Tuesday 29th August 2006: ROCINHA FAVELA TOUR: Rio De Janeiro, Brasil

Rio is as famous for its favelas as it is for Copacabana beachand Corcovado, especially since the excellent film `City of God´ which tells the life story of a young man from the favela of the same name. The favelas are shanty towns on the hillsides surrounding Rio. The favelas of Rio have a notorious reputation for being dangerous and it is true that they are run by the drug dealers who can be seen carrying AK47's and other weapons in full view. The top drug running gangs living in the favelas earn up to US$1 million per month, therefore competition is literally deadly with deaths occur frequently, however, those killed are mostly the innocent people who live and work in the favela who get caught in the crossfire between the rival drug gang shoot outs.

As much as the favelas are full of drug dealers, it is also true that there are many people who choose to live there purely because it is much cheaper than living alongside the expensive beaches of Rio. We visited the favela called Rochina which looks down on the prosperous south side of the city. With 140,000 inhabitants, Rochina is the largest favela in Rio and with its own banks, post office and health clinics it is known as a `city within a city´. Amenities such as water and electricity are free for the residents of Rochina. Water is free as the favela lies near the Tijuca National Park and electricity is stolen! There are also no taxes for those living in the favelas. Refuse collection is provided by the local community centre with local favela dustbin men who roll the wheel bins out to the entrance to the favela as no vehicale would be able to pass through the favela as the streets are incredibly narrow making living very cramped.

Our tour of Rochina began at the foot of the hillside on which it is built, with a fast and hair-raising motorcycle taxi ride up the hill which involved weaving in and out of traffic in the pouring rain! When we reached the top of Rochina we then began our walk down through the narrow streets past the locals shops and houses. Walking through the favela was a very wet and smelly affair. It rained for the entire time we were inside the favela (2 hours) so this enabled us to see the drainage problem they have in the favela as we had to constantly jump over or manoevure through the fast flowing rivers of rain water. Walking through the favela we became aware of the wide disparity between the rich and poor as there were houses complete with air conditioning, satellite tv and state of the art entertainment systems alongside those that had extremely basic living.

Our tour of the favela included a visit to the `Casa De Cultura´ which is a culture project run by a group of local artists who paint scenes of the favelas and its surroundings and then sell their art to tourists. These group of artists also help the local community by teaching the children of the favelas. By encouraging and giving the children an opportunity to paint pictures, the children of Rochina are then able to learn that there other ways to make money other than begging from the tourists who visit the favela. We also visited the community Daycare Centre which is a initiative that has been set up by local and multinational companies to help the younger population of Rochina by providing a place for education and development. The Daycare Centre provides very cheap (or free depending on each person´s situation) daycare to parents which enables them to go find work and earn money so they can better their lives.

Our visit to Rochina was an interesting one and it enabled us to have a good understanding of what life is like for those living there whilst showing us that there is a positive side to the favela as well as the very well known negative.

The narrow streets of Rochina

Rochina Favela