COUNTRY / PROBLEM
Brazil is the largest and most populated country in South America. Despite the fast-growing economy, it still has significant social inequalities. About 11,5 million people live in the favelas. Often, these are places of lawlessness and violence. Street shoot-outs often result in murder, and those killed are not only criminals but also ordinary people; in recent years, the number of murder victims has reached tens of thousands (more than 63 thousand people murdered in 2017).
Children in the favelas very often witness violence. Growing up in constant fear means that children learn more slowly, cannot cope at school, and leave education early. Sometimes, slowed learning is mistakenly attributed to developmental disorders but, in reality, this is the result of a traumatic experience.
ORGANISATION
Yvonne Bezerra de Mello established the Projeto Uerê school to help children affected by the trauma of regular contact with violence. The school is located in a turbulent district of Rio de Janeiro, where two gangs fight for domination. Yvonne compares the living conditions in this district to a war zone. This was the reason why she developed a special method of teaching, Uerê-Mello, which is adapted to the needs of children and teenagers with cognitive and emotional blockages.
PROJECTS
The Kulczyk Foundation supported the Projeto Uerê school by donating funds for:
- purchase of food, thus making it possible to prepare nearly 125 thousand meals for 14.5 months,
- renovation and retrofitting of the school kitchen,
- renovation of the canteen and toilets,
- educational scholarship.
