Young Citizens The Landmark Achievements of Brazil's Social Movement for Children's Rights
Summer 1999, v15-3
reprinted from Fall 1998, v.14-3	by Caius Brandão The Social Apartheid in Brazil "The first and greatest violence is the systematic exclusion of people-a great number of people-by society. From this violence other violence directly and indirectly flows. Where you exclude, you must establish instruments to control those who are excluded so that they don't invade the peace of those who have access to opportunities and wealth." -Father Bruno Sechi, cofounder of the National Movement of Street Boys and Girls (MNMMR). In 1964, a military coup dismantled the Brazilian democratic government to establish an economic and political system influenced by foreign interests. The military dictatorship lasted for twenty-one years. During that time, grassroots movements for social justice were silenced by brutal forces including tortures, disappearances, murders, and arrests of political activists. International lending agencies financed the military government to develop Brazil. In addition to the acquisition of one of the world's largest foreign debts--estimated today as 130 billion U.S. dollars--what followed was the rapid destruction of the rainforest for logging and cattle raising; construction of monumental hydroelectric plants in the countryside to feed new industries in urban centers; and the mechanization of agriculture to produce export crops. Such mega-projects facilitated the concentration of wealth in the hands of the Brazilian elite and generated the largest migration process known in modern history. Fleeing rural poverty and inaccessibility to natural resource bases, approximately 30 million rural workers migrated to urban areas in only two decades. With this population influx, slum dwellings mushroomed and the phenomenon of street children rapidly became a widespread reality. ...almost 2000 children and teenagers were murdered between 1988 and 1991. Brazilian child advocacy groups claim that 90 percent of these murders go unpunished by the Brazilian judicial system. At the waning of the military regime in the 80s, the Brazilian society came to grips with the situation of poverty and violence to which most of its children had fallen victim. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the infant mortality rate in 1980 reached 73.0 percent, and almost 2000 children and teenagers were murdered between 1988 and 1991. Brazilian child advocacy groups claim that 90 percent of these murders go unpunished by the Brazilian judicial system. However, the killing of impoverished children and adolescents is only the most extreme type of violence that Brazilian youngsters are exposed to daily: child prostitution, hunger, homelessness, disease, sale of children, exploitation of child labor, and illiteracy are other tragedies facing Brazilian youth. A Light at the End of the Tunnel Thankfully, we live in a world where humanity flourishes, and there are ever-increasing levels of intolerance with regard to children's suffering. The driving force behind the social movement that organized 700 street children and teenagers to claim their rights at the Brazilian National Congress in 1989 was a vision of a better world. At the time, it seemed impossible to imagine that thousands of youth, severely victimized by social exclusion, would be able to organize and mobilize themselves. However, they successfully formed core groups in over twenty different Brazilian states, convened regional assemblies to choose their national young representatives, and presented their demands before the static eyes of politicians and the Brazilian society at large. From the aisles and seats of the National Congress, the young people affiliated with MNMMR, the National Movement of Street Boys and Girls (hereafter referred to as "the Movement"), voted symbolically for the ratification of the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA). After intensive lobbying and nationwide public support, the National Congress ratified the ECA, which was signed into law by President Fernando Collor in 1990. The empowerment of disadvantaged children and youth came hand-in-hand with an emerging nationwide social movement for the rights of children. In the late 80s, Brazil's democratic institutions were re-established through the revision of the Constitution. But even prior to that, community members, churches, minority groups, unions, as well as non-governmental organizations, politicians, and some government agencies had already begun the work to raise children's issues as national priorities on the political agenda. The inclusion of Article 227 in the Brazilian Constitution of October 1988 consolidated the wish of the nation to raise its children with dignity: It is the duty of the family, society, and the State to ensure children and adolescents, with absolute priority, the rights to life, health, food, education, leisure, professional training, culture, dignity, respect, freedom, and family and community life, in addition to safeguarding them against all forms of negligence, discrimination, exploitation, violence, cruelty, and oppression. The Movement's young activists represented the living foundation of a new concept of childhood that would permeate the newly revamped Brazilian children's rights legislation, the ECA (see sidebar 1). According to the Movement's philosophy, children are developing human beings with rights to full citizenship in a democratic society. Furthermore, as subjects in history, they should have a voice in decision-making processes that affect their lives.
	Sidebar 1: The Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA)
	International Recognition In October 1995, the Movement held the Fourth National Meeting of Street Boy and Girls and commemorated its ten years of existence. Approximately 850 young activists and 100 educators from every corner of Brazil gathered in Braslia-Federal District to demand immediate improvements in the Brazilian educational system. Several other countries were represented by their delegations of youth and adults, including Spain, Canada, France, England, the Netherlands, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, and the United States. The Brazil Project of the International Child Resource Institute (ICRI), in conjunction with Global Exchange--non-profit organizations based in the San Francisco Bay, CA area--organized the U.S. delegation to attend the National Meeting. The group departing from the U.S. was formed by students, researchers, youth activists, and child advocates from different regions of the country. [These Brazilian children gave us] the inspiration of their solidarity, of their undefeatable strength and tenacity, of their unfailing hope and their omnipresent love and laughter. A young African-American writer named Jennifer Sanders was the first to join the U.S. delegation. In the trip report put together by the ICRI Brazil Project she wrote: Our trip began with the hope that our presence for the three days of the National Meeting would lend support to the children and their cause: the daily struggle for the basic rights. We came to Brazil hoping to learn from the powerful example of our young hosts who have organized themselves to fight for their rights. What these children gave to us in return was even greater than this. They gave to us the inspiration of their solidarity, of their undefeatable strength and tenacity, of their unfailing hope and their omnipresent love and laughter. Jim Senter, the Executive Director of the National Child Rights Alliance, also traveled with the U.S delegation. He commented that "By approaching street kids as part of the solution instead of a problem, the Movement is able to utilize these young people's tremendous enthusiasm, energy, and creativity." The youngster's high level of organization impressed most of the international delegates. Bonnie Hayskar, a U.S. child advocate, wrote about her experience at the National Meeting: Despite the nearly insurmountable problems in Brazil, the organizational approach being developed there may, in fact, be a model for serving the world's children. Perhaps the salient difference in approach between Brazil and other countries dealing with increased numbers of street children is that Brazil's 10-year-old Movement and its fourth National Meeting were "of" the children--not for them or about them. It wasn't a group of adults sitting around in well-padded, high-rise, "help-the-children" offices, talking lofty ideas about what's best for Brazil's street children. It was Brazil's street children themselves talking pragmatically about what's best for them.
	Sidebar 2: From the Periphery of Belem to the Second National Meeting: Maria's Story
	The Movement's Educational Approach The Movement is highly influenced by the work of Paulo Freire, a Brazilian professor who created a revolutionary adult literacy teaching technique and developed important theories and model programs in the field of popular education. The Liberation Theology, a social movement within the Brazilian Catholic church, was another important influence in the development of the Movement's educational approach. With the knowledge and experiences of affiliated educators and activists (around two thousand people in 1995), the Movement developed the following guidelines for organizing street youth in Brazil: Recognizing their distinct struggles. Street youth struggle both as people with particular histories, experiences and knowledge, who have been victimized by social exclusion; and as citizens who have been denied fundamental rights. Developing their critical consciousness. The objective of organizing poor young people is so they can exercise their citizenship and become the subjects of their own history. Understanding spontaneous forms of organization. Children and youth living on the streets organize spontaneously in their daily struggle for survival. Recognizing differences in youth population. Specific categories of street children include child street workers, children living on the streets, children living in slums, and so on. This awareness allows educators to develop differentiated approaches. Acknowledging the needs of certain groups. The plight of street girls, children of African and indigenous descent, and child rural workers must have specific attention within the Movement. Respecting age differences. The needs, dreams, and emotional and learning processes of each age bracket are unique. Providing fun activities. Games, entertainment, cultural events, sports, and leisure time are key to the process of organizing youth. Shaping core groups. It is crucial that the body, structure, and design of core groups are set forth by the children and youth themselves. Building unity. Youth culture is a valuable tool for building unity among young people. Respecting individual as well as collective needs. Though the process of social organization is a collective construction, individual needs must be respected as well. Bringing the Movement's Experience to the United States The U.S. delegation to the National Meeting concluded that the Movement's model could have broad applicability within the U.S. context. If a program could be developed to translate the best aspects of the Brazilian model into the American reality, it was thought, street youth in the U.S. could gain comparable skills and abilities. As a result, the RYSE project (Rising Youth for Social Equity) was initiated in San Francisco in the fall of 1996, based upon the Brazilian model, with funding awarded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. RYSE is an educational program run by and for homeless and inner city youth from a variety of racial, economic, religious and cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. After completion of the pilot program, ICRI received supplemental funding from the Kellogg Foundation to disseminate the RYSE model in the Bay area. In late 1997, ICRI produced a report that was the result of an evaluation process developed by RYSE youth. In this report, ICRI highlights some key directives to adapt the model to the U.S. reality. There are certain differences and similarities between the realities of American and Brazilian youth which have impacted the implementation of the Brazilian model in the United States (see Table 1). While some of these differences are significant, they have also served to strengthen the adaptation of the model for use in the U.S.
	Table 1: Comparisons Between Brazil and U.S., Showing Level and Effect
	One of the major problems in the U.S. model is the lack of a national youth policy and legislation on young people s rights, such as the Brazilian ECA; this deficit affects the progress of innumerable service providers and children's rights organizations in the U.S. In addition, due to turf issues and competition for funding, most U.S. programs work in isolation. The partnerships among non profit agencies have largely been formed at the request of funders, rather than as a result of common approaches and methodologies. RYSE has combated this trend by working as a catalyst among different organizations and resources in the Bay Area. The common theme among participants is an alternative approach to youth empowerment, where young people are seen as citizens possessing rights and duties in a democratic society. Inspired by the Brazilian experience, this network is creating venues for the exchange of ideas and practices, for redefining the concept of youth empowerment, and for creating an effective methodology to work with poor and underrepresented youth. Author Bio Caius Brandão was born and raised in Brazil. He has worked for the Brazilian National Movement of Street Boys and Girls (MNMMR) as a volunteer group facilitator and youth rights advocate. In 1991, Caius moved to the U.S. and in 1993 started the Brazil Project of the International Child Resource Institute (ICRI), in Berkeley, CA. Under ICRI's umbrella, he helped design and implement a pilot program for San Francisco street youth, Rising Youth for Social Equity (RYSE). Currently, Caius directs the ICRI Brazil Project, under the umbrella of the Faith and Joy Foundation of Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro.
	NEW DESIGNS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT © 1999