By Harold Emert
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a nation where national philanthropists are rare, Brazilian billionaire Carlos Wizard Martins, 62, has moved from Campinas, São Paulo state, to the Wild West of Brazil, Roraima, with the mission of aiding refugees fleeing Venezuela in search of a new life.
The founder of the Wizard language school and his wife Vania, 60, were chosen for their mission by the Mormon Church (known in Brazil as the Igreja Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias).
Wizard, whose fortune is estimated at R$2.4 billion (US$585 million), according to Forbes magazine (2018), sold the Multigroup which includes the Wizard language schools and Yazig to Britain’s Pearson for R$2 billion, in 2013.
He currently heads Sforza, which includes twenty companies, namely Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
When not in Roraima, he is in São Paulo for business and visits Brasília periodically, seeking aid for the Venezuelans.
The couple, who have been in the state’s capital of Boa Vista, expect to have helped 3000 dislocated persons re-settle in Brazil by May.
Using his own money, the Wizard founder hired a plane last Christmas to fly 118 Venezuelans to other Brazilian states to work.
Martins has also discussed the matter personally with President Jair Bolsonaro and will be in Brasília this week for talks with Damares Alves, Human Rights Minister.
His relocation program includes an agreement with various airline companies, including Azul, Gol, and Latam, to fly the refugees from Roraima to other states in Brazil.
The plight of hungry immigrants has touched him. “I recall one time when we gave a snack to one refugee who had just crossed the border. He began to cry because he hadn’t seen an apple in three years. People say, “but in Brazil, we also have poverty,” but you cannot compare a poor person with a refugee who has no place to go.”
“The refugees crossing the border have “gigantic” needs, particularly regarding health, transport, and nutrition,” Wizard told Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.
The team of volunteers helping refugees includes other churches and religions and can be reached via WhatsApp, for those seeking further information: +55 19 99955 9050.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error