June 18, 2008 Girls in Nova Contagem

What a beautiful photo! The girls left yesterday with Raquel and went to this place called Nova Contagem... It is a poor governmental created slum of 80,000 people. When the population grew so much out of control, the solution was to make a new city and transport the people that had migrated from inner cities to cut down on over crowding in Belo Horizonte and Contagem. There were no jobs and no infrastructure .

There is a huge problem with drugs and violence, and it is like leaving Brazil and entering Peru or Mexico because it looks so different... Raquel now is the official social worker for the "Casa de Apoio" and she is in the process of visiting around 2000 families that are helped through the project. So Jeanne and Sarah spent the day visiting families and the project with Raquel.

One of the ways the families make an income is through becoming "slaves" by working in the local garlic pealing trade. They make almost nothing and force their children to work and not go to school and the acid from the garlic eats their finger prints away along with re-using the water from the washing of the garlic for every other thing in the home. It is a real sad situation that is being changed through the Casa de Apoio and their creation of a professional mechanized set up that they can come and have garlic pealed by machines... The "catch" is, they have to send their children to school... They also benefit by learning hygiene and are plugged into so many other resources, and most importantly the Gospel message...

Here in the picture above Sarah and Jeanne are at the Garlic project praying with the women and enjoying some fellowship together.

Jeanne and Sarah are doing a great job and they are learning more and more every day!