Eyewitness report from Brazil - (2)

Ninha with Tata

We started this morning with a wonderful Mass, where we prayed for CAFOD volunteers and supporters at home. We then travelled to meet the amazing community of Maua, based at a large apartment building in central São Paolo. It is a project of APOIO, an urban programme supported by CAFOD.

What I saw there reminded me of a passage from Acts of the Apostles 'All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.'

For me, the passage shows an ideal that the early Christian communities lived by and which is being acted out in 2011 at Maua. For the past four years this building has been home to over 220 families (over 1000 people). The building had previously been a hotel but was abandoned over 17 years previously, after the owner failed to pay his taxes. The building was left derelict until a group of brave and inspirational young people took it over and took in many homeless and vulnerable people and started to make it habitable for them. Today I witnessed hard working community leaders and volunteers, renovating the sewerage systems, running sports classes for the children, leading study classes and ensuring that those without food were helped out by the rest of the community.

These are some people I met at Maua - Ninha, aged 10: "I live with my mum, my sister Catarina and my brother Wesley. My mother works as a teacher at a homeless shelter and my brother delivers pizza. I go to school at 1.30 pm and come home at 5.45 pm. My favourite subject is Maths. I like doing sums. My sister Catarina is 17. She had to leave school because she was mugged and cut, but she is hoping to return after the holidays. My home has a living room and a sofa and a curtain to divide the living room from the bedroom. We have a fridge and an oven and a bathroom. I sleep behind the sofa. On Saturdays and Sundays, I take part in activities at Maua. At the moment we are doing rehearsals for a dance and a play for a party on 23 July. I go to church on Sundays. Here in Maua the children have groups just like the adults and young people. I am one of the coordinators. If there are new children, we introduce them to the rest of the group. And in our meetings we talk about our behaviour and mistakes. We talk about what's important to us. My dream for the future is to be a dancer because I like dancing, Brazilian dancing.

William Santana dos Santos, 21 years old: "I like Capoeira [a Brazilian art form that combines martial arts, sports and music] because it helps me to relax and forget my problems. I feel really happy. Capoeira is important for building community because it helps us to make friends. Once you are friends, you have respect for one another. We meet here two or three times a week and that helps us be friends when we are outside doing other things. I feel great, peaceful, I forget all my problems. I want to start my own Samba and Pagode band. I want to help my mum and buy a house for my mum. I want to help all the families who live here in Maua to have a permanent place to live. My message to young people in England and Wales is this: if you have the opportunity, play sport. And if you have a dream, keep trying. Sport is good for building friendships and making people happy.

CAFOD's representative in Westminster Diocese, Tony Sheen, is currently in Brazil visiting partner projects in the country. He will be sending regular reports throughout his trip.