SOS Children's Village Juiz de Fora
Despite Brazil’s steady progress in terms of human development, the socioeconomic situation of the population in the under pressure neighborhoods of Juiz de Fora and rural regions of Minas Gerais state is extremely insecure and often unsafe. Young people from struggling families are particularly vulnerable, and both parents and children need support.
A large informal sector means a precarious life for thousands of families
Juiz de Fora is a city of over 570,000 inhabitants located in the state of Minas Gerais in south-eastern Brazil. It is an important industrial center in the region, with large steel mills, automotive and textile factories. The service industry is at the heart of the city’s economy, employing approximately 150,000 people.
However, many of these jobs are informal in nature and therefore lack security. Low or unpredictable incomes, in turn, exclude people from owning their own home or land, forcing them to live in the neighborhoods of the “landless”, where most of the housing is improvised and makeshift. Over 40,000 people in the city live on less than one USD a day and an estimated 1,400 homes are built in precarious areas that lack basic infrastructure.
Parents, and single mothers especially, need support in raising their children
Life is very difficult for people living in such precarious conditions and children suffer most of all. While in other parts of the city, child malnutrition is relatively low, at around four per cent, in the under pressure neighborhoods it is often more common, because many parents are unable to afford an adequate diet for their family.
Around 15 per cent of babies here are born to mothers between the ages of 10 and 19. For these young girls, especially when they are from under pressure family themselves, providing for their child can be extremely difficult.
Although literacy in Juiz del Fora, at 95.6 per cent, is higher than elsewhere in the Minas Gerais state, this still leaves almost 90,000 people unable to read and write and therefore excluded from political and economic processes.
What we do in Juiz de Fora
SOS Children’s Villages began its work in Juiz de Fora in 1980.
Strengthening families: The SOS Family Strengthening Program provides much needed support to families who are at risk of breaking down. We aim to reach out to those who are especially vulnerable. We ensure that they have access to services and that children go to school.
Our community center offers day care for up to 250 children between the ages of six months and three years.
In autumn 2016, some children in our care returned to live with their families of origin. SOS Children’s Villages supported this process, ensuring that the children settled well into their community.