Because some of the most gang-dominated favelas in Rio surround it, AIACOM has had to develop innovative techniques to address the psycho-social problems of poor children. Children have become accustomed to violence (often sexual violence) as the response to every problem -- since the government has abandoned the favelas, the gangs have become the de facto police. Rape is common, but then the gangs punish the rapists with death and the victim with a shaved head. Without the state or the church as a sponsor of marriage, single motherhood is common and sexual relations form and fall apart quickly. The commandos of one gang fight street wars with those of others.
In response, AIACOM is dedicated to teaching children how to live peacefully and justly with each other. The pedagogic relationship must be a model for human relations, and kindness must pervade every aspect of the program. Staff listen constantly, respecting the speaker and those around him. They encourage difference and promote friendships and cooperation between diverse children. Encounters between staff must be kind, just, and democratic. Though these techniques might appear simple, they take immense effort, “like creating a little utopia to teach the kids what they can be.” More significantly, this “pedagogy of justice” works. The interactions between kids that I saw were wonderful, kind, without bullying or exclusion, and completely contrary to the eye-for-an-eye ideology of the favelas. (AIACOM’s book, Plano Setorial, contains more information on their educational techniques.)
AIACOM designed a curriculum specifically to address issues of violence. Using photography, drawing, and poetry, the children explore their own relationship to violence and the ways that they escaped it (the beach, the garden, their friends, a retirement home where many kids volunteer). In addition to deconstructing violence, the artistic production was excellent.
One of the most interesting of AIACOM’s workshops focuses on story telling. Educators teach the basic forms of the story, how to create tension, develop character, and write dialogue, and the children then write and read the stories of their own lives. Later, they learn how to “read” their own stories: how to see symbolic violence, how to interpret signs that they did not know they were writing. In addition to the self-knowledge and pride that comes from this workshop, children learn how to listen to their peers and how to empathize with others’ experiences.
Though AIACOM should be a threat to the gangs in the surrounding favelas, it has not encountered any problems. Staff are fatalistic about the gangs, and believe that they have not been attacked because the gangs do not yet know of their existence; unfortunately, the peaceful coexistence may show that AIACOM is not making a real impact on the majority of the favela-dwellers.
Vicariato Nossa Senhora da Consolação
R. Barão do Bom Retiro,920
Rio de Janeiro
telefone: 2581-9918
Contact: Frei José Mauricio da Silva <siccons@uninet.com.br>
