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Brazil
“I am the mother of Maria Louiz and Joso Vitor. My name is Cicera Margarida. After I gained a place for my children at the crèche my life improved a lot. Best of all I quickly found a job, praise God.” House of Hope (crèche).
“My name is Maria Jose. After I started to participate in the services and know about the truth of God and learn how to be content and thankful, primarily to God for having shown me how good it is to be a sister in Christ Jesus and have a family in faith. In addition to this, today I have peace, joy, slightly better health, basic food and even a house.”
Brazil is the tenth largest economy in the world – yet it is a country of great disparity, with nearly 44 million people living below the poverty line and facing hunger. Recife is a metropolis city in the north-east of Brazil with a population of two million people and life here for women of lower socio-economic class is a constant daily battle for survival. Many families have arrived from the interior in hope of work and a better life, only to find their hopes unfulfilled, and their circumstances worse. Alcoholism, infidelity, violence and abuse are rife in these poorer communities, leaving large numbers of disempowered woman struggling alone to raise their families.
Casa de Esperança is a social and evangelistic project founded by the Episcopal Church; Igreja de Espirito Santo in Piedade, Recife. This project aims to support and empower the women and children of Carolinas favela (slum). Firstly, a need was seen for affordable day-care crèche facilities to enable women to work, pay their bills and feed their families. The crèche now has 50 day places, freeing mothers up to work, with the peace of mind that their children are being well looked after. There have been work-training programmes in sewing, waitressing, cooking and computing. Whilst social action helps on the surface to improve the quality of life for these women, it is the healing power of Christ which can bring true freedom and joy into the labyrinth of social problems they face daily.
A church has been planted, with between 100-200 children coming for Sunday school and with around 50 women and some men coming for the adult Bible study and worship. The mother church in Piedade has a well established three-day evangelistic course (Cursilho), and small groups of women from the favela are being sponsored to participate. For these three days they can hear God’s word, take a step back from their lives, and review where they are going and what God is saying. The transformation in their lives afterwards is incredible. Many have joined together weekly in prayer for their community; several are now being trained up as potential leaders for the church.
Following requests for help by the health workers within the favela, a weekly group for pregnant women was recently initiated. This group aims to empower and value women, support them with health issues, and encourage them spiritually. 48 pregnant women have attended this four-month course, which includes a Biblical talk, health talk and refreshments. The team of volunteers helping with the practical organisation includes several women from the favela community. At present the greatest dilemma for this project is space. The small crèche building also hosts both the church and pregnancy group. A church building and more meeting rooms are desperately needed. Theft and damage to the property is also a continual battle.
The mother church in Piedade has a relatively wealthier membership and there is a natural desire to provide material assistance to the women and children of Carolinas favela. A team of volunteers raise funds for food donations and also assist with job seeking. Women who complete the pregnancy course are given a starter pack of baby equipment and nappies. However, we are anxious not to create material dependency and in so doing disempower the very women we hope to empower. Therefore we are continually reassessing the necessities and methods of providing material assistance.
Whereas previously the project has ´existed´ in the favela, it is only recently that the community members themselves have started to ´participate´ and take ownership and leadership within the project. This seems to be directly related to the spiritual growth of the women involved. Developing leadership from within the community is essential for the long-term sustainability and development of this work
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