Life in a Favela
Brazil is a country of contrasts. Unbelievable wealth and extreme poverty meet above all in the large metropolis like Sao Paulo. While walls and fences grow higher and higher in wealthy neighborhoods almost 50 million Brazilians live below the poverty line.
Most of these brazilians live in so called favelas. One of these neighborhoods called Vila Sao Jose, lies about 30 km from downtown Sao Paulo, near the Formula-One Race Track in Interlagos.
The predominant color in Vila Sao Jose is the pale orange of raw bricks as plaster or paint for these simple houses cannot be afforded by most. The living conditions are precarious, the hygienic conditions close to catastrophic.
Unemployment is common and minimal income is obtained through opportunity jobs. Violence and crime, mainly in connection with drug trafficking, are part of everyday life. Children and young people suffer the most under these difficult conditions: Families are often broken and single mothers find themselves overwhelmed with work and educating their young. Children spend a lot of time on the streets with all its dangers and luring traps.
