Belford Roxo is one of Bayer's biggest production sites in Latin America. Belford Roxo is one of the poorest towns in Brazil and also one of those with the highest child population. Consequently, it has some of the worst social problems in the country. Since the early 1990s Bayer has been putting the principles of corporate social responsibility into practice in Belford Roxo.

Several dozen small children are playing noisily in the small yard of the nursery school run by the"Jardim Redentor" community action group. This is a picture that can be found throughout the world - and yet, here in the Brazilian city of Belford Roxo, with its 600,000 inhabitants, the situation is different. These children come from some of the poorer families in this city near Rio de Janeiro. They are fortunate enough to have a chance to attend a (nursery) school. Without the community action group, the children in this area would have no chance of an education. They also receive a hot lunch every day. For most of them, that is the only meal they get, which is an incentive for them to go to school. In cooperation with FEMAB, an association of around 170 community action groups in Belford Roxo, Bayer helps supply school dinners to around 2,400 children in 46 schools and nurseries. The campaign is called "Nossa Sopa" - our soup. When it was set up in 1993, 500 lunches were served every day, and this number has increased every year. A change of scene now to the community action group in "Bairro Sublime." This is another district of Belford Roxo, but the people are just as poor and have equally big families. A tiny classroom houses nearly two dozen computers donated by Bayer. Enthusiastic kids are experiencing their first trip into the virtual world. In the next classroom, the smallest children are learning to read and write. Coloring books donated by Bayer give them an introduction to personal hygiene and environmental protection. And these children, too, receive a hot meal every lunchtime.

Education and medical care for children are essential aspects of Bayer's social commitment in Brazil.

Self-help projects
Bayer also does a good deal more in this district. Next to the school are workshops where homeless children make brooms and musical instruments. The workshops were established to keep these children off the streets. In similar projects in other parts of the city, young people are taught to make doors and windows, deaf-and-dumb people run a factory that makes slippers and sandals, and, in a special nursery, young people are taught to plant and sow basic foods. Bayer provided financing to help set up all of these self-help projects aimed at helping young people gain better professional qualification.

The "soccer school" has not only trained 4,000 hopeful soccer players, it has also helped to ensure they have been given a proper education.

Soccer training for disadvantaged children
Right next to our site in Belford Roxo we have a large sports facility, including a soccer field. Because soccer is the most popular sport in Brazil, it makes sense to support it. In 1990, we set up a special soccer training program for children. Training sessions are held several times a week for about 350 disadvantaged children aged between eight and 17. Professional trainers and medical and psychological care are an integral part of this program. Only children who can prove that they attend school and get good grades are allowed to take part. That is an enormous incentive for these children to attend school regularly.

More than 2,000 children and young people take part in our annual soccer championship. Overall, about 4,000 children have grown into hopeful soccer players as a result of this program, while also receiving an education. In 1993 the United States Chamber of Commerce awarded Bayer the ECO Prize in recognition of this project.

Thanks to financial support from Bayer, these children can learn to use computers for the first time. 2,400 school dinners are served daily under the "Nossa Sopa" campaign; for many children, it is the only meal they get and thus an incentive to go to school.

Entertaining information on preventive health care It is not only children and young people who benefit from our extensive social program, widely known in the region as "Bayer vaì à comunidade" - Bayer goes out into the community. Entertaining shows, plays and circus performances at a variety of venues are used to inform young and old about hygiene and preventive health care. The main focus is on combating diseases that are widespread in this region such as leptospirosis, meningitis, dengue fever and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Everyone in the audience is given a leaflet explaining how they can protect themselves against these diseases. The program also shows people how they can help protect the environment, even with modest means. These monthly shows, which are free of charge, play to an audience of 400-500 and are always filled to capacity.

By the end of 2000 more than 400,000 people had benefited from our social commitment, which depends above all on the voluntary commitment of our staff. Bayer has now set up a similar community outreach program in São Paulo. This program includes campaigns to help orphans. One particularly pleasing aspect of this campaign is that it is now being imitated by many other companies in Brazil.

Bayer S.A. Brazil

Belford Roxo

American Chamber of Commerce

"Without Bayer´s examplary assistance, the fate of many children would be clear: a life of powerty on the street, with no education and no prospects of a job or a slightly better life." Jandira da Penha, President of the Assocation of Community Action Groups in Belford Roxo