On Friday, our last day in Brazil, we met UNICEF's NGO partners working within some of the poor neighborhoods or favelas of Rio de Janeiro. We also had the opportunity to talk with some of the adolescents who are working to improve their neighborhoods. I read that it is estimated that up to 20% of Rio's population lives in the favelas, which are plagued by violence between the gangs and drug dealers that dominate these neighborhoods and the police. Children are frequently caught in the middle and unable to attend school when the violence erupts.
UNICEF and its partners are working with adolescents to conduct research on what the biggest issues are within these neighborhoods and their suggestions for improvement. The results of their research will be presented at a public hearing with city officials for changes to be implemented.
I was struck by the challenges that these kids must overcome to attend school. One teenager told us about the struggle to get bus transportation to school. While free bus cards are provided, the private bus company maintains a quota for how many free riders can be on the bus at any given time. The quota is 3. This presents a serious obstacle to getting to school. I'm hopeful that their research work will help to change problems such as this one.