October 8, 2020

“Marabá” Day Care Center in Londrina / Paraná

Sister M. Reginita Schubert

The day care center “Jardim Marabá”

 is located in the eastern zone of Londrina in the Marabá district, one of the poorest areas of the city. About 130 children between the ages of two and five are cared for there from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Many of the parents are unemployed. If they have any income at all, the mother is usually a domestic worker with a low wage, the father a day laborer who collects the rubbish on the street and gives it to recycling for a very small fee. This fact leads to the already weak family structure being shaken more and more. Since it is already difficult for an average family in Brazil to get by with the monthly income, it is even more so for the families in the aforementioned catchment or “melting pot” area. Not infrequently they have to fight for survival and only have the bare minimum, if at all. Because of this, crime, drug trafficking and drug addiction are increasing.

Helping the children from the poor areas

The children come from three surrounding favelas (slum areas): “Santa Fé”, “Monte Cristo” and “Jardim Marabá”. Since the parents or the single parent are dependent on paying for the necessities of life, the children are mostly left to their own devices and receive little support. As a result, when they start school, they do not have the right skills to keep up with the other children. They quickly lose the motivation they need to go to school and simply stay at home. Even if it is possible to meet the requirements, children from this segment of the population seldom get beyond the 4th year of primary school, as they very soon have to help support the family.

By bringing up the children well, we want to make a contribution to improving the living conditions of the children and their families, as far as we can.

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