HEROES WHO ARE BUILDING FUTURES :   Ana Cristina Diogo Gomes de Melo   Dra. Rosa Celia Barbosa      LIVES THAT HAVE BEEN REBUILT: Fabiano Minileski

HEROES WHO ARE SAVING LIVES Message from Lisa Urgo, President As I find myself embarking on a new field and a new stage in my life, its impossible for me to work with abandoned, unwanted and underprivileged youth without noticing the tremendous efforts of the people who have been doing this work for a long time, who are often un-rewarded, unnoticed and underpaid. Many people, when they find out what I am doing with my life now, think its such a great thing - an American working in Brazil, in the "favelas", the dangerous communities of Brazils poorest, trying to help needy children of a country other than my own. It sounds so dramatic and enticing. They are moved and often say "it's interesting that you, an American, have come here to do this when our own people don't do anything." I always expect them to say that and I always have the same answer that they couldn't be more wrong! What I am doing is no great effort - for a white, privileged, educated American citizen things come easy, doors open and people listen, I am welcome in all worlds and all areas of society I am just using these realities, taking advantage of my situation to justify the gifts God has given me. My efforts are nothing compared to the uphill battle these heroes have been fighting for many years. It is due to the inspiration I receive from meeting these hardworking heroes (social workers, educators, program coordinators, writers, teachers, anthropologists, and just regular citizens of the world) that I have been driven to honor them the only way I can right now: I am proud to include in our website this area of "Our Heroes" where we will feature some of those angels who relentlessly follow their dream to better the lives of underprivileged Brazilian youth and create a more pleasant, hopeful future for them. I dedicate this section to the heroes of Brazil's poor children in order to thank them for their efforts, for it is because of these folks that I can continue to do my daily work in their honor and on behalf of the young people they serve.

Ana Cristina Diogo Gomes de Melo - Inst. de Ecocidadania Juriti

When I was a child growing up in the interior of Pernambuco and living in the main farmhouse at my father's sugar mill, I was deeply discouraged by the poor living and working conditions of the sugar cane workers. When I was six years old, I witnessed the brutal power of the military dictatorship when soldiers came to hunt down the peasant leaders who lived at the sugar mill. My father refused them entry. As a result, he was commercially ostracized and ended up losing his sugar mill. This experience prompted me to learn about social problems and to make a personal contribution to mitigate them. At the university, I studied social sciences and began to develop educational programs to teach civic empowerment in the low-income areas on the outskirts of Recife and Olinda. When I graduated from the university I lived for four years with the Tapirapé people, an Amerindian community in the northeast of Mato Grosso. The act of moving from a chair in the university classroom to a seat in a canoe gave me a clearer and more realistic vision of the world. When I returned, I got involved in environmental causes related to civic empowerment, and I went back to the university to specialize in human ecology. In 1998, I left Olinda again to conduct research on the pilgrimages in Juazeiro do Norte, and I fell in love with the area. I began working with children and adolescents in the community of Boca das Cobras making use of photography, drawing and texts. We won the Betinho Prize for Citizenship given by the Banco do Brasil Foundation in the category of education. Using the money received with this prize, I opened a small office and established the NGO called Juriti that is today is the primary focus of my life.

Dr. Rosa's Dream for Hospital da Criança       

A Children's Hospital providing state-of-the-art medical for poor children through an innovative not for profit plan.  

The Pro Criança Cardíaca Project is committed to providing comprehensive care to all children in the Greater Rio De Janeiro community suffering from heart disease. Since 1996, the project has given economically disadvantaged children opportunities they would not have otherwise had – namely to live, and to live their dreams . 

LIVES THAT HAVE BEEN SAVED :

Fabiano Minileski

Fabiano Minileski  is a young man who passed most of the afternoons of his childhood performing for money in the transit centers of Rio ’s richer region of Zona Sul , in order help with his family’s finances.

After entering the Pensando Junto project, Fabiano, who never gave up studying, stopped his transit center performances in order to become one of the most assiduous, committed, and concerned youth in the project. His dedication and will to continue studying and learning contributed, after being informed by Pensando Junto about a job opening, to his being hired to work with special benefits at a restaurant in Sao Conrado

Since then, Fabiano has been excelling, as the owner of the restaurant tells us: “Fabiano, on top of being a very responsible young man, punctual and hard-working, learns very quickly and performs his work very efficiently.”  

  Since he began working, Fabiano contributes financially to his family, covering his own expenses, and aquiring more experience every day.