Remarks Prior to a Discussion With Members of the Community in Sao Paulo, Brazil,
March 9, 2007

Well, first I’d like to thank Flavio for his hospitality. Laura and I are so thrilled to be in Brazil. We love your beautiful country, but I also love the fact that there are people who are deeply concerned about the plight of the least of us. And I am very proud of my country’s contribution to helping social entrepreneurs who are helping people help others. I believe you can change society one heart at a time; that’s what I believe. But I know in order to do so, it requires people who are willing to make sacrifice.

Flavio runs a place of love and compassion, all aimed at being a part of that social fabric that helps heal the broken heart and provides hope for the future.

And so I thank you all for joining Laura and me. I’m really looking forward to hearing about what you have done, how others can help. But the main reason I’m here is to thank you. We’re all members of God’s family, and when one of us hurts, we also hurt. And there are a lot of hurting people in the world, a lot of hurting people in Brazil. And the people in the United States care.

So I’m honored to be with you. I look forward to the roundtable. Flavio, I guess this is your place, so you start, right?

Note: The President spoke at 4:41 p.m. at Meninos do Morumbi. In his remarks, he referred to Flavio Pimenta, president and director, Meninos do Morumbi. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks. This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate issue.