EDUCATION-BRAZIL: Circus Schools Rescue Kids from the Streets

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jul 21 2000 (IPS) - Circus schools, which have mushroomed across Brazil since the 1980s, have turned out to be one of the best means for social integration of children in high- risk situations, such as juvenile delinquents and slum-dwellers.

Alex Souza dos Santos, who at 18 describes himself as “an artist”, makes his living putting on shows demonstrating his acrobatics skills at schools, parties and other events.

Souza dos Santos says he is a survivor of the streets, and was saved by “a strong guardian angel.”

At age seven he left his home in Itabuna, in the state of Bahia in Brazil’s impoverished northeast, to accompany a prostitute friend on a day trip that turned into a journey that took him all the way to Rio de Janeiro, 1,200 kms to the south, where he grew up on the streets and the beaches.

In 1993 Souza dos Santos came dangerously close to becoming one of the victims of a police massacre of eight street children and adolescents sleeping near the Candelaria Church in downtown Rio de Janeiro, an incident that shook public opinion worldwide. Although he formed part of that group of street kids — known as the “children of the Candelaria” — he spent his nights in a favela (shantytown) near the port.

“Many of my other friends have died” as well, he says sadly. Of the 72 original “children of the Candelaria”, 48 have been killed, according to organisations that assist street children.

Souza dos Santos stared death in the face more than once after falling into thievery and drugs, and he spent time in reform schools. But seven years ago his life took a new turn, when he came into contact with the project “If That Street Were Mine”, set up by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help street kids in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second largest city.

“I cried from hunger many times, I was a rebel, but my life changed,” says the teenager, expressing his gratitude for the help he received.

In a big old house, the youngsters attracted by the project, most of whom are black, study theatre, dance, music and computer skills. But the classes in circus skills are the favourite.

“It is what they find most gratifying and appealing, because it is a continuation of what they do on the streets and the beaches — capering about, doing somersaults, juggling,” said Antonio César Marques, the coordinator of the project.

Of some 90 children and adolescents who frequent the house, two- thirds learn circus skills like juggling, tightrope walking and acrobatics. Those who show talent are prepared for the National Circus School, a government institution that provides four-year courses.

Souza dos Santos was one of them. Specialising in a balancing act involving a board resting on a roller and other acrobatics, he worked in a theatre group in the past, and today puts on two-man shows with a colleague.

Six of the youngsters who got their start in “If That Street Were Mine” are currently studying at the National Circus School, and four more will join them in August. Five have already been hired by large circus companies in Brazil and abroad, said Marques.

The project is a “centre of formation” of citizens, in the words of Jo Ventura, one of the teachers. In practice, participating youngsters are set on the road toward a vocation, not necessarily the circus. Learning to live together and follow rules, and reflecting on their lives and society are ongoing aspects of the project.

The children, most of whom are drop-outs who never finished their primary education, are encouraged to return to school. “We try to impress on them the need for a formal education, even if it’s boring,” said Ventura.

Souza dos Santos got the message, and is now happy that he knows how to “read, write, and converse without the mistakes I used to make.”

Of the roughly 1,300 youngsters who have taken part in the project, more than 1,000 have been reunited with their families or have gone on to school or socially productive jobs. Only around 200 ended up back on the streets, said Marques.

“Factory of Dreams” is another initiative that teaches circus skills to children and adolescents from the favelas ringing Rio de Janeiro. The aim of the programme is to develop full-fledged citizens, encouraging the youngsters to go back to school, boosting their self-esteem and preventing juvenile delinquency.

The “Factory of Dreams” was set up by Telma Pereira Martins and her son Bruno. Pereira Martins calls the 400 students ages five to 23 her “kids”. In order to be accepted as a member of the “family,” the children must attend a regular school.

One important activity is tutoring for children with special education needs, to help them overcome their difficulties at school.

The results have been excellent. Last year, 99 percent of the children passed from one grade to the next, and “this year we are hoping for 100 percent,” said Pereira Martins, who launched the project seven years ago, with 29 children.

Funding from the state-run oil-company Petrobras and a donation of a large plot of municipal land in a neighbourhood near the port enabled the project to expand, and to build new — but as yet unfinished — installations.

The “Factory of Dreams” offers training in circus skills to a less marginalised and rebellious group of youngsters than those targetted by “If That Street Were Mine”. The programme’s founders point out that seven former students — one of whom had been a juvenile delinquent living on the streets — are working in circuses in Europe.

Today, 26 youngsters have made it to the status of apprentice, and earn a monthly stipend of 75 dollars “as an incentive to encourage them to continue perfecting their talents” with the help of skilled teachers hired thanks to the Petrobras funding.

In Belém, the capital of the northern state of Pará, the city government uses the circus as a means of removing children from the garbage dumps where their families scrape by on what they can earn as scavengers by selling waste.