Anti-racist education for a violence-free future

Dear Viva a Vida Friends and Supporters!

Thanks to your support, our young participants have been very active since the beginning of June, with the continuation of the Theater in Debate and #VivaJuntos projects. At the same time, our team has also been involved in reflections, visits and campaigns.

We’d especially like to note the incredible development of Caroline, or Sandra Carol, a relatively new member of the G2 Theater Group, who has overcome threats, discrimination and family resistance to become one of our shining stars! Here’s is Sandra Carol’s story:

“When I started at the theater group I was a very reserved person, afraid of being who I am, I barely talked, but today I feel free. Everywhere I go I can show who I am and today I have an active voice, I can defend what I think is right and I have my own opinions.”

At Viva a Vida, Caroline is popularly known as Sandra Carol. She has been a member of the V2 Theater Group for one year and today her acting is one of the artistic highlights of the group. Above all she has a surprising life history.

She has lived in the community with her parents for about 4 years. She has four sisters and one brother, all of whom are married. Sandra Carol’s life is similar to some of the other students in the group, in that her family had to move to Vila de Abrantes, because her father was threatened by a brother-in-law, a chemically dependent person, meaning that the family had to leave the area.

Despite these obstacles, Sandra Carol reports that she had a good childhood, but there is one thing that makes her remember this time with sadness:

“My childhood was good, but I had certain problems, because I suffered racism from one of my sisters, which oppressed me as a child.”

Certain memories from this time, such as having her first bicycle, are striking, but what stayed in her mind for a long time was the prejudice she suffered. Sandra Carol says that her sisters’ skin is lighter than hers and they do not share the same father, which she believes may have contributed to the strange looks she always received.

“My four sisters are white, but only one of them said I was a little black girl with coarse hair.”

Although this happened a long time ago, she still feels the difference, “it was as if I didn’t have the same blood running through my veins.”

The transformation from this reality began when “Sandra Carol” sought out an activity that would serve to occupy her mind. Through a colleague, she arrived at the V2 Theater Group.

Sandra Carol’s family is religious and the fact that she is involved in art, interpreting several roles, made her feel uncomfortable at first.

“At the beginning it was very difficult, I felt strange and guilty, as if I was sinning every time I participated in an activity at the NGO.”

Over the year, she has had many conversations with her mother about the importance of theater and the difference that participating in this activity has made for Carol and, above all, that the religious foundations taught by her family will not be abandoned.

We should note that Viva a Vida is not connected to any religious belief, precisely in order to give its beneficiaries the freedom to make their own choices and to profess, or not, their own faith, in any way they wish. This is one of our principles.

In a conversation, Theater Teacher Simone Requião offered Sandra Carol the possibility of exploring other characters, rather than the lesbian character she currently plays, in order for her to feel secure and to avoid possible family conflict.

Returning to her relationship with her mother, Sandra Carol says:

After a number of initiations to watch a performance of In Dependence: “I was surprised that [my mother] came. She was “closed” before the show but at the end of the play she was totally transformed, as soon as we got home she told me that everything she had seen was wonderful. I could see that the religious taboo had been broken, not totally, but I can confirm that my mother had also changed and opened up herself to understanding what theater is and what it can do for people’s lives.”

“Before watching the play, the theater gave nothing to my life, it was something meaningless. After watching it, I loved everything!” says Sandra Carol’s mother.

Sandra Carol notes that her mother did not comment much about her character, because she is a lesbian, although she accepts Sandra Carol’s continued performance in the role.

Congratulations Sandra Carol!

Find out more about what your donations have helped support this semester: 

• The project Theater in debate: have you thought of that?, encourages young people to reflect on themes relevant to their community by watching the play In Dependence, which is written and performed by the young actors in the group and addresses violence, racism, homophobia and family dysfunction. Since our last report the group has performed in two local schools and three local community organizations, meaning that this year more than 500 community members have watched and debated the play.
• The second module of the #VivaJuntos Project started at the State College of Vila de Abrantes with Youth Leadership, photography and graffiti workshops, exchange experiences and field visits for 40 adolescents.
• Team Reflection Day – we finished the first semester with an in-depth reflection and learning session for the team. Many thanks to our volunteer Shelley for the much appreciated massages!
• Institutional visits:
  • We were delighted to welcome Sandra Lima of Braskem, who visited us to find out more about our work as part of the company’s procedures to approve funding for our projects. We look forward to starting this new partnership!
  • We also received a visit from Marcia Cameria of Detem Quimica to monitor progress of the #VivaJuntos project. Marcia visited the community and was particularly interested in the graffiti the young participants made in homage to Marielle Franco, the Rio de Janeiro city councilor who was executed in March.
• Public Policy: over this period team members have attended training and supported the approval of local legislation under a new federal law to facilitate civil society operations in Brazil. We look forward to seeing new local partnerships and funding opportunities arising from this legislation!
• Many thanks to GlobalGiving for their Youth Week initiative, which we participated in at the beginning of August. As a result we raised our profile with donors and potential donors and raised nearly U$ 500.00 for our Microproject, aimed at keeping our community space open until the end of the year. The Microproject has now been retired, but you can read about it here: www.globalgiving.org/microprojects/safe-space-rediscover-joy/