With the name of patuá, Gris Espaço Solidário spreads hope with the peripheral youth of Recife

Credit: Disclosure

By: Kauana Portugal – Lupa do Bem / Favela em Pauta

It is in a house, located in the Várzea neighborhood, on the outskirts of the West Zone of Recife (PE), that Gris Espaço Solidário (Gris Solidarity Space) has maintained its headquarters in full activity since 2018. The name refers to the patuás of African origin (gris-gris) responsible for ensuring protection and luck for those who believe. The NGO has been offering playful and psycho-pedagogical support for children, youth and adults as a way of bringing hope to a scenario of intense socioeconomic vulnerability.

In 2018, when it was created by the social scientist Joice Paixão, the project found its reason to exist in the guarantee of tutoring classes for children with learning difficulties and ludic-therapeutic assistance, with an emphasis on strengthening self-esteem and ethnic-racial recognition of younger ones.

The popularization of the space, however, led the NGO to expand its operations. In this year 2022, for example, the creation of a women’s cooperative is planned, designed to promote the employability and autonomy of the heads of their families.

“After finishing college, I came across organizations as bureaucratic as the state. Gris appears in the opposite direction, in order to make people seen and heard, respected in their demands”, says Joice.

Currently, the services offered are organized between the pedagogical sides, with classes in technology, arts, socio-political training sessions, among others, and also the therapeutic one, through joint efforts for care related to health and assistance. The latter is aimed at combating food insecurity, with the donation of basic food baskets, cleaning and hygiene kits.

The impact of COVID-19

Two years ago, before the highest period of coronavirus cases, the average number of young people served by Gris was 80 children and adolescents. However, with the worsening of the pandemic and also due to the loss of income among members and residents of the community, the needs increased.

Today, about 500 families have come to rely on the organization to obtain basic items, such as masks and other personal protective equipment.

“We distributed 20,000 masks in the community, as well as clay filters and other items. When the first doses of vaccine began to arrive in Brazil, we carried out a survey to understand which residents were considered a risk group and should have priority in the immunization process”, explains Joice Paixão. With the help of donations, Gris also installed two community sinks on the streets of the neighborhood.

May storms and its effects

In May 2022, Brazil and the world witnessed the effects of the intense rains that spilled over the Recife Metropolitan Region and the Pernambuco Forest Zones, washing away houses and causing fatal landslides in areas of hills and slopes. And in the territory where Gris Espaço Solidário has an impact, it was no different.

Although there are no records of deaths of residents of Várzea, many were forced to leave their homes because of the risk of landslides.

Meanwhile, other people came to witness the waters of the Capibaribe River invading homes. These houses were built in areas of vulnerability, due to lack of public investment in the issue of decent housing in peripheral regions.

“The flood season was a sickening process, we couldn’t sleep because we knew worse things could happen. Families who were doing fine, inside their homes, lost the bare minimum. Others, who no longer had much structure, were left with nothing”, explains the person responsible for Gris Espaço Solidário (Gris Solidarity Space).

Facing this reality, the NGO needed to mobilize volunteers for emergency actions, especially in the collection of groceries and clothes, in addition to appliances and other necessary items.

With no Center for Social Assistance (CRAS) along the entire length of the neighborhood, residents see in Gris the responsibility that should belong to the State: the implementation of public policies.

Strengthening self-esteem and combating intolerance

More than half of the young people served by Gris Espaço Solidário (Gris Solidarity Space) are black. Many of them, as Joice Paixão says, began to see the power of blackness after engaging in the NGO’s activities. “Behavior changes. At school, where some used to suffer racism, they have had the courage to proudly assert their characteristics, denouncing all kinds of prejudice”, she attests.

Also in this sense, the creation of intergenerational bridges has been another high point for raising awareness of issues such as the fight against intolerance and LGBTphobia. Among the initiative’s volunteers, there are cis, trans, people of different religions and also of different sexual orientations, encouraging exchange and respect between different people.

For Joice, who also works as the coordinator of space activities, “the children take all this learning to home with them. And what happens is that family members also learn”.

To keep fighting, Gris Espaço Solidário (Gris Solidarity Space) needs help

With resources drained to assist people in emergency situations, Gris Espaço Solidário (Gris Solidarity Space) needs help to continue operating. Through the profile on Instagram it is possible to follow the numerous requests for help, whether financial or of any other nature. Basic needs range from diapers, cleaning products and even food.

Currently, the activities in the space have reduced hours due to the lack of funds for the purchase of snacks offered to children and young people participating in the courses.

To help Gris continue doing this work, it is possible to donate through the PIX key 8198231-4011, in the name of Joice Poliana Paixão. On the Instagram profile @gris.solidario you can follow the activities and campaigns carried out. Gris Espaço Solidário is located at Rua Diogo Barbosa Machado, number 15, in the Várzea neighborhood, Recife – PE.