Change Lives of 100 High Risk Teen Mums in Brazil

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your generosity in donating to our project. Here, we’d like to let you know the story of a project beneficiary so you can see how important your support of our work is.

Maria is 19 years old and began to frequent the project when she was 3 months pregnant. She, like the majority of the attendees, has a life story of loss, drug use and family conflict. When she began to attend the project, her life circumstances were highly vulnerable. To earn a minimal amount, she distributed leaflets on the street advertising a nightclub and, as she had continuously fought with her mother, had left home and was without a place to live. She confided to the project team that many times, in order to get food, she had been forced to prostitute herself.

 In April of this year, the project team acted quickly to help her get her own ID (she had never had a Birth Certificate issued), so that she could then enroll in a program of pre-natal care at a public health clinic. The first pre-natal exams showed that she had an STD, so she immediately began treatment and, feeling very low, began to have contact with her mother again, who asked her to return home. This moment was decisive as Maria began to change her own behavior towards her mother and to help in the home, especially with her younger brothers and sisters.

During group therapy at the project, Maria explained that she was very happy to be living with her mother again and she had realized just how important a mother is in our lives. She also confided that she no longer used drugs and that this phase of her life had been overcome. She also came to the realization during therapy that she was repeating the story of her mother, saying, “…my mother raised us alone and now I see myself, the same as her, I’ll raise my child alone too”.  Maria had a baby boy at the beginning of October, she continues to live with her mother and is much calmer and more mature, with a greater sense of responsibility. She says her dream is to meet her own father, to return to studying and to work.

The project team has helped Maria through this process of change, supporting and orienting her every step of the way. In fact, the project attendees each have a story similar to Maria’s and all have the possibility for very positive and transformative change. 

On behalf of all the project beneficiaries, we’d like to thank you for your interest in and support of our work and to wish you a very happy end of the year!