Where We Work

[box] Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in BRAZIL, home to 2.5 million people. The population density is high, 19,000 people per square mile. Approximately 800 million people live in the city’s slums (favelas).[/box]

[box] A slum (as defined by Un-Habitat) , is ‘a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security.” Our work takes place in a community stricken by poverty, inadequate services, drug and gang related violence and a high level of fear and hopelessness. [/box]

[box] In the favelas there is high unemployment, low life expectancy and poor sanitation. Daily life is a battle for survival and there is little stability or peace and quiet. Children suffer from a lack of education, housing, healthcare and nutrition. Most significantly they have no hope that their lives can be any better than their parents. In order to survive children often resort to theft, drug abuse, prostitution and gang violence. The lives of these children, their families and friends are full of bad news, fear and misery.

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[box] Children Growing Up In A Favela May Be…

Hungry, grieving, un-protected, victim of physical abuse, thirsty, dirty, injured, vulnerable, un-loved, no dignity, lack of self-confidence, bullied, feeling worthless, lack of sleep, victim of violence, no hope, lack of security, victim of sexual abuse, no motivation for learning, under pressure, no one to trust, victim of crime, illiterate, no dreams, nowhere to play, physically weak, victim of trauma, un-cared for, malnourished, un-supervised, moving from home to home, fearful, desperate, high risk of death before the age of 5.[/box]