Alemão Crisis Team - Covid in Rio’s favelas
Donation protected
With the Brazilian government continuing to deny the seriousness of the Coronavirus pandemic and experts fearing a calamity(1) and collapse of the country’s hospitals, community leaders in the Complexo do Alemão (a group of favelas in the north of Rio de Janeiro with circa 180,000 inhabitants) knew back in March they needed to take matters into their own hands. They joined forces to create a Crisis Team and, as a first step, quickly began developing communications on coronavirus prevention in a way that was relatable to the reality of the favelas, including adapting the wash-your-hands guidance to a community with precarious water supply.
They also knew that staying home would be an impossible ask for a community where so many people are day laborers, street vendors and self-employed, struggling to provide for their families. So they started collecting donations of food, water, cleaning and personal hygiene products. At great personal risk, these courageous activists set out to deliver these lifesaving supplies and, in the past 3 weeks they’ve delivered food to 5,000+ people and water/soap to 9,000+, basically doing the government’s job with zero support from authorities. But the requests for help are growing, and as the severity of this moment deepens the Crisis Team needs our support -- join us in supporting this extraordinary and inspiring effort, any amount helps make a difference!
The Crisis Team is composed of longstanding community leaders and internationally renowned activists whose work has been featured in the The New York Times(2) and others. For more on the Crisis Team and other favelas mobilizing, follow #Covid19NasFavelas or check the following links: (3,4,5).
Note: as the GoFundMe platform does not operate in Brazil, this page has been set up with the Crisis Team but is being managed by Brazilians living in the UK and USA, who will be sending 100% of the funds raised here directly to Rio de Janeiro on a weekly basis.
(1)https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/12/bolsonaro-dragging-brazil-towards-coronavirus-calamity-experts-fear
(2)https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/magazine/the-media-doesnt-care-what-happens-here.html
(3) https://www.rioonwatch.org/?p=58422
(4)https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/brazil-favelas-coronavirus-communicators-rio.html?fbclid=IwAR2mhGn5cmxKhKAAYYM9MJcQGpDzOysqxAlBtWWmArG4wwfX5wFw3tDSpe0
(5) https://www.rioonwatch.org/?p=58452
They also knew that staying home would be an impossible ask for a community where so many people are day laborers, street vendors and self-employed, struggling to provide for their families. So they started collecting donations of food, water, cleaning and personal hygiene products. At great personal risk, these courageous activists set out to deliver these lifesaving supplies and, in the past 3 weeks they’ve delivered food to 5,000+ people and water/soap to 9,000+, basically doing the government’s job with zero support from authorities. But the requests for help are growing, and as the severity of this moment deepens the Crisis Team needs our support -- join us in supporting this extraordinary and inspiring effort, any amount helps make a difference!
The Crisis Team is composed of longstanding community leaders and internationally renowned activists whose work has been featured in the The New York Times(2) and others. For more on the Crisis Team and other favelas mobilizing, follow #Covid19NasFavelas or check the following links: (3,4,5).
Note: as the GoFundMe platform does not operate in Brazil, this page has been set up with the Crisis Team but is being managed by Brazilians living in the UK and USA, who will be sending 100% of the funds raised here directly to Rio de Janeiro on a weekly basis.
(1)https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/12/bolsonaro-dragging-brazil-towards-coronavirus-calamity-experts-fear
(2)https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/magazine/the-media-doesnt-care-what-happens-here.html
(3) https://www.rioonwatch.org/?p=58422
(4)https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/brazil-favelas-coronavirus-communicators-rio.html?fbclid=IwAR2mhGn5cmxKhKAAYYM9MJcQGpDzOysqxAlBtWWmArG4wwfX5wFw3tDSpe0
(5) https://www.rioonwatch.org/?p=58452
Organizer
Olivia Barata Cavalcanti
Organizer
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