More Information About this Project
Project Needs and Beneficiaries
Drug trafficking offers favela youth things that society does not: status; money and access to goods; as well as social ascension; in a world with sub-par education and no real opportunity. In the impoverished community of Baixa Fluminese, where children as young as 8 years old get involved with the drug trade. Circo Baixada is bringing kids back to school and working to integrate them into sustainable and safe futures through education and activities that build self-esteem and self reliance.
Activities
Children who attend school enjoy after school programs in social circus & art; open classes to community youth for job training, Health information, citizen rights, & drug recovery/prevention; resources to choose a more productive life overcrime.
Funding Information
Total Funding Received to Date: $3,079
Funding Information
This project is now in implementation and no longer available for funding.
Received funds will be used to accomplish concrete objectives as
indicated in the project's "Activities" section. Updates will be posted under the
"Progress Report" tab as they become available.
Donors' contributions and pledges to this project totaled $3,079. The original project funding goal was $3,079.
Additional Documentation
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
Resources
Why this Project is Important
Potential Long Term Impact
250 youth followed over a year 97% remain in school; keeping them off the street and away from crime with healthy alternatives and the ability to envision a future out of the drug trade.
Project Message
This is a relatively new project and is urgently needing support as it is located in one of Rio’s poorest and most dangerous areas, & has been very successful in getting children into positive pathway
- Christine Clauser, Development Director Dreams Can Be Foundation
When this Project was Updated
Last Updated
This project was last updated on April 26, 2007.
Date Added to GlobalGiving
This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on August 24, 2006.
Latest Update from the Field
Progress Report
By Emma - Dreams Can Be Intern, April 26, 2007 04:53 PM
Recent Developments
2006 was a year of great development for Circo Baixada with respect to intervention in the lives of children, adolescents, families, and the surrounding community of Baixada Fluminense of 3.9 million inhabitants. The program has partnered with the Juvenile Justice System of the municipality to provide social education through community service for adolescents who have broken the law. The program has also worked on preventative action by establishing a presence in the surrounding community, providing a base of support for children, adolescents, and families, and serving as a forum for community mobilization. Circo Baixada has made significant contributions to the Baixada Children’s Network, an inter-municipal network that promotes the rights of children and adolescents made up of 10 community organizations. The network was borne of a local conference entitled “Weaving the net of social protection for the children and adolescents of Baixada Fluminense.”
This year’s major performance was entitled “Popular Culture Invades Circo Baixada” and was the culmination of great efforts on the part of all the 80 participants, children, and their families. In preparation for the performance, the students went on a field trip to the Museum of Popular Culture. The childrens’ performance featured historical stories, comedy routines, clowns, jugglers, trapeze artists, and performers of all the circus arts. Nearly 400 audience members attended the show in Nova Iguaçu in September 2006.
Success Stories
Over the course of 2006, 366 children and adolescents participated in the Circo Baixada project. Seventy percent of these young people had a good attendance rate. 132 children were able to leave the program, 72% of which had their links to their families and communities strengthened and their participation in the formal education system renewed. At present, 58 more children are in the process of successfully leaving the program.
During the past year, numerous delegations from surrounding municipalities have visited the Circo Baixada project in order to establish connections in hopes of future collaboration for similar projects in their home communities. The increased local interest in the project shows a heightened awareness of the situation of at-risk street children, and State bodies are beginning to take notice as well. Circo Baixada has also entered into regional networks related to children’s welfare in the area and social circus activities.
Media Attention
Circo Baixada has been featured in 35 newspaper, internet, magazine and radio pieces in 2006. The project has been recognized 5 times on television, twice by TV Globo, the largest network in Brazil. The following links have text and video footage (in Portuguese) about the project from TV Globo:
March 27, 2006
http://rjtv.globo.com/RJTV/0,19125,VRV0-3119-157447-20060327-633,00.html
July 3, 2006
http://rjtv.globo.com/RJTV/0,19125,VRV0-3119-176873-20060713-633,00.html
Circo Baixada remains one of the most visible support systems for at-risk youth in Baixada Fluminense. The fact that 49% of street children in the city of Rio de Janeiro come from Baixada Fluminense shows the necessity of preventative projects like Circo Baixada. The project raises awareness about a problem that is otherwise unaddressed by the state and the community. Circo Baixada fights for the rights of adolescents by providing an alternative to life in the street – the existence of the project keeps the problems of these children in the spotlight for the local governments to see and hopefully react.
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