Brazil: Helping street children: Misereor

Many children and young people in Brazil's big cities live on the streets. Committed partner organisations give them new opportunities for the future.

Your donation provides street children with holistic care, education and training.

Continent

Latin & Central America

Thematic focus:

Building equitable cities

The lives of street children in big cities like Recife and Caruaru are hard and dangerous. Some have fled from misery and violence at home. Others have to work on the streets to support their families. Many steal or prostitute themselves out of necessity and have neither a school-leaving certificate nor vocational training.

A vegetable garden on the roof, computer courses, theatre - the children and young people in the Misereor projects for street children develop their talents and develop confidence in their own strengths through a wide range of activities. In addition, the team accompanies the families, supports parents in dealing with the authorities and caring for their children and provides psychological counselling.

A regular, healthy meal is particularly important for children living in insecurity.

The activities and learning fields at COMVIVA are diverse. Here they learn to bake.

You can also realise your potential in gardening.

Listening, empathising, offering help: For the staff at Ruas e Praças, this is a matter of course.

Together with street workers, the children and young people learn to play instruments and make music.

The children and young people make music together with street workers.

Here the children have time and opportunities to learn in peace.

Ruas e Praças works in Santo Amaro, a neighbourhood of Recife that is heavily characterised by poverty.

The organisation "Grupo Ruas e Praças" focuses on social work, educational services and supporting families. Every day, the employees liaise with the authorities and social services, for example in the areas of social welfare, healthcare and political institutions.

Their networking is important for the success of their work, as the problems of the children in their care have complex causes. Only a holistic approach can have a lasting effect. Especially when no one believes that a child has a future. This is particularly the case for young people who come into contact with drugs and whose families are themselves so burdened that they are unable to give them any support.

In Caruaru, the "COMVIVA" initiative looks after street children. In addition to leisure activities, the girls and boys can complete vocational training here, for example to become a baker. Elementary education courses prepare them for state schools. With success! 95 per cent of the children there achieve a state school leaving certificate.

Support street children's projects with Misereor so that girls and boys in Brazil can live in dignity and without violence.

100 families in 3 neighbourhoods receive individual support from the Ruas e Praças team.
39 of these families are involved in community projects, including participation in political campaigns.
78% of the children and young people supported are able to talk about their feelings and experience that the connection to their families has improved.
54 women were specifically prepared to set up a micro-enterprise in arts and crafts or confectionery.
22 young people promote a culture of peace as mediators in schools and communities.

Download detailed project information

10 €

50 €

100 €

450 €

€ *

Provide loving care and attention: street children are particularly dependent on this.

For donations by bank transfer, please state the project number "P20057" in the reference.

To ensure that your donation has an impact in the long term, Misereor uses a small proportion for important administration an related tasks. This way, we make sure that projects are selected carefully and implemented responsibly and that their effects are regularly monitored. Should it not be possible to use your donation as planned, we will use it where it is currently needed most.

Our local partner organisations

COMVIVA

The Misereor partner organisation "COMVIVA " was founded in 1987 with the help of the local diocese. In Caruaru, it looks after children and young people from unstable family backgrounds and promotes their education, among other things.

Grupo Ruas e Praças

The Misereor partner organisation "Grupo Ruas e Praças" was founded in 1989 by former employees of state welfare institutions. Grupo Ruas e Praças reaches out to children and young people in Recife and gives them the belief in their own strength and worth.