Anti-racist education for a violence-free future

Dear Friend and Supporter

Today we’re going to update you on the amazing story of Thiago, our Revolutionary Poet, so you can see how your generous donations really do transform and save lives!

Spreading poetry, art and transformation

Thiago became a Viva a Vida beneficiary through the workshops we run on Human Rights, Racism and Violence at the State College of Vila de Abrantes, very close to our offices.  In the first workshop, our Youth Educator, Marcos Paulo, talked about the importance of having dreams.

Thi, as we affectionately call him, didn’t want to participate in the workshop and questioned Marcos Paulo about his choice of theme. He left the classroom! Disturbed by this, Marcos approached him in the school yard for an informal chat.

That was when Thiago said: “I don’t know what dreaming is. My life has never allowed me to dream. I don’t have any prospects, I come to school because I have to, I live with my mother because there’s nothing else I can do, I don’t see any point in your classes or anybody else’s. Can you see these marks (pointing to scars on his body), these are bullet wounds, that’s my story. Do you really think I’m going to start thinking about dreams?”

This difficult dialogue stayed with Marcos, who came into Viva a Vida’s offices and told us about it, considering a thousand ways he could reach out and work with Thiago.  Marcos approached Thiago tirelessly, invited him to workshops, suggested friendships, kept on talking to him.

This bond enabled Thiago to find out about our work, to become involved and, little by little, he fell under our spell!

Over these five years, Thiago has participated in training, become a young assistant and volunteer and a great artist.

Taking photography, poetry and literature workshops, Thiago has discovered that he can write about his experiences, touching and transforming the lives of other people, particularly the lives of other young people.

And Thiago learnt how to dream!

He began to write and recite poetry, has invested in a music career, has started studying again and participates in some of the most important artist collectives in the city.

He lives alone and supports himself through his art.  Reciting poetry on buses and in bars. The story of his involvement in the violent drug trade has been replaced by work to transform lives through his own life experience!

Finally, but this isn’t the end, now aged 20, in June, Thiago launched his first book of poems, called Akanni – Fruitful Encounter, containing his poetry of protest and the anti-racist struggle.

The book launch took place in the Cordoaria Quilombo and Thiago gave a copy to every one of the 23 women from the Flour House, participants in Viva a Vida’s Beijuzeuras in Resistance Project. The book contains seven of Thiago’s very powerful and impactful poems, focused on the social reality of most black men and women from Brazil’s city peripheries:

War on drugs, or war on black lives?

War on drugs, or war on black lives?

I see death in the ghetto and I say nothing

In the news we see only Ukraine at war

In real life I see a black mother abandoned

In real life I see my sister Maria abandoned

So many weapons in the world

And love has become small…

The meaning of life

Is everyone united.

Social attitudes tell people

That they are unequal

But no one is unequal

They are brothers of capital

Of the state, of the country.

They carve up the world

and tell you they are civilized.

Recently, Thiago presented his work to the Global Fund for Children’s (GFC) CEO Meeting, attended by GFC senior management and representatives of grassroots institutions from around the world, to discuss management, governance, social project planning and social technologies.  During the meeting, Thiago talked about his life experiences, how he came to know Viva a Vida and how art has transformed his life.  Here are some of the responses to his presentation from colleagues in Romania, Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan, Guatemala and Washington:

“Great story Tiago and I love the fact that your transformation is so visible and you are also touching lives.”

“Powerful life story Tiago... we are super proud of the impact you are creating.”

“Very inspiring!!!!!”

“Maybe we cannot change the world, but just to change one life is worth it.”

“Incredible journey Tiago, thank you for sharing with us!”

“If more politicians were artists, the world would be a better place!”

“I couldn’t miss this bro. What a powerful platform.”

The group talked about translating Thiago’s poetry into other languages to use in their youth projects, and one of the participants said he had never understood the meaning of poetry but, through Thiago’s words and emotion, he has now begun to feel and understand it.

Viva dreams, Viva art, Viva Thiago, Viva a Vida!!!

Find out a more about this story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I29qilrAxxs – a short film about Thiago’s life (with English subtitles)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5VAoDtKTYw - Thiago presenting Viva a Vida’s documentary about Drug Policy (in Portuguese)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eWCKDKE1J0- Thiago’s first poetry performance on stage (in Portuguese)

“Beijuzeuras in resistance: getting back to work!”

On 5 June, after six months of hard work, and thanks to all your donations and words of support, the “Beijuzeuras in resistance: getting back to work!” project, supporting the beijuzeira pancake makers of the Cordoaria Quilombo in Vila de Abrantes, came to an end.  Your gifts have helped this project leave a legacy of knowledge aimed at combatting prejudice, promoting entrepreneurialism and overcoming difficulties.

There were 63 project beneficiaries 23 women, 20 young people and 20 children.  The closing activity at the Cordoaria Flour House was attended by all the beijuzeira women and was also the occasion for Thiago, our Revolutionary Poet, to launch his book of poems Akanni – Fruitful Encounter.

The project was set up to minimize the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic had on the community, and is a Viva a Vida initiative, with funding from the state government, through the Department for the Promotion of Racial Equality (Sepromi), in partnership with the Beijuzeiras women’s group in the Cordoaria Quilombo.

The activities were run along three action lines: Women, with a view to promoting the work of the beijuzeiras and strengthening entrepreneurship; Young people, who participated in racism and graffiti workshops as a way to generate income; Children, who participated in story-telling workshops based on the works of black authors.

All the material purchased for the project was intended to strengthen local commerce and generate income for other women, such as the aprons produced by the seamstresses of the Estiva de Buris de Abrantes Association.

Links:

• Short film about Thiago's journey

Dear Friends and Supporters

VIVA THE QUILOMBO!!!!

Since our last report, with all our reverence for ancestry and with all your help, Viva a Vida has been working in the Cordoaria Quilombo. The community, which has resisted for over 260 years, contains 300 families and around 1,200 inhabitants.

The relationship between Viva a Vida and the quilombo started slowly, through our response to the terrible effects COVID-19 has had on the community. With your donations and with support from GlobalGiving’s emergency fund, we’ve helped to meet the needs of a good part of the community, with food, hygiene kits, activities and respect. 

Today, we can say that we are really connected to the quilombo, structuring our work towards more activities and projects to improve lives. At the end of last year, we received funding from the Bahia State Government, through its Department for the Promotion of Racial Equality (SEPROMI) to carry out an intervention there.

We are providing training and emergency aid activities for 23 women who are members of the Cordoaria flour house. The training focuses on black entrepreneurship, given that the women live from the products, principally beiju pancakes, they make from manioc flour and all this production had to stop during the pandemic. Viva a Vida’s training was aimed at qualifying the women as black entrepreneurs as they started to get back to work, hence the name of the project “Beijuzeuras in resistance: getting back to work!” Other activities include a course on racism and rights in which they have been able to reflect on the importance of maintaining their traditions in order to strengthen their community group.

Looking at the family as a whole, we have been amazed by the talent of the young people in the community who have learned to make graffiti T-shirts and participated in conversation circles about violence (an important topic in a community which already contains individuals and groups involved in drug trafficking and violence). And with the children, we’ve had unique encounters, helping them reclaim their quilombola identity by telling stories that reflect their Afro-Brazilian history, and setting up an important partnership with the local school.

Other sustainability activities for the women beijuzeuras include restructuring their social media platforms, making uniforms, standardizing their audio-visual material, and financial support for the purchase of materials and kits with supplies and utensils. With your support, we have been able to ensure that the most important thing happens: QUILOMBOLA WOMEN ARE FINANCIALLY SELF-SUFFICIENT AND ABLE TO LIVE WITH DIGNITY!

Here are some of the things people have said about the project:

“My dear, we will never forget the affection you at Viva a Vida have for us. Not just because of the benefits, but for everything we're learning here,” Maria, Beijuzeira.

“Quilombo children really need this. Other people coming to talk to them about what we try to say every day... you are beautiful, beautiful black princesses” Alexandra, head of the local quilombo elementary school.

“I'm very excited about everything I see here. As a black woman, I know the importance of seeing other black women going through these formative experiences” Liliane, SEPROMI funding inspector.

Other Activities:

a)      Oxiteno Mentoring:

Some of Viva a Vida’s young people are completing the Letters and Careers project. At this stage, they are accompanied by volunteer mentors from Oxiteno, directing their life plans and focusing on developing strategies to enter the world of work.

“I never imagined I needed to have a professional life plan, but now I know how to put down different strategies on paper and choose the path to follow. I no longer feel frustrated or lost” Miqueias, young male participant.

“It's been wonderful to have a mentor, he was a great match, I'm learning so much” Valéria, young female participant. 

b)      Vocação:

We’re happy to tell you that we’ve just finalized a great partnership with the Vocação Institution, based in São Paulo, which provides unique and essential work supporting young people in their professional development and training. They focus on opening up opportunities for marginalized young people from the city peripheries, to help them access quality education and work. Together we’re going to train 500 students from the public school system in ways to enter the job market, with a particular focus on ‘soft skills’, to enhance interpersonal communication and self-esteem.

c)      Funder Visit - Global Fund For Children (GFC):

On April 02, Kimberly and Nayara, GFC representatives, visited Viva a Vida to find out about our work on the “Beijuzeuras in resistance: getting back to work!” project in the Cordoaria Quilombo.   During the visit, the quilombola children had great fun listening to Maju, our fantastic storyteller, telling them stories that reflect their Afro-Brazilian and quilombola history. The children absolutely loved it! To end the visit with a smile, representatives of the Cordoaria Quilombo presented the visitors, and Cressida (Viva a Vida International Consultant and former Coordinator), with souvenirs bags of delicious products made in the quilombo.