JUNTOS, PODEMOS! Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti for the children of Brazil

Our project JUNTOS, PODEMOS! is committed to preventing the distress of vulnerable minors in the Macaé favela, improving access to education, strengthening the educational network, and promoting the development of soft skills, to ensure a better future for children and families in Brazil.

The situation in Brazil

Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti is a partner in the JUNTOS, PODEMOS! project, led by the organization New Life For Children. The project contributes to tackling educational povertyGuaranteeing access to quality education, regardless of geog... More and social vulnerability in Brazil by acting on the social determinants of global healthIn the vast and multifaceted landscape of global health, the... More, such as socio-economic context, environment, lifestyles, education, and access to school and health services.

With a population of approximately 219 million inhabitants, Brazil records high rates of extreme poverty, affecting about 6% of the population, while an additional 5% – approximately 11 million people – live in favelas. Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti’s action focuses on the largest favela in the city of Macaé, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, an area characterized by severe socio-cultural degradation and a high presence of street children and unaccompanied minors.

Young people are often exposed to situations of violence, sexual abuse, and drug addictionDrug addictions are not simply personal “vices,” but gen... More, with limited opportunities for access to education and professional training. In such a context, crime often becomes the only alternative for obtaining a livelihood, and children are frequently involved in drug trafficking, as they cannot be arrested.

Education, soft skills, art, capoeira, and movement for personal and social transformation

Our project JUNTOS, PODEMOS! is designed to protect vulnerable minors in the Macaé favela. Through educational workshops and laboratories, we promote the development of soft skills, while pedagogical training for educational workers creates a more inclusive environment.

The creative and physical aspect plays a fundamental role in preventing distress and fostering the harmonious growth of children and adolescents. In our interventions, these dimensions are enhanced through theatrical and expressive workshops and activities that strengthen self-esteemThe term self-esteem literally refers to the evaluation of o... More and improve interpersonal skills.

Within this project, art, capoeira, and physical movement are not only educational tools but become vehicles for personal and social transformation. The possibility of expressing oneself through the body and creativity helps children process their emotions, channel energy positively, and develop new forms of communication and interaction with others. Furthermore, these activities promote a sense of belonging and cooperationThe silent force that holds human groups together Cooperatio... More, countering social exclusion and isolation.

Education, support, and fulfillment of primary needs

The various multidisciplinary and multidimensional interventions of JUNTOS, PODEMOS! pursue the specific objectives of:

• enriching the educational offer with integrated school, psychosocial, and expressive interventions
• fostering psychophysical well-being through care actions, psychological support, and the fulfillment of primary needs.

To pursue these aims, JUNTOS, PODEMOS! includes activities such as:

• Educational enhancement (with the teaching of Portuguese, English, mathematics, and computer science)
• Artistic-corporeal expression workshops (“dance” path)
• Workshops for psychophysical and cultural development (“capoeira” path)
• Motor and sports activities for the promotion of well-being and cooperation (“sport” path)
• Creative and artistic workshops for identity and emotional exploration
• Coordination meetings with reference schools for the shared monitoring of educational paths
• Individual and group psychological support sessions for the promotion of emotional and relational well-being
• Periodic school visits by the psychologist for the psycho-educational monitoring of beneficiaries
• Daily distribution of drinking water and a nutritious meal to protect health and psychophysical balance

The project psychologist and local coordinator, Germana Garcia, emphasized the important results already achieved in the relationship with families and also among educators, who are able to act as mediators and facilitators of the educational process and the promotion of critical thinkingWhat happens in our mind when we “think critically”? Beh... More and awareness, adapting to the specific context of the minors. Dr. Germana recalls:

“We want to promote a safe space for children, ensure food, education, and a better future. We want to develop their skills for adulthood. We need to be together and imagine pedagogical tools to face the many problems that exist in the favelas. We are on the right path, but there is still so much to do ahead of us”.

Marco Benini, head of educational programs at Fondazione Patrizio Paoletti, with a focus on fragile and vulnerable contexts in Italy and abroad, underlines the centrality of education:

“For us, education is the answer to the deepest needs of the human being: creating safe spaces, experiencing diversity, giving shape to the project that everyone carries within themselves. In Brazil, with JUNTOS, PODEMOS!, which is part of our international education and schooling program ‘Schools in the World’, we work with local communities and schools in Macaé to help children and young people develop inner strength and life skills, training educators capable of providing answers and being even more significant adults. Supporting these paths means believing in the life project that every child holds”.