores do Aterro Metropolitano de Jardim Gramacho, or ACAMJG). Approximately USD $250,000 was raised from the portraits and this was used for:

  • New homes for the catadores
  • To fund the ACAMJG deficit
  • To improve the infrastructure of the ACAMJG community (such as the first Garbage selection station)
  • A new truck
  • A learning centre
  • Vik funded small business training program
  • A library at the ACAMJG office with 15 computers
  • Irma the chef set up her own little cooking business

With the help of the NGO, IBISS (Brazilian Institute for Innovations in Social Healthcare), the filmmakers of WASTE LAND have also donated all the award winnings from the festival circuit to the ACAMJG, totalling over $85K;

  • €5,000 ($6,875) from Amnesty International Human Rights Film Award at Berlinale
  • $25,000 (€18,590) from Target Filmmaker Award at Dallas International Film Festival
  • $1,500 (€1,084) from Audience Award for Best Documentary Provincetown Film Festival
  • $3,000 (€2,230) from Audience Award at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
  • €2,500 ($3,437) from Amnesty International Film Prize, Durban Intl Film Festival
  • R$ 50,000 (€ 22,450/ $30,871) from the Audience Award for Best Film, and Jury Award for best film, Paulina Film Festival
  • $770 (€551.73) from People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary, Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival
  • $287.90 (€206.29) from Moving Mountains Prize at Mountainfilm Film Festival
  • $2500 (€1,878) from Pare Lorentz Award at IDA
  • €5,000 ($6,875) from Audience Award at IDFA

The work of Vik Muniz and the catadores has ignited a movement in Brazil, currently underway with the support of the Coca Cola Foundation in that country, to build a legitimate recycling system and hire the catadores in Brazil as consultants.

ACAMJG still need 2 extra trucks to pick up material ($50,000 each) and a shed to be able to separate the collected material ($75,000). Tiao Santos, the president of ACAMJG, informs us that they still need donations for teachers and educational courses for the catadores. These are essential to ensure that the catadores can make the transition into more qualified jobs within the new recycling plants when Jardim Gramacho shuts down in 2012. Tiao would also love to go to University and learn English.