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South America
In modern urban life, with high unemployment, great poverty and the breakdown of social structures, violence is commonplace. The Anglican Diocese of Pelotas is confronted daily with this reality in its social work among the poor. Of course, violence is not limited to this group of the population – it occurs in all levels of society and shows its face in many different ways: break-ins, child neglect, cruelty to animals, alcohol abuse, unjust wages, wife beating, etc. Violence is a result, rather than a cause of, widespread problems. In Pelotas, we have opted for a holistic approach to these problems. Rather than focus on “just” the violence, we work with families from the poorest areas on different levels. In offering a variety of services and activities to those involved, we seek to show in a practical way that God cares, to restore human dignity and build responsible citizenship.
One of the programmes we run is a school for mothers, attending one afternoon a week, offering short studies and worship, craftwork and cookery classes, candle making and other incomegenerating skills. A psychologist works on self-esteem, child-raising, assertiveness and other personal issues; a social worker helps them with all their documentation, explains their rights and refers the women, if necessary, to public services or to a NGO like GAMP/JUS – a volunteer group of female lawyers, dedicated to legally assisting women in abusive situations.
It is wonderful to see the change in the participating women over time: they have grown in self-confidence and even in care for their appearance. Several are applying skills they have learned in our programme and are earning money; some have benefited through counselling for themselves and their children and have plucked up courage to confront an abusive situation. The literacy classes, linked to this programme, are very empowering. One student said she felt she was a human being now that she was able to read and write.
On another programme, we get teenagers from troubled families, again from poor suburbs. Through music, art, dance and evangelism, we offer ways to these young people to spend their time constructively and redirect their energies. The capoeira classes are very popular: apart from culture and tradition, they teach the children self-control and nonviolent reactions. Parents and the local community have commented favourably on the difference in the children's behaviour after a few months.
As a church we cannot directly treat the causes of violence, but we can help change people’s reactions to them – they don’t have to continue being victims for ever. The easiest groups to work with are women and children, the men are the hardest to reach. We haven’t come up with a programme yet that will address them and their needs. We are interested in hearing from other churches and groups as to what they have achieved in this area!
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