CARF's work in Brazil:
About streetkids
In all big cities of the South, there are streetkids, but the attention has particularly been drawn to streetkids in Brazil. One of the reasons is perhaps the incredible brutality and indifference Brazilian officials are treating them.

In the São Paulo area only, where CARF works, official estimations show that there are about 15.000 kids living on the street. The estimations is probably ridiculusly low, and goes to show how little the country is doing to deal with the problem. The extent of the problem is probably far greater than what we can imagine.

The problems with streetkids in Brazil seriously came to people's knowledge with Hector Babenco's film "Pixote" in the early 80's. With streetkids playing the lead parts, the film came as a chock as it brutally realistic described young streetkids' lives in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The main character, Pixote, grew up in El Dorado, close to Diadema, where Gregory Smith later founded the CARF-center in 1992. At the age of 17, Pixote was shut dead by the police.

In several big cities, streetkids are used as couriers and dealers for drug barons.At the same time, these children are good customers for them. A great number of the kids Gregory has taken into care have a background where drug abuse was normal. No lower age limit is to be found and a growing suspicion is drawn towards the São Paolo police for encouraging and participating in the drug-trafic among the streetkids.

Streetkids are often mentally depressed and physically abused, making it difficult to restore any trust and confindence in adults.

Who are the streetkids?
Due to lack of secure facts, it is hard to establish the time when streetkids as a "phenomenon" arised. However, it is possible to categorise the children into various groups: those who have left their family for a life on the streets, those who occationally live with their family and those who work on the streets. In any case, we are talking about children who are not participating or have been left out from the social goods of the society.

The time has come to shed a light on the problems of streetkids and deal with it in a seriuos matter. Since 1993, CARF has learned through both success and mistakes a way to remove kids from the streets. Our methods are unorthodocks, in Brazil and beyond.
Wender was the first boy Gregory Smith removed from the streets and was also the main character in one of CARF's films from the work in São Paolo. Just like Pixote, Wender was shut down and killed, probably by the police.
A lot of the help organisations in the bigger Brazilian cities have hardly any possibility to remove the children from the streets. By providing them with blanchets, clothes, food and short term activities, the kids are finding the streets a better place to stay rather than with the biological parents. At the same time, their biggest wish is to be part of a harmonic and stable family.
Streetkids are one of the first things arriving travellers notice when coming to Brazil. The number of them is shocking and they are everywhere. The kids appear cynical, but only reflect their attitudes to adults exploiting them.