Posted by : Lizzie on 02/09/2010 at 10:32

Brazil is well-known for being a land of contrasts, and, with one of the greatest wealth disparities in the world, it is hardly surprising. But it is one thing to know this on an intellectual level and quite another to see it with your own eyes.

It was, therefore, with considerable nervousness that I entered the Santo Amaro favela in Recife, reputed to be one of the most violent slums in the world. I can fully understand the reluctance of the police to go into the favelas; the streets are not streets so much as small passages between ramshackle dwellings - I hesitate to even describe them as houses, thrown together as they are with anything that comes to hand - reminding me of a rabbit warren into which it would be all too easy to vanish without trace.

The drug culture is evident everywhere in the favela. Two young men, almost certainly drug dealers, suspiciously eyed our progress. As an obvious outsider, I must have been easily mistaken for an undercover policeman. Warned by our project partner, I was careful not to turn around or catch their eye which could have led to a fatal encounter.

Children become involved with drugs from a very young age. The dealers target children, initially supplying them with free drugs. Once hooked, in order to pay for their habit, they are forced to become small-scale dealers themselves.

Being a child of the favelas is no easy life. I met so many in seemingly hopeless situations: José*, only 12 years old, on the run for his life, unable to pay his debts to the drugs barons who have already stripped his meagre family home of anything of value; Tânia*, 5 years old, who saw her father stabbed to death in front of her and whose teenage mother steals from her family to feed her drug habit; André*, 7 years old, sexually abused by his neighbour's teenage son.

I was so impressed to see the amazing work of the Hope and Life Centre, which truly is a beacon of hope to these children, intervening wherever possible on the children's behalf and providing them with a safe place to learn and play. Situated in neutral territory on the fringe of one favela, the Centre has also been able to open its doors to children from the neighbouring rival favela, encouraging peace at least among the children of enemy factions.

Peace is the overwhelming focus of the Centre, providing a haven for the children and sending young ambassadors out into the community to spread the message of hope and life into this violent favela.

I'm so glad that we, too, can be a key part of this peace-building by supporting the incredible work of the Hope and Life Centre.

Nigel


*Names have been changed.