We travelled all the way from Amsterdam to the beautiful Rio de Janeiro. The great big city with stunning views and widespread beaches. Unfortunately, there is not only a bright side. Probably there is no other city in the world where there is such a fine line between poverty and wealth. Big villas are on the edge of big slums, or favelas, how they are called in Rio. In these favelas it is not rare to be a part in the trade of weapons and drugs, even if you are only eight years old. The people here don’t have many opportunities, which makes it so attractive to dive into the world of drugs and violence, and earn a lot of money. The only problem is that being part of that world, you always have to look over your shoulder, and you are never secure of your life. A couple of years ago we started ‘Soldados Nunca Mais’ to raise money for projects in the favelas of Rio. This summer we travelled to Rio to visit the projects and see the cruel reality of the life in the slums. With the Olympics coming up, there was a lot of news about the local people in Rio. The police tried to control the violence and unrest in the city. Their strategy is to beat the violence with more violence. We wanted to experience the persistent things between the locals and see with our own eyes what it is like in the favelas. Our friend, Fabio, who grew up in the favela and once was a drug lord, took us into the favelas. Through the streets where we were confronted with poverty, we came by a little school called Vila Nova. Beautiful colours and laughing children is what we ran into when we took a step inside the school. This is a special place, where kids can escape from their daily reality. The Brazilian Luciana, owner of the school, gives children the opportunity to develop themselves and to truly be a child. Fabio told us that this was just one small part of all the favelas in Rio, while the favelas were already reaching further than we could see. We were confronted with the reality of thousands of people living there, in circumstances we can’t even imagine. Together with Tota, who also grew up in the favela, Fabio gives soccer training to boys and one girl in one of the most dangerous favelas of Rio. Behind every single child is another particular story. These kids struggle with issues a child shouldn’t be struggling with. They share a pair of shoes or are coming to the training without having food before, because there is just no money to buy it. The big question is always; are these projects really effective in an environment where it is so easy to have everything you want, except the security of being alive? Fabio answered this question and explained to us that it isn’t a lot what these kids need: a daily routine, a good conversation about the future, or a dream. A dream to be a professional soccer player for instance. These things can really make the difference. It feels so important and special that we can contribute in making that difference. It was an amazing experience and again we saw why this is so important. The war in Rio is not over, but with projects little steps are made into another direction. We hope that we can support this for as long as needed and can let these kids, just be kids, not soldiers. Thank you Camiel and Vivian for sharing this inspiring story with us! Do you want to know more about Soldados Nunca Mais?
Visit www.soldadosnuncamais.nl , like their Facebook page https://www.facebook.comSoldadosNuncaMais, or contact them at [email protected] With this, you are already supporting the foundation. |