favela life

this week we have been working in two of the favelas (slums) in rio. the first was called 'dupla brunei' and the second 'complexo'. life in the favelas for the large part is not as we expected. life seems to be really relaxed and the people are generally friendly, even tho the living conditions are extremely bad.

the complexo favela is based on two large hills that face each other. each hill is run by rival drug baron gangs (called the 3rd commandent and the commando verhmallo -or the red command). it is expected that no-one from opposing hills should try to sell drugs on the other ones patch. if someone does then there is generally violence, but this only occurs once every 3-4 months, leaving the hills peaceful the rest of the time! during the short time we were there, i did see one person with a huge AK-47 but for some reason you dont feel scared.

at complexo we helped a family with 22 members! 12 children and 6 grand children lived in two very small houses combined together. both houses had one bedroom, 'sitting room', kitchen and broken toilet. their house had been made very poorly and we joined in to help repair some of the walls, roof and doors. around the house there was a horrible smell from the kids urinating in the street, and sewage flowing on walkways that made working very difficult. after we finished with the building for the day, our leader said a prayer with the family as they were looking to save some money for a waterbox for the roof. however with no male figures around, and only two sisters working it is very hard for them to save any money at all. it was a very depressing day for us, but also a very good insight into favela life.

on a brighter note, we did have the best burger ever in the favela. probably about 50p and it tasted so amazing. from the top of either hill you could see for miles across rio de janeiro. a beautiful site, hopefully a photo can be uploaded later.

the work done by ywam here is a slow process, but it definitely is helping. we visited a house that had already been improved and the difference was huge. hopefully we will return to the complexo favela in the future and help continue the work there. a great experience all round.

family we helped

legends at the favela base