In the heart of Brazil’s Northeast, Espaço Viva Mulher (EVM) stands as a beacon of resilience and purpose. As a social pastoral ministry serving women at social risk within the Archdiocese of Feira de Santana, EVM aligns its mission with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP). Through a grassroots, faith-driven approach, it seeks to promote the dignity, inclusion, and empowerment of women facing profound challenges.
Faith in Action
Since its founding on January 31, 2012, EVM has embodied a spirit of solidarity, advocacy, and liberation. Rooted in the Gospel and the pedagogy of Jesus, the ministry offers a space where women can reclaim their voice and worth. Its work spans life’s spiritual, psychological, economic, and communal dimensions, nurturing what Pope Francis calls the “integral development of the human person.”
The ministry prioritizes women in socially vulnerable situations and those engaged in prostitution, recognizing the layered injustices they face. EVM also works within prison walls, offering support to incarcerated women and bearing witness to their pain, strength, and hope.
A Commitment to the SDGs
EVM’s work is directly aligned with several SDGs, especially:
- SDG 1: No Poverty
- SDG 2: Zero Hunger
- SDG 4: Quality Education
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
- SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
Through skills training, education, and economic empowerment, EVM offers women a path to autonomy. But empowerment at EVM isn’t limited to material change—it’s rooted in awareness, transformation, and community.
Dialogue That Heals
One of the most transformative tools in EVM’s approach is the interactive circle—a space where women speak, listen, reflect, and heal. These gatherings are more than support groups; they are liberating spaces where participants read the world together (as Paulo Freire taught), confront systems of inequality, and build bonds rooted in shared experience.
Here, awareness is not just intellectual. It’s a catalyst for action. As the psychologist Ignacio Martín-Baró noted, real change requires a shift in how we relate to one another. That shift, grounded in respect, dignity, and solidarity, happens in each circle.
Women reflect on their lives, challenge injustice, and reimagine their futures. They talk about race, gender, citizenship, religion, and sexual orientation, knowing that equity means more than inclusion—it means equal access to life in its fullness.
From Listening to Liberation
Interactive circles often reveal the deep structural violence behind daily struggles—poverty, gender-based violence, environmental destruction, and the erosion of rights. But by naming these realities, women begin to reclaim power. They move from being subjects of charity to agents of transformation.
As Paulo Freire wrote, the mission of marginalized communities is to overcome the limits imposed by dependency. At EVM, this is more than theory—it’s a daily practice.
Living Our Commitment
EVM’s methodology is grounded in liberating education, mutual respect, and the belief that every life is sacred. We celebrate life through gatherings, workshops, and spiritual accompaniment. Volunteers, instructors, and supporters walk alongside each woman, strengthening the web of solidarity that holds the ministry together.
In a world marred by inequality, Espaço Viva Mulher is a space of resistance, hope, and action. It reminds us that justice is not a distant ideal—it begins with listening, with presence, and with the courageous decision to stand beside the most vulnerable.
Augustina Obi
Missionary Sister of the Holy Rosary – Brazil
+55 75 9 9196-9368
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