We believe tourism should leave something good behind in the places it touches. Salvador is our home, and this is where we have chosen to make our social contribution: we support the João de Deus Association, which for two decades has been transforming the lives of families in the Alagados community.
Alagados, on Salvador's Itapagipe Peninsula, began to take shape in the 1930s as a neighborhood of wooden houses built on stilts over the water, known locally as palafitas. Today it is home to around 50,000 people and still lives with poverty and violence. It is also a place with a strong history of solidarity: Sister Dulce and Mother Teresa of Calcutta both served here, and in 1980 Pope John Paul II visited the community.
The João de Deus Association was born in the parish of Nossa Senhora dos Alagados. It was founded in 2005 by French priest Father Bernard de Villanfray and local parishioners. Its mission is to transform the lives of the neediest families in the Uruguai and Alagados neighborhoods, through close, personalized support, home visits and respect for the dignity of every person.
Ser Criança em Alagados (Being a Child in Alagados): created in 2007, this is the Association's main program. It offers school tutoring, balanced meals, citizenship, culture, sports and arts activities, and family follow-up for around 90 children and teenagers. Since 2022, the ECO group has used a vegetable garden as a tool for environmental education.
Procapaz: since 2009, a vocational training center offering courses in sewing, cooking, beauty, computing and elderly care.
Sopa de Alagados (Alagados Soup): a nutrition program serving around 300 families.
Sonho de Mãe (A Mother's Dream): support for around 40 expectant mothers each year.
Bazar Alagados: a thrift shop opened in 2020 that receives donations and helps fund the social programs.
Since it began, Ser Criança em Alagados has welcomed more than 1,200 children and served more than 250,000 meals.
AAA Bahia provides financial support to the João de Deus Association. On some of our Salvador itineraries, we also invite our guests to see the Association's work in Alagados for themselves, an experience that shows a side of the city that goes beyond the postcards.
Learn more or donate: assojoaodedeus.org