Youth Center, São Lourenço da Mata

The emerging country Brazil is one of the countries in the world with the most unjust distribution of property and income. This extreme social inequality can be seen in the contrast between the originally illegal poor districts – so-called favelas – which are located near modern urban centers next to expensive business districts. Today, more than 12 million people in Brazil live under precarious living conditions in almost 16,500 favelas. There is no running water, no functioning sewage system and inefficient waste disposal. Poverty, drugs and violence dominate everyday life in the favelas. Children and young people suffer most from these deplorable conditions. While the parents work all day to ensure the survival of the family, the children and young people have nothing to do after school. They lack safe rooms to play in, meaningful activities for personal development and qualified educational opportunities that will enable them to find a qualified job later on. Instead, the boredom and hopeless situation on site often leads to early drug abuse or to young people becoming members of criminal gangs.

For many of the approximately 16,000 children and young people in São Lourenço da Mata, there is not much to do after school in the afternoon. The majority of the families live in extreme poverty. In quite a few cases, children and young people have to drop out of school to contribute to the family income. The precarious living situation means that the children grow up in a climate of violence, crime and drugs. The poor quality of education at local state schools and a high school drop-out rate often mean that a large proportion of young people from the favelas do not get a fair chance on the labour market later on. This means that they rarely have the opportunity to escape the vicious circle of poverty, drug-related crime and violent crime.

The youth centre follows the motto that education, music and sport are the keys to a successful life. Therefore, besides sports courses, English lessons are also offered and the children and young people get the opportunity to learn an instrument. Through sport – in the centre the focus is on boxing and football – the children learn to respect each other and discipline. The youth centre follows a promising concept: Only those who attend school and have done their homework are allowed to participate in the activities. The homework is done together before the training.

Through the afternoon activities, around 400 children escape from their monotonous child-unfriendly everyday life amidst poverty and crime. They no longer spend their free time on the streets, where they come into contact with drug-related crime, and instead pursue meaningful activities. They are encouraged in their creativity and movement and their self-esteem is strengthened. Through the educational opportunities in the project, the children can improve their school performance and have better chances to find a qualified job later on. In this way, they are shown an alternative way of life to organised crime.

The centre also emphasises waste avoidance and recycling. For example, old plastic bottles are turned into works of art and the children learn to use refillable drinking bottles instead of disposable bottles or cups.

In addition to working with the children, however, the centre also supports the adults, for example by providing legal assistance with labour law problems or applying for state support.

With your donation you support the expansion and operation of the youth centre. Even though all teachers and helpers work on a voluntary basis, there are costs for the operation of the centre, such as water and food. In addition, the centre is currently being expanded to provide more space for the children.