Second Week in Rio

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We started the week with a visit to one of the more dangerous favelas that the organization works in. Each favela is either controlled by the city, cartel or militia. This favela, Cidade de Deus, is controlled by cartel so we can only enter when a community liaison accompanies us. While drugs are displayed and sold on the street like vegetables, the cartel does not allow the use of the drugs in the street. You actually have to leave the community to see groups of drug users in plain sight. I met with a group of the women to select a new class of entrepreneurs to start the business training courses and eventually apply for a micro loan.

On Tuesday we attended a ceremony with the city to celebrate the end of a collaboration between the city and some local non profits such as Instituto Dom. After the ceremony we had a chance to sit down with some city leaders to discuss challengers that the entrepreneurs face. The government offers a micro loan program, but it has a lot of requirements that would exclude over 80% of these women. We asked for their support in bringing a micro finance program that meets these women where they are so we can lift them up to engaging in the normal business lending arena.

Later in the week we visited a new Favela for me, Santa Marta to meet with several business women. Again beauty: hair, nails, waxing and food production are the most common businesses. The organization is going to add a class next term to encourage the women to think of different business needs to avoid so much competition. One of the women along with several partners was able to move her salon business to Copacabana (a wealthy community along the beach). Because they all share the rent they are able to afford the much higher rent, but it pays off with what they can charge. Many of the women would not have the resources to move their business to a more wealthy location, but this woman is going to speak to the group about how they can expand their businesses outside of their favela.

In the evening I visited two different Samba neighborhoods. There is a big band Samba (think couple dancing) as well as Carnival Samba. The later being a more vibrant dancing.The bands were very good and the energy was great from the Carnival Samba. The dance originated among enslaved and freed Africans that the Portuguese had brought to Brazil to work in the sugarcane fields. The samba is Brazil’s national dance and made famous world wide with Carnival.

I finished the weekend with a visit to another mountain town to escape the heat of Rio: Teresópolis. Similar to last weekend it felt like a small European town complete with Christmas marts. I hiked the finger of the Gods, had some great food, and great views of the mountains.

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