Who We Are

Dr. Raimundo César Barreto
President of the American Friends of Faculdade Unida

Faculdade Unida de Vitória (UNIDA) was founded in 1997 by three Presbyterian ministers to offer high-quality, low-cost theological training, with an ecumenical ethos.

Since 2005, UNIDA has been accredited as a nonprofit Higher Education Institution by the Ministry of Education of the Brazilian government (MEC) for both on-campus and distance learning.

The majority of UNIDA students are young people from impoverished neighborhoods of Brazilian cities. UNIDA is currently the only non-denominational Protestant institution offering ecumenical theological education in Brazil. UNIDA is fully independent of church and state and does not depend on church or state funding. UNIDA has successfully developed its work through more than two decades, with almost 100% of its income derived from tuition fees.

American Friends of Faculdade Unida was created in 2020 to support the work of UNIDA. The Friends develops from collaboration with Princeton Theological Seminary, a UNIDA partner since 2016. Based in Princeton, NJ, American Friends of Faculdade Unida is an incorporated 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, which aims to create a scholarship funding to assist mainly impoverished young black women and other young people aspiring to degree programs in theology or religious studies.

Historically, Brazil has been an incredibly difficult place particularly for young, black women from urban peripheries to access higher education. UNIDA has pioneered higher education opportunities for young, Afro-Brazilian women from urban peripheries since 1997.

UNIDA’s President, Dr. Wanderley Pereira da Rosa states: “We believe in education that transforms lives in a country that is violent and violently unjust.”

We invite you to support UNIDA’s progams through American Friends of Faculdade Unida Together we can change the lives of hundreds, thousands even, of young people who just need an opportunity.