"OK, So I’m A Rich American And My Life Is Cushy Compared To A Lot Of Other People. But My Checking Account’s Still Zero At The End Of Every Month.
What Can I Do?"
Certainly I’m not telling you all this just to make you feel guilty. But I know that once we’re all informed, we can begin to solve some problems. So now that I’ve told you all about poor people living in favellas etc. etc., what should you or I do about it?
Well that’s a big question, and all I can say is "anything is better than nothing." In Sao Paulo we met a 4 year old girl who’s alive simply because a man from the US offered to pay her medical bills when she was born with serious complications. I don’t know that it was a huge expense for him but he wouldn’t have known about it if he hadn’t gone there in the first place.
And by the way, it doesn’t have to be Brazil. There are always things in your own back yard. You don’t have to look very far. Our church has something called an ‘urban plunge’ where sheltered yuppies like ourselves go to the inner city to help with some project or another. It’s not always comfortable but it’s better than not knowing or being involved!
Does anybody have band instruments? Mr. Carneiro is keeping kids off the streets by getting them involved in his orchestra. All he needs is horns, clarinets, oboes, strings, percussion, etc. Do you know a band director, or someone who works at a music store? Every single instrument you send will help.
Then there’s Paulo. He’s been in the US several times, willing, to talk to any group that will listen to him. He’ll tell the stories of how he and his organization are rescuing kids from life on the streets, show pictures, and let people know how they can help. You want to see results for the money you give? This guy will prove to you that he can take a dollar and get something done with it!
Paulo wants to fund an education program and a foster care program. These days a dollar goes a long way in Brazil.Do you want to financially contribute to Paulo’s ministry? Or would you like to get Paulo’s and Ireni’s E-mail newsletter or mailing list? Paulo’s website is www.themotas.org
Anything is better than nothing!
That about wraps it up. Hope you found this at least entertaining. We arrived safely back in Chicago this morning. I noticed a few special things. Even our own suburb, Berwyn, where all the houses are 5′ from each other, looks downright spacious compared to the jumbled maze of graffiti and concrete we grew accustomed to in Brazil. The air here is comparatively fresh, even during rush hour (I especially appreciate the fact that trucks’ exhaust pipes here exit ABOVE the truck, rather than out the side into your passenger car window) and I have a new appreciation for such fine individuals as our own Mayor Daley and President Clinton ;^)
We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Love,
Perry, Laura, Cuyler and Tannah
This is a very well written summary of Brazil, Perry. Despite being a decade old, it’s interesting how many of these issues still persist to this day. While Lula has done a decent job in addressing many of these issues, Brazil still has a long way to go to really create a strong middle class which has been a key driver of America’s prosperity. Many people I’ve spoken with here are not happy with the current choices of candidates for this year’s presidential election and fear that the systemic corruption will get even worse. Rio de Janeiro has certainly changed a lot since I was last here 5 years ago and is rapidly working to become an international destination with the upcoming World Cup and Olympics.
Brazil is a truly wonderful country that, despite its problems, has some of the kindest and warmest people I’ve ever known. You did a great job of showing the contrasting sides of the country–the beautiful generosity and kindness and the sheer ruthlessness of desperation and greed that co-exist alongside each other in an eerily harmonious manner.
It fills me with happiness to see the efforts of people like your friend Paulo who do this kind of work with these children. It has inspired me.
I really enjoyed reading this article. It felt like I was there with you on the adventure. I first visited Brazil in 1998. I was visiting my sister and her Brazilian husband. I visited them again in 2004 and fell in love with a girl from their church. We got married in 2007 and live in Hawaii with our 8 month old son.
I really liked to read your article about Brazil. I’m brazilian and I used to live in Sao Paulo for about 4 years. For me it’s an interesting situation to know that someone went to Sao Paulo for tourism because isn’t a beautiful city or attractive to visit.
Now I have been linving in London but I miss my country, despite its problem, has friendly people that do as much is possible to help other or to give a great welcome for everybody.
Thanks to visit my country.
Cheers, Ana