Children at Risk Foundation – Hummingbird Project, Brazil

Each year hundreds of children run away from their abusive families and end up living on the streets in Sao Paulo, Brazil. These children are in constant contact with the Brazilian criminal class, embroiled in prostitution, drug dealing and shoplifting. Many suffer from deep psychological problems, manifested through aggression, destructive behaviour, drug abuse, difficulty forming relationships, low self-esteem and learning difficulties.

The Children at Risk Foundation (CARF) began working in Sao Paulo in 1993 with the aim of rehabilitating these children and ultimately settling each child with either a foster family or their natural family. Each year twelve children are taken into the CARF recuperation centre where detoxification and other necessary medical care are arranged. The children undergo a structured programme of rehabilitation through the assignment of regular household duties and participation in leisure activities, thus preparing them for a return to ordinary family life. TRAID's donation of £30,000 in 1999 was used to establish the Hummingbird Activity Centre, which increased the capacity of CARF's preventative work in caring for many more children at risk.

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