The Corona Campaign

Les mer

The Corona pandemic is now expanding fast in Brazil. We are very worried about the plight of the families living in the slums/favelas. All the Hummingbird social centers are now closed for all activities.

There is no doubt that the impact of the Corona virus will be much more difficult to cope with for people living in areas with precarious infrastructure, poor living conditions, weak health care system and low standard of living. Moreover, the people in the slums live close to one other.

The centers are closed

Hummingbird centers are closed and so are the local schools. The children and their families have received thorough information from the Hummingbird project about the danger of infection and the importance of hygiene and maintaining a distance from other persons. However, with many members of the family living together in cramped and miserable conditions it is very difficult to cope and avoid contamination.

Grandma is in a vulnerable situation
Grandma is in a vulnerable situation

Grandma is in a vulnerable situation

This is one of the hummingbird families. Grandma looks after the kids while mom is at work. More than 50% of workers in Brazil have no formal/legal employment relationship with the employer. For the poor, the proportion working under such conditions with no legal rights is much higher. They are our target group and when losing their jobs, there is no support from the authorities. The parents are under pressure to provide for the family, regardless of the risk of infection. If the mother or grandmother in this family is affected by the disease, the children will be in great danger. In the Hummingbird project, the mother or grandmother is the sole guardian of over the vast majority of the children. Many families are very vulnerable.

Sondre and Isis

The Sondre and Isis Memorial Fund was established in 2002 when the school student Sondre, who attended Os' Elementary School in Norway, died suddenly and unexpectedly from illness. He had been very concerned about and engaged in the children's situation in Brazil that he had learned about through his school's collaboration with Children at Risk Foundation (CARF). At the funeral, his parents urged friends and family to give a gift to the Hummingbird project. At about the same time, Isis, a girl taking part in the Hummingbird project in Brazil, died. She was hit by a car driving at high speed just outside the gate of the Hummingbird Center. Isis ended up in a public hospital where the medical staff lacked the equipment and skills to save the her. In a private hospital in Brazil it would probably have been possible to save her. Hummingbird CARF therefore created a memorial fund for medical treatment in Brazil, because in our view children should to be given the best treatment and the best treatment in Brazil costs money. Read more about the fund here.

Campaign for children and families affected by the corona pandemic

We must take the initiative even though we don’t yet know the extent of tragedy that will happen soon. That is why we are now launching a fundraising campaign for the Sondre and Isis Memorial Fund. It will be for medical help and for the help of families with children whose lives are greatly altered by the corona pandemic.

You can support Sondre and Isis Memorial Fund here. Thank you.

Historien om barna

Hvorfor blir det gatebarn?

De fleste gatebarn kommer fra slumrådene eller favelaområdene utenfor sentrum. Noen barn som bor i favelaen, har det så vanskelig hjemme at de velger å rømme hjemmefra.

Thelmas hjerteskjærende historie

"Marerittet startet for 5 år siden, da en kvinne kom i en fin bil til vårt lille samfunn, og bragte med seg noen klær og leker til barna."

Å vokse opp i slummen

Slumområdet er et farlig sted å vokse opp. Det er nedverdigende å bo i skur, og vanskelig å få til et verdig liv. Livet i favelaen er svært vanskelig både for voksne og barn. Livet preges av fattigdom, arbeidsløshet og uforutsigbarhet.