Through their eyes
PROVIDÊNCIA
July 2020 - PROVIDÊNCIA
interviews of residents and participants at Casa amarela about the covid19 pandemic and exchange about the territory
Photos by Douglas Dobby / Interviews by Ernane Ferreira
Aisha - 6 years old
Aisha is loving, collaborative and cheerful. She is part of our group called «Jardim com Arte», which includes children between 3 and 7 years old.
Aisha does not let her shyness prevent her from participating in everything the Casa offers, and she loves the theater and dance classes.
Interview - "Hi everyone! I live here in Morro da Providência. [At Casa Amarela] I learned to do my homework and respect my friends. What was bad about the pandemic was having to put on masks and use alcohol gel!
You taught me to do my homework, you are very nice at Casa Amarela.
When Casa Amarela returns, I will teach my younger friends to also do their homework. I miss Casa Amarela mainly the fruits we were receiving after the activities.“
Chiquinho - 16 YEARS OLD
Chiquinho is super articulated and determined with his goals. He is one of the most dedicated of our youth. He is a member of the Youth Collective of the Moon at Casa Amarela. Enrolled in more than 6 weekly activities, he is an important example to inspire the group, always with high productivity, raising questions and seeking discipline. In recent years he brought different ideas and projects, encouraged and motivated a group of young people. He is acting as a leader, while respecting the time of each of his companions.
Also, Chiquinho is very present on social media, an Anitta fan, always communicates with our volunteers and visitors on Instagram - his dream is to be a music entrepreneur!
He successfully completed an entrepreneurship course at Casa Firjan and a carpentry internship at Fábrica Bhering last year, and is constantly looking for theoretical and practical lessons about life and its great possibilities.
During this pandemic, Chiquinho is taking weekly online English classes with a volunteer and private teacher, and is part of the four young people who started a cultural exchange with the Brooklyn Museum, with an initial focus on sharing with other students in New York about his life , and all of this in English! We are very happy with your choice to progress with us, building this brilliant trajectory.
Interview - “I learned a lot at Casa Amarela and I'm also using this quarantine to remember the lessons I was taught such as cooking class, photography course, computer science and I also intend to take a lot of these learning experiences into my life, like the entrepreneurship courses I took.
[The challenges during the pandemic were] the lack of energy at times, also the shops that were always closed, where you want to buy some materials to implement the works you started and you can’t, there is nowhere to buy it.
Casa Amarela is helping me a lot in terms of learning new things, printing homework and […] I'm also using the quarantine to start taking English classes. ”
Dona Marcia - Mother of Larissa, Ramon, Raiana, Rodolfo and Roberta
Marcia is an encouraging mother, who stimulates her children to develop and practice what they like. As a result, her children are the most assiduous in our activities, always present and participatory, demonstrating ample skills in everything they set out to do. The maternal instinct is always present and very strong. She has a strong personality and has always positioned herself as tenacious. She is always in the search for an ideal path for her children.
With us she studied sewing, but she is self-taught in several other things. She accumulates skills: helps in organizing parties, takes care of her children and often goes far to get what they need.
Marcia is the exact profile of the woman who avoids a completely structured system to contain her, she is a woman, black and favelada (born and raised in a favela = slum). Still, with everything she faces, she stays motivated by her children and wishes and battles to give them better opportunities in what they lack. This is her daily incentive to confront the system.
Interview - “I learned to sew [at Casa Amarela] and I really wanted to return there [to have this class].
I'm suffering to have to stay home, the kids too, we can't go anywhere. This pandemic was very strong, it didn't let us go anywhere.
I like you [Casa Amarela], you helped me a lot with the distribution of basic food basket, [food] cards, and I think it's sad because now it's closed and we can't go there, and this pandemic is very boring!
[I miss more] the sewing classes, and when it reopens I will do yoga and I will firmly continue there!”
Kauã - 11 years old
Kauã is certainly one of the most assiduous of his group “Erês” at Casa Amarela since the first day he stepped in.
Very talented, he draws beautifully and is already part of Professor Cazé's study group, in which he is the only child!
He is also part of the Afro dance group and performed at the show last year, starring one of the Orixás. Since the beginning of the pandemic, it has been part of our long distance learning tutoring program, in addition to participating in the campaign of the JR school of visual arts in Paris, Ecole Kourtrajmé.
Kauã is a strong figure of “Erês”, he is intelligent and cheerful!!
Interview - “[I miss] dancing, studying, going to school and playing football.Casa Amarela helped [during the pandemic] with online classes and food baskets.”
Vítor - 15 years old
A sincere and responsible student who came to bring spontaneity to the Youth group. He quickly fell in love with the artworks around watercolor, painting and also embroidery and macramé. He is a great addition to the work done in the Collective Youth of the Moon, creating materials to be sold on the online store, in which 100% of of the sales are reverted to the youth collective.
He is an initially a quiet student who came and discovered himself as an ally of all young boys participating in the Casa Amarela classes, where together, they have been developing and building a path of very positive growth. We hope to always see more from Vitor because we know that he can reach a place of speech and presence where he could become a positive leader for the rest of the group. We are very happy with your choice to progress with us, building this brilliant trajectory.
Interview - “[At Casa Amarela] I learned to draw, and to have respect. [I miss] going out on the street to have fun and study.
Casa Amarela helped us by sending over drawings for us to paint, by making weekly online calls.
[As soon as Casa Amarela returns] I intend to do macramé and photography classes again.”
Glaucia - Classical Music Teacher at casa amarela, Administrator ORquestra de rua
“A political being”, in reference to a speech she said in one of her classes when she explained the importance of political positioning and understanding to a teenager. “We are all political beings, and we need to be aware of this to understand how to access the structures of the system and occupy spaces.” The violinist and administrator of Orquestra de Rua, knows well about the process of occupying spaces. She took her place in classical music, an exclusive genre for a black and favela woman. She works on subverting the rhythm by reframing the songs of our culture and taking them to places that were not originally designed for these genres and these type of women, thus exercising her role as a politician. Through this work, she is enabling the system to adapt and recognize the importance and grandeur of favela cultures, as well as the talent and productive capacity of its community residents. On her Trojan horse she takes the sophistication THEY want and the representation WE need.
Interview - “I am Glaucia, I am a graduate student in music at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, I am a violinist, volunteer teacher at Casa Amarela and administrator of the Street Orchestra. My biggest obstacle [during this pandemic] was the financial issue because everyone in my family lost their job, and since I can't work during the pandemic because of the audience issue and the fact that I played on the streets and the metro, that is why it made our financial issue very difficult. So we are extremely tight because we have to pay rent, so we don't even know what we will eat next month, how we will live! [The difficulty is] also the question of my students, because we are not accompanying them, they will regress a lot during this period, then we have to start all over again, which is boring for both of us.
[My biggest obstacles and challenges during the pandemic were that] projects like Casa Amarela, and various other cultural activities that happen here in the favela are closed. We are very important in this favela, you see if we already have huge problems on days like those without pandemics, you imagine during a pandemic where we are not able to be efective and productive 100%. It turns out that many things are left out, things that are essential, both for the lives of the young people who are participating, as well as our lives.
What I miss most in my territory is to see many people on the street, to teach a lot of children in a room, which was super fun, to see crowds like on Fridays with everyone enjoying the life out.
In my work [I miss more] playing music on the street, having contact with the public, being able to talk to people. I see that people can be moved by what we do, I hope that it comes back to normal soon! The first thing I'm going to do when the quarantine is over is to give my students a big hug, because I really miss contact with people, I’ll also as quickly as possible go back to college!”
@glaucia_maciel @orquestra_de_rua
Larissa - 10 years old
Smart girl, she participates in almost all activities always with great enthusiasm.
Larissa likes theater, dance, tap dancing, multiplication tables, which she always wins, and cooking. Since the beginning of the pandemic, she has been part of our distance learning tutoring program and is very dedicated, in addition to participating in the campaign of the JR school of visual arts in Paris, Ecole Kourtrajmé.
She has an artistic soul. She is part of the Cortejinho Providência that will soon be introduced to the world, as well as Afro dance, Hip-Hop and Passinho classes. Larissa is very fierce!
Interview - “I learned at Casa Amarela that we have to respect the others, never look back and always move on, never stop! We also learn to feel beautiful.
[I miss] hugging, being able to hold hands and also being able to go to school.
[Casa Amarela] helped me when I was sad sending online afro dance lessons, Casa Amarela was everything to me, and it still is!
I miss the afro dance class, and Casa Amarela in general. When I get back I will hug all my teachers, play with people I still haven’t seen, and I'll also do a lot of painting.”
Richard - 14 years old
Richard is hardworking, always striving for excellence while acquiring more knowledge, always being an observer. In this pandemic, even without receiving school homework, he took responsibility and dedicated himself to private tutoring classes, and online English classes with our volunteers.
Dreaming of becoming a chef, in June 2019 he started an internship with chef Ricardo Freitas at Fábrica Bhering. Thanks to his dedication, he was invited to be a Young Apprentice, adding more and more depth in his cooking skills, learning about the discipline and responsibilities within a restaurant and a kitchen.
Richard is a very present student at Casa Amarela, focused and part of the students that brings the young people forward, showing an inspiring example for the group. We are very happy with your choice to progress with us, building this brilliant trajectory.
Interview - “At Casa Amarela I learned cooking, photography and that you have to respect the schedule, getting to the right place at the right time.
[The challenges during the pandemic were] that there was power outage all the time and not having internet to do our online class was hard. I also was not able to continue my internship.
[At Casa Amarela] they are helping me with my values and with my responsibilities.”
Juliana MELLO - Co-fOUNDER OF THE INSTITUTE Efeito Urbano, HIPHOP TEACHER AT CASA AMARELA
She represents a history of representativeness through dances, black urban and suburban communities. Juliana founded the first Hip Hop Company of Morro da Providência, Efeito Urbano, which today also acts strongly as an NGO. This group, managed in all its processes by black women and faveladas (born and raised in a favela = slum), is a representative power for giving visibility and translating the strength of the social aspect, in which black women are in charge and take action for the urban dance collectives.
In her trajectory, she assumes the proposal of resistance that underlies the Hip Hop culture. She directed her workforce towards others, within the community where she continues to act with the purpose of speaking, discussing and questioning the social issues through the body and its narratives.
Together with us she develops a beautiful work, where she preserves the dialogue within the bases of black urban dances, praising the charm and the movements of the old guard of hip hop, In addition, she is creating a constructive link within contemporary funk style, demystifying the idea of he marginalization of rhythm. The role that Juliana has through her work at Casa Amarela has been emphasizing valorization of culture when she teaches and reaffirming the importance of preservation of the self. Above all, she is valuing our pillars, mainly referring to black and urban dances that have unfolded in different possibilities and styles, and must never lose its essence.
Interview - “My name is Juliana Melo, I am a resident of Morro da Providência and I am very proud to say that I have a formation in social projects.
What works as a mentor for my life? I was thinking about it a few days ago, and it is all about what I absorb in the projects where I collaborate as a teacher, as a woman, as someone who lives in a favela and learned not to give up. I learn not to give up every day.
How important Casa Amarela is? How important the Instituto Método Urbano is? We create this strength to work together in this pandemic and difficult moment, to create external relationships also with other large institutions.
I’m talking as Juliana, co-founder of the Efeito Urbano Institute, about the importance that we, the Institute, and Casa Amarela, have in our territory, during this moment of chaos, of difficulty, where our residents, where our people need our support. That is why I believe in the importance that these institutions have, the strength that we have together, and how strong we can be together helping our community, our students, being a support to all. We face several difficulties, with several obstacles, especially when we talk about the suburbs and slums, so it is very important to have institutions like these within the various territories.
What I miss most is to hug everyone, all my students, to have that energetic strength that we have with our students in all the projects I teach. I miss it a lot! We think we only teach but we learn a lot from them, so I miss hugging everyone, exchanging energy, exchanging learning experiences.
The first thing I will do when the pandemic is over is to remove the masks, it will look like an act of freedom, and to recycle those masks. We cannot forget that this is a learning moment that the universe brought to us, that our ancestors brought to us. It [the Universe] is shouting that we must have empathy for others, empathy for our own self.If I use a mask, I will protect the other, if he uses it protects me. It is this matter of common sense, of empathy, of collective learning, and of working together. The Universe is screaming for the human being to unite, and let's see if we can learn this, something that children teach us a lot, empathy! We just need to build together!”
@mellojuuh96 @efeitourbano
Gustavo - 14 YEARS OLD
Gustavo is a new student at Casa Amarela. He used to do activities when he was little, and went back to attending now as a teenager. He is extremely focused and dedicated to the activities he chose to do. In his work he prioritizes quality over quantity, so he only chose activities such as cooking, English and macramé that brings happiness and learning to him.
During this quarantine, Gustavo surprised us with a great dedication for his private English lessons online, showing up to the weekly online calls that we make with the entire group. And he continues to earn our admiration for the purity and love that he brings through his presence. We are very happy with your choice to progress with us, building this brilliant trajectory.
Interview - “At Casa Amarela I learned many things, I learned my English, I learned to have respect for my parents and my friends, and at Casa Amarela I am learning much more!
The pandemic did a lot of things, now I stopped going to school, I stopped enjoying, going to the beach, I stopped going to football, […] I just stay indoors now.
I miss the art class and the first thing I'm going to do [when Casa Amarela reopens] is macrame.”
Rosiete - COOKING TEACHER AT CASA AMARELA
She is a cook and a teacher at Casa Amarela, this gift was passed on through her family and today she generously shares her recipes and techniques with our children and youth, always with great dedication and care.
She became a professional working in daycare centers and schools, making large menus for dockers parties and festivities in the favela. She opened her own restaurant that is currently closed due to the pandemic.
Rosiete was the main mediator between our founder, JR and Maurício Hora, enabling the contact that started our institution.
Her history is directly linked to the construction of the cultural identity of Providência and she, herself, participated in the construction of this process. Daughter of a carnivaller who was the first composer of Morro da Favela, a mother who empowered and inspired her so much so that she later became a carnivaller too.
She was the queen of the carnival parties ‘Coração das Meninas’ and ‘Fala Meu Louro’.
In the course of the process, she took pleasure in acquiring the respect of her companions as well as a lot of experience in constructing culture. She founded the harbor league that she still presides today. Through the league, she executes and develops projects that can integrate the different parts of Morro da Providência with other locations in the Harbor Zone.
This dear woman is a living part of the history of the community, she is a transforming agent of the environment, a person to be known and mainly respected.
All our pride in having you on our team of teachers, and all our respect for your life and history.
Interview - “The importance of Casa Amarela in my life comes long before the construction of Casa Amarela itself. As soon as our mentor [JR], the person who came up the favela, who entered my house as soon as he arrived, that was the start of everything.
His first project was to invite people to participate in Women are Heroes, and t I already knew… that it will work out, you know I felt it, 12 years ago! Then I said, I'll help! I introduced him to Maurício Hora, a local photographer in order for them to collaborate. This became a partnership not only mine with him but theirs, until today.
Over the years they opened Casa Amarela. I did the first cleaning there! I put my mother's books to create the first library, I took care of the first children who came and stayed. Today I am teaching children what I like to do most, which is cooking.
What touched me the most was seeing the boys making the dishes I sent them online in the middle of a pandemic, and they replicated my recipes! I mean, something so simple that you do with love. They sent me photos and added: “My dad loved it! My mom loved it! ”, Caramba! I was very emotional. These are things that we reproduce and teach, with a little bit of nothing we make a big tray for everyone to eat! The joy it gives you!
I’m going to be 60 years old, how many things I didn't do and how many things I did! I helped in the construction of the first community daycare in Morro da Providência, I was the first cook in the daycare center that today is the ‘Neighborhood Association’. We built that daycare brick by brick, with support, with help of the community. We put 30 to 50 children there. I took over the kitchen! Did I have money? No! But I was going to got there everyday day. Over the years you learn and teach, giving more consistency to learn to teach better. And that prevails the soul.
First of all, when all this pandemic is over and that the Brazilian people have the notion that nothing and no one else will die of it, I will scream: “It ended!” I will try to put my knees on the ground and thank God for being alive, for my family to have survived, and for being careful enough not to let anything bad happen. I am not saying that the others didn't take care of themselves, but unfortunately they lost their lives. I first have to thank God for my life and say, "Thank you so much, we've been through this." This is the first thing I will do, because we ask God so much but there are moments that we need to thank him.”
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RAMON - 10 YEARS OLD
Ramon is the most strong-minded and beloved child you will ever meet. Always present, he has a good heart and loves to create! Crazy for football, he also draws a lot and would certainly create a football field for everyone, if he could.
From the reopening of the Casa, he will become the official assistant of Vinicius Martins, our Skateboard teacher, and will take the class to train at the Olympic Field, down Providência.
He also participated in the project with JR Kourtrajmé school.
Since he frequented Casa Amarela, we have built together a behavioral transformation that reverberates in a very significant and positive way, which makes us increasingly proud and confident that we are on the right path!
Interview - At Casa Amarela, I learned to do my homework, to paint, to play, to teach children not to curse, to have respect, and much more.
The biggest problem [of this pandemic] was not being able to go to school and being without good internet at home.
Casa Amarela helped me to eat [during the pandemic], if it wasn't for Casa Amarela I wouldn’t have eaten until today.
RAIANA - 14 YEARS OLD
Raiana started classes at Casa Amarela when she was very young, building her path with us, she is now a teenager in search of herself. She is undoubtedly a student characterized by her strong character and her power as a person who faces all life's challenges. Her dream is to work in the navy.
She is a loving person, and whenever possible shows enthusiasm for collaborating with the collective of the youth. She is present in the art therapy classes for the young women at Casa Amarela where she demonstrates a willingness to get to know and perceive herself better.
She participated to the Youth of the Moon Internships project, doing an internship at Casa Voa, an artistic and cultural house in Gávea, where she helped on the production and assembly of an art exhibition for women only. Raiana is a strong and powerful young woman !! We are very happy with your choice to progress with us, building this brilliant trajectory.
Interview - “What I learned at Casa Amarela was taking responsibility for my actions.
[Casa Amarela gave during the pandemic] English classes, helped with school homework and gave basic food baskets.”
ERIVAN FEITOSA - BOXING TRAINER AT EDUARDO CARDOSO BOXING INSTITUTE AND CASA AMARELA
A fighter who teaches how to fight, not only for sharing his knowledge and technique as a boxer, but also to extend the learning, wisdom and awareness developed in boxing rings, which acts as a pedagogical tool and as an agent of transformation through sport.
The rules that permeate the values of sport, such as discipline, collectivity and healthy competitiveness, are converted into fundamentals that promote gains far beyond the physical capacity in his classes, which are aimed principally at young people and children.
Classic and recurrent, "the master" is a product resulting from the successful single mothers. They know how to show empathy, solidarity and are in touch with feminist issues. All this thanks to being raised by strong women.
He promotes the practice of sport in his territory despite the actual difficulties. He works in the motorcycle taxi service to add up to his monthly expenses. He lives up to the title of fighter.
Interview - “My name is Erivan, I’m a boxing coach, I’m supporting my family by giving private lessons, group lessons at the training center in Morro da Providência and I also teach in social projects like the Eduardo Cardoso Boxing School and I’m also part of Casa Amarela, giving classes to teenagers, children and women.
My biggest obstacle during the pandemic is my family income. I am autonomous, I survive thanks to boxing classes, but I also had to find another way, which is to work as a delivery man, moto-taxi, including doing several deliveries for Casa Amarela when needed, especially during this pandemic. The challenge is also to adapt to the new rules, which was very difficult for me.
What I brought a lot into my day to day routine, is the question of unity, because I teach classes for children. Although being very young, they are all very united. There are certain moments when they are arguing, but out of the blue if you say something against them, they come together. It is something that I carry a lot with me, it is the union and some values that we also experience and learn daily from them such as humility and adversity.
What I miss most are the classes, being able to interact with the children, playing, reprimanding. Not only I am missing this, but they also are! When I drive around the favela with my motorbike, I'm stopped about five times by children who ask me about the classes. Today, Miguel [a student at Casa Amarela] saw me in Barrão [area in Providência] and asked me when will boxing classes return at Casa Amarela. Just as I am looking forward to this reopening, I believe they are too. As soon as things return, I will be back 100% with my energy to be united with them again!”
@erivanfeitosaboxing @escola_de_boxe_eduardo_cardoso
SOPHIA - 6 YEARS OLD
Sophia is lively, careful and shows a temper that reinforces her strong personality, which we can see in her interaction in theater, dance, tap dancing and sports activities too!
She is part of our group called «Jardim com Arte», which includes children between 3 and 7 years old.
Interview - “I learned how to make juggling balls and paint [at Casa Amarela]!
There was nothing that frustrated me [in the pandemic], I liked staying at home, I liked playing at home, I liked doing everything at home!
I miss playing, painting and making those little juggling balls.
[Casa Amarela] gave me activities to do at home, helped me paint and accompanied me.”
LUCAS - 15 YEARS OLD
Active member of the Youth of the Moon group, Lucas has this personality that makes you smile always. He brings joy and happiness to the place he goes, and dedicates himself to his choices.
Still looking for the best way to fulfill his dreams, he discovered himself as a dancer at Casa Amarela. He participated in Afro dance classes, and today he is more focused on hiphop dance classes, which he is missing most during this pandemic. Lucas is on his way to being a great artistic talent and knows how much he needs to dedicate himself to achieve his dreams, because he believes in himself. We are very happy with your choice to progress with us, building this brilliant trajectory.
Interview - “[I learned to] be free from racial prejudices at Casa Amarela.
It was difficult to stay without studying, without giving a hug to friends, without going out, I miss all of it.
[Casa Amarela helped me] by giving me activities to spend time at home, giving English classes online, and they also sent watercolor activities.
[What I miss most are] hiphop classes.”
ARLAINE - BOXE AND COOKING STUDENT
Arlaine has 3 children who she takes care of with great affection, passing on strong values based on education and respect. Before the pandemic, she was working as a secretary and always dedicated her financial and loving efforts to her family. She seeks to be a positive example for her children, inspiring dedication, understanding and care. In her class at Casa Amarela, whether in crafts, cooking or makeup, she puts into practice what she has learned, all with great respect and assiduity. She takes advantage of every moment of the classes, maximizing her studies.
Arlaine is a close ally to Casa Amarela and this specific characteristic is the highlight of her personality that expands and transforms her territory and all those who share her life. She lives a trajectory of struggles and victories, knowing how to set the tone of lightness in things so that she can keep going
Interview - “[What I miss most at Casa Amarela is] the makeup class, the cooking course was also very good, I am using it even during the pandemic. [These courses] are being very important for me.
[The challenges during the pandemic was] work, even working on a formal basis was difficult! I did not receive my payment for two months. As I was out of money, Casa Amarela helped me with both food and soap [hygiene products].
When Casa Amarela reopens I want to take boxing classes, I miss it so much!”
MARIA CLÁUDIA - 11 YEARS OLD
Claudinha is a very intelligent and lively girl who doesn't stop for a second!
Always present and participative, she also tends to be one of the winners in multiplication tables and English classes. She also loves activities related to the performing arts and does not miss a theater or dance class.
But if she has a gardening and recycling activity, she also does it because she understands the importance of each workshop and its impact on self-awareness. When she won her first battle of multiplication tables and knew she could choose a prize, she asked us for colored pens to be able to do her homework and other artistic things at home. She is dedicated in knowing what she wants and what she needs!
She is also part of Cortejinho Providência as a percussionist, and she has very good rhythm! Interview - “[What I learned at Casa Amarela is] to fight against racism.
[The challenges during the pandemic was] not being able to go to Casa Amarela, not being able to go to school and not having fun.
Casa Amarela helped me with artistic activities and homework.
[What I miss the most] is my English class, and when I return I want to dance again!”
GILBERT - CLASSICAL MUSIC TEACHER AT CASA AMARELA
FAVELADO (born and raised in a favela = slum), that is how he defines himself by re-appropriating the term and making the word a symbol of power. The musician who teaches classes at Casa Amarela is an example for his students, either through his teaching methodology or through his representative actions. He participates in projects around the community integrating and valuing the cultural movements of his territory.
Gilbert highlights his ancestral characteristics, asserting himself as a black activist in music.
He sabotages the system when it doesn't meet the negative expectations that are raised about a man like him.
He is a musician, an educator, most of all, he is black and favelado, and the positive power of the reformulation of these words is the keynote of his journey.
Interview - “I am Gilbert, resident of the favela Morro da Providência, music student, violinist and teacher in training.
What I got from the experience of teaching and what I have practiced a lot during this pandemic is my daily learnings, because we always have to be prepared and able to learn. Sometimes we arrive in our class with the intention of teaching, and the student will say something that will spark another thought and we learn from them at that moment. Whoever is ready to teach, ends up learning a lot at the same time. As a teacher I am always looking for this learning experience with my students.
The biggest challenge of this pandemic for me was the creative process and to have the need to adapt to new things, to be learning a lot with technology. We are having to learn very fast to keep working and to be able to change the way we work to always be reinventing ourselves.
We end up seeing art as a fundamental element. We learn that people can survive without many things, but without art it is impossible. Art, music in my context, is something I learned, as a teacher, to take home as a life lesson and not just musical lessons. My teacher is someone who passes things on to people in a way that teachings are for life. [Art] helps to calm down, to practice memory, to access in some way your artistic and creative side.
As soon as the pandemic is over, I will go to a samba, eat a feijoada, have a caipirinha, a cold beer and hug a lot! It is what I miss most, to feel this contact with people.
I miss the routine, I normally have a very busy one, and staying still is a very difficult thing. I want to hug, kiss again, we have had very cold relationships lately. I miss a smile with a look, an elbow shake, you know that warmth you get from a hug!”
@guiilbert7
CAÍQUE - 12 YEARS OLD
Caíque is discreet but trusts Casa Amarela and everything it has to offer. Always very respectful and ready to help us.
Most attracted by sports, he is the most assiduous student of Mestre Erivan and has already won new gloves to be able to practice whenever he can. By the way, he's already fighting very well!
He is also part of the Cortejinho Providência, in which he plays tambourine, but if a trumpet shows up, he plays it too!
Always cheerful, curious and serene, he also participates in English classes, and every now and then he ventures into the theater and dance classes, in which he is very good !! Passinho and Hip-hop class are his best!!
Interview - “I learned to be calmer and to play the violin [at Casa Amarela].
[What I miss most is] not being able to go to school and not being able to have fun.
[Casa Amarela helped me by giving] tutoring and art materials.
[When Casa Amarela reopens] I will start boxing again.”
LUCIANA - MOTHER OF JOSÉ FRANCISCO, IGOR, BRIAN, AND THAMARA
She has a strong personality, she likes and teaches her children discipline as a way of dealing with life, this is the formula that was applied to her as a child and that she applies to her children, being always attentive and careful.
Her experience at Casa Amarela is totally linked to the one of her children. She supports in daily monitoring their classes, in stimulating them to achieve results in the activities and in their choices.
She has been working as a cleaning lady for a long time and through her work she develops a structured and well-organized family, where her values reside mainly in success in studies and honest conduct towards all. Luciana is fulfilled when she observes and monitors her children's achievements, mainly in their professional life. It is a strong example of the matriarchs of the favela (slum), and she brings with her the strength and broader look of female leadership.
Interview - “[At Casa Amarela] I learned to have more patience with my children, because my children are difficult people, they are teenagers and I am trying to improve a little more each day. I learned many things at Casa Amarela, like [how] to be patient because I am a very difficult and complicated person. I learned to trust the people at Casa Amarela. All like all the teachers very much, I learned to have trust in them.
During the pandemic, many people were unemployed, we had to adapt to new lifestyles, and to adapt to wearing masks. I lost my job! It has been [almost] a year since we have this [Covid19] in Rio de Janeiro!
Casa Amarela in this process has been everything! It was our strength, our right arm! If it wasn't for Casa Amarela, a lot of people today would not have their food on the table, they wouldn't have learned to educate themselves, because Casa Amarela provided everything we needed during this pandemic, even food they brought to us!
The first thing I intend to do when Casa Amarela returns is to leave my children in the care of Casa Amarela educators, with the teachers who are super good people and I also intend to take a course there because Casa Amarela is EVERYTHING in all of our lives.”
