Summary
MALUNGU is the umbrella organisation of 200 Quilombola associations in Pará. Their main aim is to defend the rights of Quilombola communities. Every year Malungu and one of these communities organise the Quilombola Identity Games, a sports event that lasts for 4 days. Malungu also uses the event to draw the attention of the broader public to black quilombola cultural issues. During the 2022 Quilombola Identity Games, a seminar was held about Environmental Justice.
Tips and lessons learned
The main lesson learnt is the importance of collective work: we do it together.
Another important lesson is the opportunity to undertake thematic reflections within the games, such as the seminar on environmental justice.
Review by Wilde Ganzen Foundation
In this example Malungu describes a very appealing combination of fun and awareness raising. The Quilombola Identity Games are very much a group effort. Each year one of the communities organises the event, with the help of Malungu and financial support in the form of a registration fee from the other communities. Malungu uses the total of the fees to pay for the venue and the food and buys drinks on consignment which they sell during the event. These funds are used for the yearly project. Since the games also attract publicity, Malungu uses the occasion to raise awareness on the issues they stand for.
Details
Short description of the organisation the funds were raised for
The Coordination of the Associations of the Remaining Quilombo Communities of Pará MALUNGU is an organisation that coordinates, advises and strengthens the defence of Quilombola communities’ rights in the state of Pará in Brazil. The word 'malungu' is of African Yoruba origin and means 'companion' or 'partner'. Founded in March 2004 by Quilombola leaders from all over the state, MALUNGU brings together 200 Quilombola associations representing 528 of the 600 Quilombola communities of Pará across 65 municipalities.
Overall, they aim to:
a) Mobilise Quilombola women to advocate for gender equality.
b) Defend Quilombola communities’ social, political, cultural, environmental, and democratic rights.
c) Support Quilombola communities in their quest for acquiring land titles and historical social reparations by the Brazilian state.
d) Inform the community about local issues, through seminars, so they can be empowered in the pursuit of their objectives and influence public policies.
Short description of the project or programme the funds were raised for
The main aim of the 2022 games was to obtain funding to purchase a house for Malungu. The event was held in the municipality of Salvaterra/Pará for a few years and brings together people from other municipalities, states and even other countries.
Apart from fundraising, Malungu also seeks to draw attention to black quilombola cultural issues, through discussions about various themes, such as racism, education and the current political scene, over the 4 days of the event.
During the 2022 Quilombola Identity Games, a seminar was held about Environmental Justice, which enabled dialogue about the situation in the region with the Ministério Público (an independent institution responsible for maintaining the legal order in the State and supervising the public authorities).
Summary of fundraising action
The event always includes sports, a beauty pageant, talks, seminars and cultural presentations that seek to reflect on the territory and on rights that need to be preserved.
Objectives
1. Fundraising for the purchase of a house for Malungu.
2. To draw attention to black quilombola cultural issues.
Targeted donors
• Quilombo Remnant Associations
• The general public
• University audiences
• On average, 600 people participate
Results
| Cost/benefit |
National currency (R$ |
Euro |
| Total amount raised |
25,200 |
4,534 |
| (-) Total amount invested |
19,200 |
3,454 |
| Net amount raised |
6,000 |
1,080 |
Accounting details
The items required to run the event are: drinks, food and infrastructure. Each association has a participation quota (BRL 30.00 per participant). The contribution from each community is a kind of “registration fee”. In 2022, each of the 16 associations linked to Malungu provided BRL 1,200.00.
Using the amount raised, Malungu provided food for participants and for the games’ infrastructure. Drinks were bought on consignment by Malungu and sold during the event. In this way, funds were raised to purchase the house.
The final fundraising result after the event was approximately R$ 6,000.00.
Result comments
Visibility, because of the presence of a large number of people after two years with no event because of the pandemic.
Presence of young people.
Resumption of work of two local groups (Abayomi and a women’s group).
Description of preparatory work
Define the next community to host the event; this always happens at the end of the games.
Meet this community to debate the theme of the year.
Hold a meeting in June/July to talk about the event and what the community has to offer; draft the budget for the event and the funding sources to pursue; create commissions for the various tasks: internal resources, external resources, infrastructure, etc.
Define each association’s contribution.
Hold final monitoring meeting in October to receive the community contributions, find out how much has been raised and how much still needs to be raised.
Description of implementation
Malungu holds regular meetings in all communities (every 3 months). In between, additional meetings are held in the community that will host the event.
A calendar of activities is put together at the first meeting of the year, in January.
Plans to repeat the action
Next year, the Quilombola Identity Games shall be held in the week of 20 November 2023, Black Consciousness Day.
