Maria Cristine Dos Anjos - Partner in Hope

Maria Cristina dos Anjos has been working for Cáritas Brasileira (the National Brazilian Caritas) for several years. She started out working in a regional office in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and then moved to the national office in the capital city of Brasilia. There, Maria Cristina helps coordinates the national office and works with 16 colleagues to provide technical assistance and strengthen civil society throughout the country. She manages several programs within Cáritas Brasileira including training, formation and education events, and activities for regional and local partners.

Cáritas and CRS staff celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Caritas' Northeast regional headquarters, and look forward to many more years of dynamic partnership assisting this, the second-poorest region in all of Latin America.

Maria Cristine is often on the road trying to lend a hand or an ear, as the case may be. In addition, she is deeply engaged in discussions — locally and in an international women's forum — about how to enhance the dignity of women to draw them out of the miserable conditions in which so many Brazilian women find themselves. She dedicates her efforts to building self-esteem and raising awareness through education.

Through her work with Cáritas Brasileira, Maria Cristina has been an enthusiastic participant and contributor to the Catholic Relief Services-Caritas Brasileira project Promoting a Globalized Culture of Solidarity.

"I believe that the project begins a new phase of the Caritas-CRS relationship. Besides the activities that will be implemented jointly, we are also designing strategies that I believe will strengthen our work and our relationship with other partners," Maria Cristina said. "Some of the results of this partnership will include higher visibility of the Brazilian situation in the U.S., joint carrying out of project activities in Latin America, and solidarity strengthening throughout Brazil."