Associação Três Marias

In the far south of Brazil, our foundation walks with a local organization led by three warrior women of fiber and African descent, affectionately known as the Three Marias: Leonice Lopes, president and founder of the organization, Gisele Borges, executive assistant, and Andreia Lima, legal assistant. Their organization supports women in their community and stood with their people through the great floods that struck Rio Grande do Sul. The gaucho woman carries a history many do not know: generations of women who held families and communities together with work and courage, including the African women and their descendants who helped build the culture of Rio Grande do Sul. This photo is from our first meeting, connecting New York and Rio Grande do Sul.

Leonice Lopes, President and Founder
Gisele Borges, Executive Assistant
Bio coming soon.
Bio coming soon.
Andreia Lima, Legal Assistant

From Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul, a mother and wife, and a great defender of a good cuia de mate always at hand. A final-year law student, conciliator and therapist with a feminist outlook, Andreia is a force of nature who is not afraid to take up space. Her trajectory includes her time as coordinator of the Casa de Referência Mulheres Mirabal, and she speaks publicly on gender violence, domestic violence and the welcoming of women. Neurodivergent and a proud supporter of the neurodivergent cause, she moves between the firmness of activism and the lightness of someone who knows how to live. A militant of Black feminism and a scholar of the subject, Andreia reminds the world that Black people exist in the South of Brazil, and that this culture is immensely rich. A descendant of kings and queens, carrying the ancestral heritage of African nations, she defends the occupation of the leadership spaces that were taken in Africa. She believes that 'there is no victory without the pains of war', and that true transformation is only possible through collectivity and mutual cooperation. As Angela Davis teaches: 'When a Black woman moves, the whole structure of society moves with her.'
