Climate change is not an equal-opportunity crisis.
In Brasilândia, one of the largest favelas in the world, its impacts are already part of everyday life.
Located in the north of São Paulo, Brasilândia is home to more than 250,000 people. Every year, families face floods, landslides, extreme heat, water shortages and poor air quality. For many residents, climate change is not a distant threat. It is the rain entering through the roof, the fear of losing everything in a storm, the unbearable heat inside a small house, and the growing difficulty of staying healthy and safe.
Yet the communities most affected by the climate crisis are often the ones least included in decisions and least supported with resources.
That is why Instituto Perifa Sustentável was created.
Founded by young women from the periphery, our organisation works to transform territories like Brasilândia into places of climate resilience, dignity and opportunity. We train local youth leaders, support community-based solutions, create environmental education projects and ensure that the voices of favela residents are heard in climate debates.
We believe that the people living on the front lines can be part of the solution.
We are changemakers that with the right support, could build a more just, sustainable and hopeful future for our communities.
Why Your Support Matters
Your contribution helps bring climate justice to one of the places that needs it most.
With your support, young people from Brasilândia and other peripheral neighbourhoods will have the opportunity to become climate leaders in their own communities. Your donation will help us provide:
- Training and mentorship: Young people will participate in workshops, practical activities and leadership training on climate justice, environmental racism, public policy, communication and community organising. They will also receive mentorship from experts, activists and professionals working in climate and social justice.
- Community-led projects: Participants will develop and implement local initiatives to address the challenges they know best, such as extreme heat, flooding, waste management, urban gardens, environmental education and access to green spaces.
- Barrier-free access: We believe that talent and passion should matter more than money. That is why the programme is free for participants. Your donation helps cover transportation, meals, internet access, materials and small stipends, so that young people can participate without having to choose between the programme and supporting their families.
The Impact of Your Donation
Your donation can make a difference, can change lives. Would you like to help create a generation of young people who have the tools, confidence and support to transform their communities?
By investing in climate justice in Brasilândia, you are helping to:
- Train new youth leaders from one of the largest favelas in the world
- Strengthen community solutions to floods, extreme heat and environmental injustice
- Expand access to opportunities for young people who are too often excluded from climate spaces
Hear directly from Amanda, one of the leaders os Perifa Sustentável Institute and also a CEEJH fellow:
“I have always believed that I could transform my community into a sustainable place. People used to laugh at me and say that sustainability is something for rich, sophisticated people. But I believe that, with the right tools, we can create new possibilities for the world, starting with our own community.”
— Amanda, 2026 Global Fellow, Brazil
NAO ENTENDI MUITO BEM ESSA PARTE (I DID NOT UNDERSTAND THIS PART)
Your Donation at Work: A Direct Impact Breakdown
Your generous gift has a clear, tangible outcome. See how different levels of support directly fuel our mission:
| Donation Amount |
Specific Impact |
| $2,500 |
Covers a fellow's full program stipend, removing financial barriers so they can engage fully without hardship. |
| $5,000 |
Covers a stipend and all travel, ensuring a fellow can build irreplaceable connections at in-person retreats and symposiums. |
| $7,500 |
Funds new, cutting-edge curriculum modules, keeping our training at the forefront of the movement with relevant content each year. |
| $10,000 |
Supports the annual in-person fellows retreat, fostering the deep, collaborative learning that happens when our global cohort unites. |
Our Vision for the Future
Inspired by CEEJH’s core mission, this program is dedicated to a powerful vision: to cultivate a global network of empowered, community-rooted leaders who dismantle environmental inequities and champion solutions for a healthy, just, and sustainable planet for all. We believe the communities most impacted must lead the solutions, and this program is the engine that builds their power, skills, and collective voice.
Join us in building this future. The climate crisis demands equipped, supported, and connected leaders. Your donation today actively builds the leadership infrastructure for a just transition. Together, we don't just study equity. We enact it.
Join us. Fund a Fellow. Fuel a Movement.
Your contribution provides the tools, training, and support for emerging leaders to transform their communities and champion climate justice for generations to come.
See what our 2025 fellows were up to - Final Assignment Showcase
Who are our fellows? View previous cohorts.
Financial and in-kind support of CEEJH, INC is accepted and managed by Movement Strategy Center, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, tax-exempt membership organization serving as our fiscal sponsor. Such contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Please see your tax advisor for details.
