For many young Brazilians, the danger of falling victim to drug abuse and teenage pregnancy is all too real. Children are often left alone for long periods of the day after school whilst their parents are out at work, and their safety is gravely threatened by the gang and drugs cultures that surround them on the streets of their neighbourhoods.

The lack of information made available to these young people is often to blame for many children being forced to turn to a life on the streets and this is what ABC partner-project, Viva A Vida, has been tackling recently through their ‘Valuing Life’ Prevention in Schools Project.

Ms Ubaíra, headmistress of one of the participating schools in Viva a Vida's outreach programme, explained that there is a high level of drug and alcohol use in the school’s neighbourhood, which puts their students’ safety at risk.

Viva a Vida has been holding a series of workshops and information days in local schools for children aged seven to fifteen, covering the topics of Drugs and Sexual Health. The workshops benefited 160 students from two different schools in the municipality of Camaçari in Bahia and the information days were attended by a further 276 students. All of the children were rewarded with a certificate of attendance at the end of the course.

Viva a Vida’s ‘Valuing Life’ Prevention in Schools Project gave these young people the chance to speak about important topics in a safe and protected environment and the positive response to the workshops and the teaching from the peer educators can be summed up by one student who said:

“The workshops were very good, especially the peer educators – really nice people. I loved it! Congratulations to the project.”

Viva a Vida will be continuing to run these workshops in local communities and schools as part of their broader mission to prevent children from turning to a life on the streets and to give them a chance to transform their own lives.

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