Vocational Training and Education for Favela Children

Despite the economic upswing of recent years, the fifth largest country in the world is characterized by extreme social inequality. More than 12 million people live under precarious living conditions in almost 16,500 favelas. In the slums on the outskirts of the cities there is no running water and no functioning sewage system, and poverty, drugs and violence dominate everyday life. Children and young people suffer most from these deplorable conditions and the lack of prospects on the ground. They are confronted daily with nutrition and health problems and are victims of violence, child trafficking and sexual exploitation. Without access to education, they rarely have the chance of a professional future later on and can therefore seldom escape a life of poverty and crime.

In 1990, a project for street children was therefore founded, which over time has developed into a children’s village including its own kindergarten and school. The latest component is a vocational training company to prepare the young people for their professional life.

The town of Guarabira, with a population of 50,000, is located in the state of Paraíba, Brazil’s so-called poorhouse. Local families are threatened by extreme poverty, violence, drug use and the associated drug-related crime. Especially the children of the area suffer from the precarious conditions and one of the highest crime rates in the country. Many of the children have never attended school, have lived on the streets, and have experienced violence or other forms of exploitation.

The project takes in children from a wide variety of emergency situations.
The children who cannot stay with their families find a new home there. In addition to housing, there is also a school and a kindergarten on the premises, which are also attended by children from outside the children’s village. For children who return home to their families in the evening, the Children’s Village offers afternoon care.
Due to Brazilian legislation, young people must leave the Children’s Village by their 18th birthday at the latest. Despite their good education, they often have problems finding a job. In order to help these young adults and to offer them a perspective, an apprenticeship was established in 2019.

This provides low-threshold vocational training for young people between the ages of 16 and 18 to prepare them for life outside the Children’s Village. The focus is on woodworking and metalworking. By being actively involved in the planning and construction of the center, the young people were able to improve their skills and learn new ones during construction. Practicing the use of wood and metal in the workshop is part of the daily routine at the children’s home, in addition to school and leisure time. The targeted teaching of social and vocational skills during the training improves the young people’s chances of finding a job after the training and thus shaping their lives in a self-determined and responsible manner in the years to come.

A total of around 230 children and young people are cared for in the Children’s Village every day.

However, we still support many other projects in the region.
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