The Bagunçaço youth center

Bagunçaço can be compared to a children's activities centre, but its purpose is to keep the children of Alagados away from a life of crime and drugs, and give them the tools they need to live a normal life. Every month 200-300 children visit Bagunçaço.

In a shanty town such as Alagados, no-one would choose to live unless they had to, and 99% of the population here are coloured descendants of slaves. The children born into these ‘favelas', live their lives cut off from regular society, and there are several forces that conspire to keep this separation intact. Children and youth lacking an official identity are vulnerable, and therefore often easy to influence.

This means they may be more susceptible to taking part in illegal but profitable activities, such as robbery, pick-pocketing, prostitution and drug dealing. Bagunçaço represents a strong, efficient and constant counter-part to these forces. Children aged between 5 and 18 can visit Bagunçaço to play drums and take part in activities such as capoeira, football, dance, theatre, and computing. They will be taught English, get help with their home-work and be allowed to make art from found materials. The activities are organised both for and by the children themselves, and in the small drum studio as well as through the centre's other activities, the children can learn to organise, collaborate and take on responsibilities.

As the children grow older, Bagunçaço changes its focus and help the children prepare for work-related activities, leaving them equipped to take on work within industries such as building and maintenance, tourism and the beauty industry. The centre even hosts job application workshops to help give the youth a good start. All the services the centre provides are entirely free of charge, and this is the very the condition on which it operates. All children in the area are welcome as long as they attend school and stay away from criminal activities. Teaching experts at Bagunçaço are in constant talks with the school nearby as well as with the government, to ensure children whose lives might begin to slip are given the help they need as early as possible. The centre was started in 1991 by the baker and musician Joselito Crispim, who is still in charge.