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Visit to the Favelas

P from London drove out to the favelas.

"One afternoon we drove through the outskirts of town towards the favelas which cling to the hills surrounding the town. Our trip, on a beautiful afternoon, took us along the main coastal road, past sunburnt tourists, past the busy craft market where you can buy delicate lace articles for a good price and out of the city. We climbed into the hills and the 5 star hotels, where we couldn't even afford a beer, vanished and gave way to poorer, more modest dwellings. The opulence of the high rise developments gave way to a more understandable, almost rural community. We stopped at a small bar. Just a few tables on a dusty street corner. Soon we were sipping cold beers. "Don't go to Brazil" my parents had warned me, "Don't leave your hotel" warned another old South American hand, "don't do anything" warned another cautious friend, "especially don't go to the favellas". But I felt safer here then I often did on the mean streets of London - something I was still chewing over a few weeks later when I lost my pager and wallet to a quick fingered pick pocket on the London Underground.

The local people had stopped their football game and were huddled round a book. They were studying the latest text book from the Universidade Aberta (Open University). Since 1972 the government has been trying to address the problem of poor educational standards by using TV and radio. The programmes, which are universally popular, concentrate on primary and secondary levels of education. One especially successful course consists of 235 radio and TV programs which aim to qualify school teachers. The statistics are horrific, 40% of adults have insufficient language skills to read a newspaper, only 2 out of every 10 children make it through elementary school whilst educational funding is continually cut. But on this particular balmy night, in the poorer part of town, I saw nothing but hope for these children."