Country: Brazil

Program: São Bernardo do Campo Street Children Program

Contact: wcarter@gbgm-umc.org

Location: São Bernardo do Campo

Sponsorship of Program:

The Program is sponsored primarily through the Women's Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.  This is a large organization that provides funding for numerous organizations throughout the world.  The program at São Bernardo do Campo is one of ten outreach programs in Brazil funded by the United Methodist Women.

History of Program:

Methodist pastor Zeni de Lima coordinated the original project, which was started in 1983 by a coalition of local Methodist, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic churches.  In 1987, the program lost six children, all murdered in one night.  Over the course of the year, 37 children associated with the project were killed by death squads.  Pastor Zeni de Lima Soares remained as the sole coordinator of the program.  The pastors of the other churches seemed to feel that the project itself was all but dead.  Pastor Zeni, however, shared news of the project and of the loss of so many children with Christians in the United States.  By 1991, Soares found a building in which to open a street children's center.  Now the first group of children that the pastors began working with in 1983 has grown up.  One of the street boys, Marcos Antonio S. Souza, known with affection as  "Marquinhos"--became the co- director of the center's programs in 1995, fulfilling Pastor Zeni’s dream. 

Number of Children Served:

            Between 400-450 children are served at the center.

Characteristics of Children Served:

The project reaches out not only to children of the street, but also to children on the street and their families.  These children are often forced to work in order to survive and thus tend to be from extremely poor families.

How children are selected:

The project serves any children that come of their own volition.  The workers also seek out working children and their families. 

Program Services:

There are programs to educate the children, to bring them in off the street, to stimulate their creative thinking, and to develop their physical growth with activities such as dance and capoeira (a combination of dance and martial arts).  There is a daycare for working parents.  They also send groups of children to Camp Limpo Paulista to give them a chance to develop in a different /environment.  A very important part of the program involves working with the families of the children.  The main goals of this section are to reunite families, to council parents on health issues and psychological issues, to provide referrals to drug- and alcohol-abuse programs, and to put people into contact with government programs that can help them find housing and with advocacy groups.

Financial basis of program:

The Women's Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries receives all of its funding from private donations.  They receive about $4.5 million total for all international work.  The São  Bernardo do Campo Street Children Program receives about $10,000 annually. 

Philosophy:

The main goals of the program are to 1) offer educational guidelines that can strengthen a child's skills for insertion into society as a happy, useful member; 2) build self worth and an understanding of what it means to be a child of God; 3) help heal the hurts suffered by children who have been abused, rejected, exposed to drugs by offering the necessary professional care and by experiencing love, acceptance, forgiveness, and an opportunity for a new beginning; and 4) develop close ties with the surrounding community, so as to work together in meeting the needs of a growing population at risk.

Special Features:

A key point for center is to organize the children into groups so that they can discuss and analyze their rights under the law and work to make sure the government is complying.  The program workers believe that if the children and youth participate in society and can help develop the kind of society they want for themselves and their children, they will grow up as responsible adults.