Convey your mission with power and passion - see Throwing Light’s targeted services at work. Click here
Convey your mission with power and passion - see Throwing Light’s targeted services at work. Click here
São Paulo is the economic and industrial heart of Brazil. With a total population of over 20 million (including suburbs), the city is alive with people, commerce, and waaay too many cars. One of our hosts told us of a recent traffic jam that stretched over 143 miles! She said it is predicted that by 2012 the city will come to a complete standstill due to the growing number of cars and trucks and buses and mopeds and people.
São Paulo is also home to some serious social problems. Unemployment, drug use, drug trafficking, increased violence, and rising inflation leave many of São Paulo’s newly arrived residents disappointed. One woman explained that people flock to the city from all over the country in search of a better job and a better life. Most don’t find either.
But there is hope! The first project we visited was Novo Amanhecer (New Dawn), a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and home to over 70 men working towards recovery. Residents are required to stay for at least 9 months, mirroring the cycle of birth. And we saw firsthand that these men are indeed reborn - personally, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. We were inspired by their stories and their commitment to healing.
From there, we traveled to a neighborhood known as “Crack Land” (or “Garbage Mouth”). This neighborhood is infamous for its drug trafficking, violent crime, crumbling infrastructure and overt prostitution. The children of this community have been abused, forced to traffic drugs, or otherwise caught up in the violence of the neighborhood.
But through the work of an organization called CENA, these children have a safe haven where they can escape the most destructive elements of their society. At CENA’s community center, they can play soccer, get help with their homework, study the bible, learn computer skills, and receive counseling, social work, and medical/dental care. Homeless adults also visit the center to take showers, get clean clothes, store their belongings in a locker and get medical care as needed. Addicts who are ready to get clean can get spiritual and psychological support at a CENA farm outside the city and continue their recovery at a half-way home.
São Paulo is an amazing, sprawling, bustling, alive city and it was a great beginning to our adventure in Brazil. We were inspired by the work of organizations like Novo Amanhecer and CENA who are working to heal individual lives and transform neighborhoods. Stay tuned for entries about our adventures in Belém, a northern river city in the Amazon basin; and Rio De Janeiro, the sensual city of contrasts.
March 11th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Stacey Derbinshire