Programa Comunitário da Reconciliação


The Reconciliation Community Program, the "Reconciliação", is a non-profit charity which aims at helping people living in the slums of the peripheral areas of the huge city of São Paulo. Its main purpose is to assist the underprivileged population, focusing mainly on children and teenagers, by offering them a place where they can enjoy the social and educational support they deserve. The "Reconciliação" seeks to provide these people with a wide range of cultural activities so as to build a firm basis for a better future. The environment The "Reconciliação" is located in Vila São José, in the southern outskirts of São Paulo. Nearby there is the famous Interlagos Formula 1 race track, from where once a year TV cameras telecast the glamourous Grand Prix competition to the whole world. But hardly anybody cares about the daily battle for survival that goes on in the near neighbourhood. In Vila São José the predominant colour is the pale reddish orange of the raw masonry, since not many people can afford coating and painting their simple houses. Living conditions are crowded and lack cleanliness and hygiene. Unemployment rates are high, while wages are low. Violence and criminality are common, mainly related to drug trafficking. Children and teenagers are mostly affected by these difficult conditions of Vila São José; many families are torn apart, leaving mothers overburdened by the responsibility of earning a living and raising their children all by themselves. Due to a lack of recreational activities, the youngsters are driven to spending their free time hanging out in the streets, prone to temptations and dangers.

	The beginnings In the year of 1986 a pastor of the Evangelic Lutheran Church of São Paulo dared to enter this world of threatening reality. Cooperating ecumenically with women of the Lutheran and Catholic communities, he provided assistance to children and teenagers that begged for money and food in the streets and on the market of Vila São José. On a piece of ground owned by the Lutheran Church the group started serving tea and soup and attending to the needs of the children. By and by a solid structure was created, from which emerged a youth centre. The Children's Corner was built, a whole day nursery for children aged 3 to 6. Working with the families and adults of the community also became a firmly established part of the activities of "Reconciliação", with the launching of the Community Corner. In spite of this thriving growth, an important aspect of the program remains the contact with the inhabitants of the area, in a constant effort to improve and advance together. The staff is essentially rooted in the neighbourhood; they grow professionally by means of continued training and college education. The "Reconciliação" today Today the "Reconciliação" supports in its three units 450 children and teenagers and more than 500 adults from the community of Vila São José. We provide more detailed information under the item "How we act". "Reconciliação" cooperates with the city of São Paulo and with organisations like AMENCAR (Kindernothilfe) and the "Heydenreich Foundation". It was awarded the prize "Bem Eficiente" in 2003 for being highly efficient in all its activities, and was listed by UNICEF among the best non profit charities of Brazil.