Meninadança: arriving after so long

Wow, so after so long anticipating this, I have finally arrived in Medina and spent my first week with the gorgeous girls of Meninadança! :-)

GOD LOVE FAMILY HOPE LIFE

The Pink House walls are covered in inspiring quotes and energetic paintings.

Meninadança is a charity that is fighting child prostitution in Brazil, a huge problem in this country and largely associated with the BR-116 motorway that runs alongside the town Medina.  This is where I am volunteering for 6 weeks, at Meninadança's Casa Rosa, the Pink House, which supports local girls who are victims or at risk of violence, drug addiction, abandonment or child prostitution through dance, theatre, art and a beauty salon as well as working with the girls families.

A Brazilian government study in 2010 found that along 41,000 miles of federal motorways in Brazil, there were 1,820 places where children were known to be being sold for sex. The worst highway of all was the BR-116. Along its 2,700 miles there were 262 places where child prostitution was known to be taking place - the equivalent of one every ten miles.        
(quote taken from the Meninadança website)

This is an extremely tough context for these girls. Also I have to be honest being here in person and hearing directly or indirectly the stories of the injustice, abuse and maltreatment of the children here in Medina has had a big emotional impact this week.  But throughout the various challenges of this first week what has made each day worthwhile are these resilient young girls with their beautiful smiles, huge energy, humour and their eagerness to learn.  I know I am privileged to have this opportunity to be here alongside the girls and the Meninadança staff who are each so inspiring in their huge commitment to the project, and I can feel that I am already learning a lot.

The week has been one of getting to know the girls, the staff and the other volunteers of the Pink House, including Rita who as director is an amazing pillar of strength and Matt Roper, the charity founder whose book Remember Me Rescue Me inspired me to contact the project last year.

Observing the girls in their theatre classes with lovely educator Cristina, I've seen them act out difficult scenarios of abuse with strong voices and heads held high. I've danced along with them (or at least tried) with long-term English volunteer and dance teacher, Lauren, and seen their imaginative experiements at the beginning of developing choreography for a piece on Human Rights for this coming Saturday 18th.  It is clear that the dances are having a powerful imapct for the girls - here on Lauren's blog you can read her write up of the first Meninadança performance in Medina's town square.  It's been really moving watching videos of the girls' progression since the opening of the Pink House in January this year, they have already come on hugely and Lauren says one of the biggest achievements has been the melting of the barriers between girls form rival neighbourhoods.  Brilliant.



I've also had the pleasure of having my nails done by some of the girls in their beauty salon, guided by another educator, Maria.  They've taught me a brilliant trick of creating nail decorations from paint, using the tip of a needle to create the patterns on the foil-side of milk cartons, that are then coated in nail 'base' to transfer to the fingernails.  I've spent whole hours of the afternoons filling little cardboard strips with designs for the girls! :-)

I was also impressed by the girls' concentration in painting designs onto soap bars with Maria and creating cards with educator Aliane, as gifts for Mother's Day (which is today as I write - Happy Brazilian Mother's Day Mum, I love you!), to fit with the theme of the week: mothers.  This is course a challenging topic that raised lots of debate over the week, and in response to all the focus on mother-daughter love the flip side was also bravely brought up, allowing space to think about those who do not feel love for their mother if it is she that is in fact responsible for the abuse and maltreatment of the daughter.



Arriving to the energetic aftermath of the departure of the first group of volunteers that the Pink House has worked with, I have been aware from day-1 of the need to be hugely thoughtful about my short 6-week placement.  Both this week in the past I have had extensive internal debates about the 'worthwhile-ness' of short-term volunteering, and recognise that all endings have to be sensitively handled for any child, particularly one who may have experienced trauma.  I do genuinely believe in the value of short term volunteers, primarily as demonstrating to the girls that they are seen, heard and cared about near and far, and that there are people all over the world who have them in mind and want to support them.  Equally no matter how short the time there are quality experiences we can share, between volunteers, staff and girls, each learning from one another, and sharing techniques and skills through workshops designed to invite the girls to value themselves, recognise and develop their talents and feel that they are special, supported and above all loved.

So here's looking forward to the next five weeks of working alongside the Meninadança girls and staff. Let's hope I can serve the community to the best of my ability.  I'll aim to post here weekly and you can also keep an eye on the Menindança's facebook page for regular updates from the house.

The Canadaian face of Meninadança: The Dean Brody Foundation, whose song Dear Consumer shares some of the tragic context of sexual abuse and children involved in the sex trade in Brazil, where an estimated half a million children are exploited.  One huge problem is that cases are often unreported leaving victims unforgotten and ignored:

So if you feel moved by the girls stories and feel able to support them and the project with a regular donation of any amount, however small, per month, I know it would be hugely appreciated by everyone here.  You can arrange donations by clicking through this link here.  Thank you.

Big love from Medina 

:-)

p.s. I've certainly moved on from the city now!...some cows blocking the road on our trip to the family home of Alejandro, Kristina's husband, last Sunday where Matt, Lauren, Nathane and I shared a delicious meal cooked in a wood oven and ate oranges and limes freshly picked from their surrounding land...mmm!