Education for girls in the slums

Children living in informal settlements must grow up fast: they are often the informal solution for their families struggling to deal with daily problems involving infrastructure access and livelihoods. Children too often fetch water, watch over younger siblings and sick household members, and step into the role of productive contributors to help the household make ends meet. Saddled with these responsibilities, they must often limit or forego their schooling, cutting short their future educational potential and the economic and social opportunities, as well as skills, that education affords. This vicious cycle of poverty is one of the biggest issues in development, and necessitates significant creativity to problem solving.

 

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Victoria Okoye, Lagos Community ManagerUsing education to empower out-of-school girls in Lagos

Victoria Okoye, Lagos Community Manager

Young girls in low-income, informal settlements such as Iwaya must grow up fast: They are often the informal solution for their families as they struggle to deal with daily problems involving infrastructure access and livelihoods.

There are more than 40 "blighted areas" in the megacity of Lagos; Iwaya, a waterfront informal settlement (like its better-known neighbor Makoko), is among Lagos' largest. In informally developing communities such as these, insecure land tenure, corresponding lack of access to amenities and public services, and severe unemployment and underemployment are a constant test of households' economic opportunity — or lack thereof.

When there is no water, it is women and young girls who fetch it daily from alternative sources. When caretaking needs arise, it is women and young girls who step in to watch over children and sick household members. When the household struggles to make ends meet, it is young children, especially girls, who must step into the role of productive contributors to help improve the household's economic status. Saddled with these responsibilities, these young girls must often forego their education, cutting short their future educational potential to provide immediate labor solutions for the family and household.

The additional challenge is that without an education — and the economic and social opportunities and skills that education affords — young girls and women remain at a distinct disadvantage for the rest of their lives. Lack of basic education has been shown to increase pressure on young girls to engage in risky sexual relations, to marry early, and to work under exploitative labor conditions, all of which threaten adolescent girls' well-being and quality of life. In addition, most government and private sector-sponsored programs and initiatives aiming to empower youth target those already in school, marking yet another missed opportunity. For most, these circumstances lead to a vicious cycle of poverty.

The non-profit organization Action Health Incorporated is working to stem this cycle of poverty by empowering key agents at the center: young girls and women. Created in 1989, Action Health works throughout the country to empower Nigeria's adolescents in the areas of education, health, and youth development. Since 2010, the organization has endeavored to find ways to develop educational solutions that are accessible for out-of-school adolescent girls — starting in Iwaya — as a means of achieving this goal.

In a preliminary study of the community, the organization found that only 75 percent of the girls surveyed had attended school at some point in their lives. Few had continued school beyond primary education, and only 7.7 percent had completed their secondary education. The study's findings, outlined in the report A Promise to Keep: Supporting Out-of-School Adolescents to Reach Their Potential, highlighted the complexity of these girls' situation: "...out-of-school girls who reside in poor communities are socially isolated; face great personal insecurity and risks of violence to their bodies; and have few resources available to them in the community to build their confidence and give them an understanding of worlds and opportunities beyond the impoverished community in which they live."

Supporting these girls is possible, and the organization has concrete ideas about how various stakeholders can contribute to improving these girls' quality of life: the key is in making educational, social and financial services, training, and opportunities realistically accessible. As the organization has identified, offering evening classes and classes coordinated with childcare would enable girls to balance their household responsibilities and their educational aspirations. Developing community sports programs that target these constituencies would serve to create social spaces where youth can interact in a fun and healthy environment. Building girls' economic empowerment — helping to increase their knowledge of business, trade and finance, as well as providing new ways for them to earn incomes — is key to improving their livelihoods; this, in turn, can help them to better support their households, or to achieve increased levels of independence. Providing easy-to-access business development, entrepreneurship programs, and personal finance education would build these girls' economic empowerment; mentorship programs between successful working women in the community and young girls can introduce them to new opportunities, and ways of achieving them. From the private sector, providing small amounts of capital, or loans, could afford these girls opportunities to try out their business ideas or take up trades that could earn them incomes, and improved incomes.

In August 2011, the organization launched a pilot empowerment program to do just that, thanks to support from community members, government agencies, and the private sector, and the program assembles formal education, non-formal education, and vocational training for 108 girls in the Iwaya community. Through the program, 37 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 have been enrolled in primary educational institutions. Seventy-one girls between the ages of 15 and 19 years have been enrolled in vocational programs, where they are learning hairdressing, beauty salon management, and clothes tailoring as professional occupations; in the evenings, they attend reading and literacy classes on the waterfront.

Building these girls up and helping them achieve "self-actualized adulthood" requires providing educational, training, and networking alternatives that recognize their responsibilities and vulnerabilities. That is precisely the goal of the project, as Action Health Executive Director Adenike Esiet told us.

"My hope is that the average 10-to-19-year-old boy or girl in Nigeria can grow up being assured that all the information and skills they need to have to grow up as healthy, responsible, and productive adults in Nigeria can be guaranteed by the system," Esiet said.

She also emphasized the importance of the pilot in demonstrating the contributions and support that government, private-sector, and other community stakeholders can make to the girls in these communities; the pilot project has been executed with strong support from the Lagos State Government Agency for Mass Education, community leaders, and local businesses in the Iwaya community.

The project represents an innovative approach to empowering girls who otherwise are ignored by the system. It's also an impressive attempt to corral different institutions to work toward a shared goal. Together, these stakeholders are implementing a collaborative strategy to address the challenges facing out-of-school girls, not just in Iwaya, but in the many informal settlements in Lagos. Empowering young girls has the potential to improve not only their own lives, but the lives of their families, households, and communities as well.

Shining Hope for Communities: Kibera's first free school for girls

Sande Wyclif, Nairobi Contributor

The Kibera School for Girls was founded in 2009 by the Kibera-born Kennedy Odede in partnership with Jessica Posner— who is, like Odede, a graduate of Wesleyan University and co-founder with Odede of the US-based nonprofit Shining Hope for Communities.

Odede decided to set up the school in an attempt to address what he saw as a fundamental gender imbalance between the opportunities available to boys growing up in the slums and those available to girls.

Odede — now 26 and the first Kiberan to graduate from Wesleyan — was brought up by his mother, whose daily struggle to make enough money to put him through school contrasted sharply with his dad's alcoholism and squandering of the family's meager resources. As a child, he grew used to hearing his mother talk about the importance of education and how, if she had been allowed to continue with her studies, she would have been able to provide successfully for her family.

Surrounded by women who were often forced to trade their bodies for food and for whom abuse was just part of their daily lives, Odede decided that he could not continue to stand by and watch: "I could not stay silent while I saw such wasted potential," he stated at a recent TEDx Kibera event. "This is why I decided to found Shining Hope for Communities, because I felt that by tackling women's problems, I would also help to address poverty in the slums in a more effective way."

The Kibera School for Girls (KSG) is situated in the heart of the settlement. The school was built to a high standard and includes eight classrooms, a library, and a multipurpose room that was constructed with the help of the community.

In a conversation with Abigail Higgins, the Shining Hope for Communities manager of strategic partnerships, we were told that the underlying assumption of the school is that if you educate a girl, you have educated the whole community.

"We take great pride in our students, for they are already showing leadership in their communities at a young age," Higgins told us. "The majority of them have taught their extended families and neighbors to read, and when tragedies such as a fire befall someone in their neighborhoods, they are the first to organize food drives and to collect donations."

Currently, the Kibera School for Girls serves about 100 students ranging from kindergarten level to third grade. Higgins explained how they strive to provide a superior level of education, two daily meals, uniforms, health care, and school supplies, all free of charge. In addition to this, Higgins said, the school also provides students with after-school programs and offers psychological support to girls who have suffered from abuse.

The KSG is run by a staff of expert Kenyan female teachers, all of whom provide positive role models for the girls and the community at large. According to Higgins, the school has performed so well since it started three years ago that some of its second-grade students are now reading at an eighth-grade level.

With the recent completion of an auditorium, some art rooms, and a computer lab, the school expects to double its student intake by the next academic year and to continue to do so in the years to come.

While the curriculum that has been used in Kenya since 1985 mainly emphasizes memorization and passing exams, the KSG strives to make its curriculum a student-centered experience that fosters creativity and critical thinking skills. The idea is that by promoting weekly debates and community service projects, the KSG offers an enabling environment from which students will be able to create their own path out of poverty and become proactive and engaged citizens and leaders who can achieve real change in their society.

"Our model nurtures tomorrow's leaders while simultaneously creating a community that supports and believes in their own future," Higgins concludes. "These symbiotic effects strengthen and uplift everyone, exponentially increasing our impact in eradicating gender inequality and poverty."

Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community ManagerRoom for girls in India's 'integrated' classroom?

Carlin Carr, Mumbai Community Manager

India's public education system is in a state of disrepair. Overcrowded classrooms and high rates of teacher absenteeism have led to the flight of most middle class and wealthy families to private schools. Those left behind are often behind for life. For example, Mumbai has 1,234 public elementary schools with over 600,000 children enrolled. However, 45 to 50 percent cannot read or write. Given that education is the one hope that will bridge the wide socio-economic gap in India, the intellectual distancing of the rich from the poor leaves the future of the country in question.

For girls, the illiteracy and early drop-out rates are even higher. Their educational dreams are often cut short due to a range of cultural and social dynamics. In an article from earlier this year entitled "We Must Make Sure Girls Stay in School," Kreeanne Rabadi, regional director of an education-focused NGO called CRY, says: "Low value is attached to girls' education." And in urban India, girls are pressured to begin working or helping with domestic chores at an early age. Only 66 percent of girls complete their education as opposed to 80.3 percent of boys, according to a study on girls' education in Delhi's slums. "Many also drop out because of things we take for granted, like the lack of separate toilets for girls," says Rabadi. She says that girls also stop going to school because there are no secondary schools available. In fact, Mumbai only has 43 secondary municipal schools — nearly 30 times less than the number of public elementary schools. In some slum areas, not a single public secondary schools exists.

Can a landmark ruling lessen the gap?

In Mumbai — the land of extremes — different socio-economic classes live in close proximity, yet their worlds almost never intersect. The poor enter the shiny marble flats only to dust, sweep, cook, or drive their well-off neighbors. Outside of servant employment, the poor rarely see — let alone experience — the world of the rich. Nowhere is this separation more apparent than in the education system. However, a recent landmark decision by India's Supreme Court attempts to change the make-up of India's classrooms forever, providing daily opportunities for these two worlds to meet.

Under the 2010 Right to Education Act (RTE), the highest court recently upheld a controversial ruling to make it mandatory for certain public and all private schools to reserve 25 percent of their seats for low-income children. The court's decision was in response to 30 petitioners who contested the constitutionality of enforcing the reservations on private schools. Two judges in the three-bench court ruled in favor of upholding the RTE clause. In a Times of India article after the ruling, one of the approving judges said the decision "provides for a level playing field in the matter of right to education to children who are prevented from accessing education because they do not have the means or their parents do not have the means to pay for their fees."

Many are calling the integrated classroom "revolutionary," citing the potential to influence an entirely new direction for the country. It's true that the entry of poor children into better schools has extraordinary potential, although there are many challenges that lie ahead.

Challenges to implementation

While the mixed classroom may usher in a new era that bridges socio-economic chasms, deeply ingrained notions of caste, class, gender, and creed continue to play to the country's divisive psyche. In an article in India Real Time, mothers in elite Delhi schools were appalled by the idea that their children would sit next to kids from the slums. They were further horrified that they might have to share parent meetings with a maid. Two years ago, Shri Ram, one of the country's most prestigious private elementary schools, began the "social experiment" of enrolling local slum children. The admittances were part of a quota the school was fulfilling under a local Delhi law that preceded the federal RTE Act's higher quota of 25 percent. The article quotes the school's principal's reaction when a floor-mopper in her home enrolled her son in the school: "I was horrified. A parent in my school, mopping my floors — I just couldn't handle it. I can't sit across the table from someone who sweeps my floors."

The social integration challenges are large and real, and some of the parents' contestations are valid. Low-income students coming from the public school system are often severely behind, providing plenty of difficulties for teachers. Slum children do not have access to the same economic resources, such as after-school tutoring — a given among most families with any extra money — or even nutritious foods to give them the energy and stamina for the challenges of school. The aforementioned survey in Delhi slums shows that poverty was the most frequently cited reason for students dropping out. "Parents cannot afford the direct and indirect costs of schooling," says the report on improving the enrollment of girls in school. And given that it is not seen as important to educate girls, many qualifying poor families are unlikely to apply for admission to private schools if they have a girl, or will favor enrollment of a boy child.

Another major challenge is that schools are already devising strategies to avoid the quota. While the quota went into effect in 2010 (though it has been under contestation until being upheld earlier this year), when the school year got underway in June 2012, there was not a single application in Mumbai under the new initiative. In fact, schools in the city are trying to change their status as a result of the ruling. The laws states that "all private un-aided non-minority schools" are required to adhere to the reservation regulations; since going into effect, the Minority Development Department has been "flooded with requests from institutions, seeking minority status," one article notes. An average year might see 100 applications for minority status; after the 2010 RTE Act passed, 600 applications were submitted.

A holistic approach to educating girls

Even if girls are admitted under the RTE quota, the schools will need to implement programs to ensure the success of these children. Such programs are equally applicable to the public school systems, which likewise need a multi-faceted revamping, particularly with attention to educating girls. The India Sponsor Foundation, along with its NGO partners, has formed a consortium to improve the enrollment of girls in ten slum communities of Delhi. Among the key takeaways are the following:

  • Raise awareness on gender disparity through campaigns that target poor communities.
  • Generate public support for educating girls by launching very public, national initiatives to promote equality in education.
  • Mobilize resources toward eliminating gender disparities in education, including training and hiring more female teachers and incentivizing parents.
  • Create appropriate infrastructure in schools so that boys and girls have separate toilets. Many girls feel unsafe in shared toilets.

These moves to "level the playing field" in the Indian educational system are necessary first steps if the movement towards integrated classrooms is to be successful. The educational challenges facing India are vast and complex, but with a majority youth population, the country is at a critical moment in ensuring that the UN-mandated "free education for all" is fulfilled. Providing access to education, however, is only one step. Providing access to quality education for each and every child underlies the readiness of the nation to build stronger and better communities, improve living conditions, gain more meaningful employment, and fulfill India's time-sensitive "demographic dividend" — the payoff that will come through harnessing the energy of the country's vast youth population. And educating girls alongside their male counterparts is one of the most important — and attainable — steps on the road to fulfilling this next-generation potential.

María Fernanda Carvallo, Mexico City Community ManagerAcceso y calidad de la educación para niños vulnerables

María Fernanda Carvallo, Mexico City Community Manager

En México el derecho a la educación se consagra en la constitución para desarrollar armónicamente todas las facultades del ser humano, sin embargo, lejos de lo establecido, los indicadores educativos afirman que hoy día la escuela en México no está sirviendo como catalizador social para el desarrollo; por el contrario, es un reflejo de la comunidad que la circunda. Así, en aquellas comunidades en condiciones de pobreza y marginación, la escuela no propicia que quienes acuden a ella puedan hacerse de herramientas que les permita mejorar su calidad de vida.

Ante este problema, diversas organizaciones de la sociedad civil, entendiendo que la educación en México no es responsabilidad exclusiva del Estado, han puesto en marcha diversa estrategias para contrarrestar los efectos del bajo rendimiento académico, el nulo acceso a servicios educativos en las comunidades marginadas y la alta deserción escolar, especialmente de las niñas en edad escolar básica. Adopta una Escuela A.C. busca dignificar los espacios educativos para mejorar el desempeño escolar de alumnos en edad de cursar cualquier grado de educación básica. Por su parte, Acude A.C. busca construir un marco institucional para incidir en las políticas públicas educativas.

Contexto

De acuerdo al INEGI, en el Distrito Federal, el grado promedio de escolaridad de la población de 15 años y más es de 10.5, es decir poco más del primer año de educación media superior; sin embargo existen zonas que presentan grandes contrastes a nivel municipal con exclusiones educativas en educación básica y media superior, en donde Iztapalapa, Gustavo A. Madero y Álvaro Obregón concentran casi la mitad de los niños sin acceso a la educación.

De acuerdo a cifras de UNICEF, para el año 2005, 40mil niños no asistían a la escuela; casi la mitad de estos niños se debía a los que se inscribieron a inicios de curso escolar pero que desertaron, particularmente el grupo de edad entre los 12 y 14 años. Así mismo, quienes son más vulnerables a la exclusión escolar son niños con algún tipo de discapacidad, hablantes de lengua indígena, además del factor de género en donde las niñas con estas características presentan mayor riesgo.

Entre las razones por las que hay un alto índice de inasistencia escolar, el estudio de la UNICEF, Las exclusiones de la educación básica y media superior en el D.F., muestra que gran parte se debe a las condiciones de pobreza y marginación estructural que obliga a los estudiantes a trabajar para contribuir a las estrategias de vida del hogar, así como una oferta pública educativa insuficiente en las colonias en donde reside la población en edad escolar, y la incapacidad del sistema educativo de retener y promover de manera oportuna a dicha población.

Con respecto a las diferencias de género, los estereotipos que predominan en los alumnos sobre los roles tradicionalmente asignados por género, así como su transmisión en el interior del hogar generación tras generación, explica en gran medida que las niñas presenten menores índices de matriculación, pues bien son ellas quienes permanecen para la labor de las tareas domésticas, mientras los niños buscan un espacio fuera del hogar.

Enfoque: acceso y calidad de la educación para niños vulnerables

Adopta una Escuela A.C. es el resultado del esfuerzo conjunto de empresarios que, preocupados porque los niños tengan acceso a los servicios educativos disponibles y por la calidad de la educación que reciben, emprendieron una serie de acciones para dignificar el espacio educativo de niños en comunidades con altos índices de marginación a través de donativos en especie para la mejora de la enseñanza, como mobiliario y obras civiles. Así, por medio de este impulso se crea una cultura de participación social dirigida específicamente a los niños en educación básica y la asociación incide directamente en el espacio físico educativo de su población objetivo.

Las escuelas beneficiarias están ubicadas en zonas de alta o muy alta marginación, en el D.F. y la zona conurbada, se encuentran en los municipios de Chimalhuacán, San José del Rincón, Cuatitlán Izcalli y Santiago Tianguistenco. Dentro del programa de donación, se encuentran apoyos para la construcción de aulas, instalación eléctrica, pintura, impermeabilizante, ventanas, puertas y pintura.

De esta manera, Adopta una Escuela no sólo ha incidido positivamente en los alumnos que toman clase en las escuelas que han mejorado su infraestructura, sino que forja y mejora las relaciones comunitarias, ampliando su impacto más allá de las aulas que ayudan a edificar.

Además de velar por la calidad, el tutelar por los derechos de la educación de los niños ha sido un enfoque para elevar la calidad de vida de estos. ACUDE, Hacia una cultura democrática, A.C., fue creada en mayo de 2001 y tiene como antecedente el Colectivo Mexicano de Apoyo a la Niñez, con el propósito de contribuir al bienestar de la infancia, especialmente de los niños en situaciones más desfavorecedoras. A través del financiamiento de la Fundación SM México implementa una iniciativa en pro de la educación.

ACUDE creó el programa "Comunidad Educadora" para ser ejecutado y evaluado por los diversos actores de la localidad: niños y niñas, jóvenes, maestros, padres de familia, empresarios, organizaciones civiles, universidades y autoridades locales. Tiene como objetivos, movilizar a los diversos actores sociales de la comunidad con el fin de poner la educación para todos en el centro de la discusión y de la acción organizada de los habitantes de la localidad; ampliar y fortalecer las opciones educativas y culturales existentes en la comunidad, a partir de las propuestas y acciones de los diversos actores que la integran, con énfasis en la atención a los grupos más vulnerables y generar conocimiento para la construcción de una propuesta de Ciudad Educadora que surja de la iniciativa y organización de la comunidad.

El área en que se aplica el proyecto piloto es la Unidad territorial San Juan Tepeximilpa, Tlalpan por tener un alto nivel de marginalidad. El programa convoca a diversos actores sociales de la comunidad de Tepeximilpa y sus alrededores, como líderes sociales y maestros, para convertir su comunidad en un espacio de aprendizaje y desarrollo.

Es un proceso participativo de acción-reflexión-acción, en el que los miembros de la comunidad y las organizaciones civiles y sociales deliberan sobre la educación que necesitan y las condiciones que deben existir en la comunidad para que ésta se convierta en una comunidad de aprendizaje. A través de un Grupo Promotor Comunitario participan representantes de los diversos actores sociales quienes diseñan y ejecutan el proyecto de comunidad educadora. Además, se construye un Comité Técnico de Apoyo, integrado por: profesionales de organizaciones civiles de la Red de Incidencia Civil en Educación ICE-Metropolitano, investigadores de la Universidad Iberoamericana, y autoridades locales. Este comité es responsable del seguimiento y la sistematización de la experiencia.

Las estrategias que se están implementando son:

  • Motivar a los habitantes de la zona para trabajar a favor de la educación y cultura de su comunidad.
  • Apoyar y acompañar a un grupo Promotor Comunitario integrado por representantes de los diversos sectores y actores sociales que se haga cargo del diseño, ejecución y evaluación del proceso de transformación de su localidad en una comunidad educadora.
  • Promover la articulación de las OSC locales y su capacitación para promover la participación de la sociedad civil en la educación.
  • Sistematizar la experiencia y las lecciones aprendidas en el trabajo directo con la comunidad.

A través del proyecto piloto se busca generar diversas iniciativas en la comunidad para brindar acceso a la educación y promover el bienestar de la niñez, empoderando a la comunidad y respondiendo a las necesidades educativas de su población.

La intervención por parte de estas organizaciones promueve que se cierre la brecha de desigualdad educativa que existe entre las comunidades marginadas y desarrolladas de las zonas urbanas. Así mismo, es un esfuerzo para lograr que los actores involucrados den un viraje hacia la tutela de los derechos de educación de los niños y niñas considerando sus necesidades, contextos sociales, así como culturales. En este sentido, se promueve que haya menores índices de deserción escolar y una mayor matriculación. Así mismo son una alternativa ante la falta de oferta educativa por parte del Estado, además de comprender las causas que alejan a los estudiantes de las aulas para abordarlas.

Es importante reflexionar acerca del contexto excluidos del sistema educativo, pues si bien hay esfuerzos para que tengan acceso a la educación, la pobreza y marginalidad siguen siendo factores latentes que la ponen en riesgo, de manera que es necesaria una estrategia integral que permita satisfacer las necesidades de los hogares a la par que las educativas.

Catalina Gomez, Rio de Janeiro Community ManagerDeveloping Minds Foundation and vocational education in Rio de Janeiro

Catalina Gomez, Rio de Janeiro Community Manager

Although basic public education in Rio de Janeiro is generally pretty good, many of the city's favelas lack adequate infrastructure and good teachers and continue to struggle with the poor quality of education. These neighborhoods also lack the vocational training resources needed to offer children and adolescents the practical skills they will require to pursue job opportunities and make a living. Seeking to address this growing need for vocational education in the slums and to reduce the digital divide between the formal and informal city, the Developing Minds Foundation (DMF) has been working in Cidade de Deus, Rocinha, and Mangueira since 2006. And even though the foundation's scope covers only these three favelas, its work is worth highlighting for its strong focus and its active contribution to transforming the lives of many children in impoverished and violent communities of Rio de Janeiro.

One of the main factors in the success of DMF's vocational education projects is the foundation's close partnership with local community-based organizations with extensive knowledge of the neighborhood's conditions and needs. DMF carefully selects its partner organizations to ensure that they are good performers and have positive recognition at the local level. DMF founder and president Philippe Houdard told URB.IM in a recent conversation that such partnerships are pivotal to the organization's work, as they allow greater and deeper knowledge of the neighborhoods where the foundation's projects are located. Local partners also facilitate DMF's work by identifying community leaders and individuals who could become key enablers of its projects. Another key factor in the degree of recognition DMF has achieved is its collaboration with highly experienced institutions such as the renowned Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI) for the development of educational materials, curricula, and other materials, and Institute INPAR, which promotes values-based learning as well as providing vocational education.

In the case of Cidade de Deus, DMF has developed a project that promotes computer education so children can learn how to use the Internet and such productivity applications as Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The courses also teach youth how to install and repair equipment, as well as basic skills in video editing. This initiative benefits 500 students annually, and over the past six years has benefited more than 3,000 — not only by providing access to vocational education, but also as a way of staying clear of the unsafe, often violent neighborhood streets. According to Houdard, most children are enrolled in public school, but it "is clear that besides attending regular school, these children need to engage in other activities as well as to develop practical skills to improve their chances of becoming employed in the near future." DMF's partner for this project is the Institute INPAR, which oversees the implementation of the initiative and complements the training with values- based learning — an essential aspect for children in slums who have been exposed to violence and negative role models.

In Rochinha, Developing Minds Foundation has adapted a classroom in Roupa Suja, one of the poorest sections of the favela. This project also promotes vocational computer skills, benefiting more than 100 children annually. DMF's partner in this project is a women's organization called União de Mulheres Pro-Melhoramento da Roupa Suja (UMPMRS), a recognized local organization with about 20 employees that has been working for more than 30 years to empower local women though the provision of practical and vocational skills and child care.

In Mangueria, Developing Minds Foundation has implemented a slightly different project, mostly focused on the promotion of physical education and football training for children, as a means of promoting a healthy lifestyle far from drug consumption, trafficking, and other harmful activities. The key partner for this project, which benefits about 300 children annually, is the famous soccer team Flamengo.

When asked about the possibility of expanding their work into other neighborhoods, Houdard noted that Developing Minds Foundation is considering an expansion of its activities in Rio; in the meantime, however, the focus is on consolidating existing projects so they can be replicated in other vulnerable communities. Expansion will also depend on the sponsors and partners DMF identifies for upcoming projects, although it currently counts an impressive group of supporters already — including the Western Union Foundation, Continental and Copa Airlines, as well as local firms such as Osklen.

 

 

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