On the 21st of September, around about the same time that the Comfort International supporters in Scotland were donning their best black tie attire at the 25th anniversary ball in Glasgow, there was a simultaneous celebration going on some 9,000km away in a small vineyard in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, also to celebrate the charity’s silver anniversary. The Brazilian branch of Comfort International was set up by Pedro Alvim around 9 years ago, and although Pedro moved on to live in Scotland, a small team of dedicated volunteers and sponsors continue the amazing work of raising funds and spreading the news of the charity. They wanted to do something different this year to celebrate 25 years of the Scottish organisation, and so a very special event was planned.
The event was held at the Alvim Sisters’ Vineyard in Brasilia, which belongs to Pedro’s mum, Dinha and auntie, Lia, who have both been long term supporters of Comfort International. The sisters started growing grapes on their farm around five years ago, and since then have produced three different wines. It was the perfect place to host a celebration of Comfort, bringing together some of the current volunteers and supporters with a completely new group of people who had the opportunity to hear about the work of the charity for the very first time! The latter group made up the large part of attendees for the night, meaning there was a great mix of wine appreciation and presentation of Comfort International.
The evening kicked off with the group visiting the grapes at the far end of the farm – the Isabel grapes which are used to make the vineyard’s rosé wine and grape juice. The sun was just starting to set and we got a beautiful view as we looked out over the rows of vines down to the valley. It’s currently the dry season in Brasilia, so sadly there are no grapes on the vines just now. Many of the vines are actually in the process of being pruned at this time. However – it still made for a beautiful view and a great icebreaker for the group as they got to try the “Paranoá” wine – the Alvim sisters’ rosé variety.
The group also got the chance to see where the Syrah (Shiraz) grapes are grown, and try the “Nila” wine made from those. Then, as the guests were happily sipping on their wine – it was our turn! First Pedro spoke about his first ever trip to Rwanda, how it changed his life and how he felt compelled to bring Comfort International to Brazil. He also spoke about it being a charity that can be trusted and that is doing amazing work with all the donations being given. The short video outlining Comfort’s work was shown (with Portuguese subtitles) – you can see the English version below:
After Pedro, Sarah Sena, who co-ordinates donor care for Comfort International Brasil, spoke about her experience as a sponsor and how she has seen it change lives in our partner countries in Africa. She shares Adrocella’s story, one of the Children of Liberty (ex-child soldiers) to show how sponsorship really can change lives. Then, to finish, Ailidh Alvim, Comfort International’s Communications Manager, who is living in Brazil for one year, shared about some of the common reasons people may be discouraged from donating – namely, being under the impression that the need is either too great for their money to make a difference, or too little for them to feel the need to get involved. She shared about how a little can change a life, and everyone can make a difference, no matter how big or small. The group seemed to really engage and appreciate the work that is going on!
In between speeches the group were treated to a wonderful performance by the Ipê trio – comprising violin, cello and piano. One of Comfort Brasil’s volunteers, Juliana, is a violin teacher, and offered the services of her trio, who are incredibly skilled and added a special something to the whole evening. Then, at the end, there was wonderful food and cake to be had by all!
It was a wonderful event and the team managed to have lots of great conversations with people. Some people bought crafts from the craft group in Rwanda, and others took away information to look at. Half of the value of the tickets for the night was donated by the Alvim Sisters to the work of Comfort International and someone from the event has also signed up to be a sponsor! We are really grateful for such a wonderful event and for the amazing Brazilian team who work so hard for those in our partner countries.
