Friday, November 29, 2013

Breaking Down Misconceptions Through Art

"I truly believe that art can be a catalyst for change, altering the way people see themselves and the world around them, which is why I am so enthusiastic about community/participatory art and activism." - Beccy McCray

A few months ago I had been contacted by artist and creative producer, Beccy McCray. She expressed great interest in having a workshop at our organization and proposed an art/craft workshop. Her desired objective? To facilitate a positive difference by linking people together through creative means and also to have a good time! She was well-aware that many people have negative preconceived notions about favelas and favela residents (being violent and hubs for drug trafficking), and because of those misconceptions her other target was to use art to to tell truths about favela life and favela residents to dismantle those misconceptions.

On November 11th, we surprised our students (from both Will's class and Harriet's class) with Beccy's workshop. To begin, she had each student select a hand-made bracelet, from a bag that she had brought with her, for each student to keep.


After each student selected their bracelet, she explained that their bracelets had been made by participants in England. She gave out instructions for making the bracelets and then told the kids that they will make bracelets for other people in England.










Photos and a bit of information will be included with the bracelets, so that the recipient will know who made their bracelet and where they come from. More specifically, they will all be distributed around Hackney Wick, where the pre-made bracelets she gave to our kids originated from, thus connecting it to Rocinha.
I'm American and  I've  never traveled to London, let alone England so I don't know much about London burroughs. Beccy described Hackney Wick being similar to Rocinha. She states that, "Rocinha actually has a lot in common with Hackney - it too is a deprived area which borders the Olympic Park, but is also a crucible of culture."

Overall, the workshop was a hit. Not only did the kids thoroughly enjoy it, but us resident volunteers also enjoyed it very much as well. A huge thank you, Beccy, for coming out here to spend some time with us and sharing your creativity with us. We couldn't be more grateful! 

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Monster Mash.


Halloween isn't very popular in Brazil, although its fanbase is currently growing in some of Brazil's bigger cities. I imagine that this can be attributed to two things: The number of English-language schools that throw Halloween parties and also because of American pop culture. It is entirely possible to find Halloween parties around Rio, but they aren't that numerous and you generally wouldn't see swarms of people dressed up in costumes everywhere!
We try not to limit our curriculum to strictly English lessons, so whenever we can, we incorporate cultural lessons and activities. Additionally, Halloween is my absolute favorite Holiday, so it was only necessary to celebrate Halloween with our kids and teens by throwing a party at the Escola Moranguinhos. Vivi (Our Field Coordinator) and I planned and organized the party in adavance, but she couldn't stay for the party because she was ill. Will (a resident volunteer), Maria (one of our board members) and I were at the school before the party started to set up and decorate everything.
Maria & Will decorating
Vanessa & I
Around 7PM, Will had to leave the party to teach his English class for adults and shortly after, Maria also had to go home. I would also like to note that I was very impressed by how helpful some of the teen girls were. A couple of them did a wonderful job of helping me watch the younger children.To keep the momentum going and everyone entertained, we played some typical Halloween games such as bobbing for apples and the mummy wrap game. Since children do not go out trick or treating in Brazil, we did the opposite and went door to door on our little street to hand out candy to our neighbors. 
Here is a clip of our reverse trick or treating:

I hope all of you had an equally delightful Halloween!


Also, if you are interested in learning a bit more about me and getting more insight on my life as a resident volunteer/assistant field coordinator here, you can click over to my blog:
 www.riohapa.com
or e-mail me directly at Jennifer@2bros.org