{"id":75061,"date":"2023-07-07T11:51:07","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T14:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=75061"},"modified":"2023-08-03T15:00:15","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T18:00:15","slug":"itaguai-womens-association-warriors-and-social-articulators-a-m-i-g-a-s-assists-engenho-women-waste-pickers-and-flood-victims-through-solidarity-kitchen-education-and-income-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=75061","title":{"rendered":"Itagua\u00ed Women’s Association of Warriors and Social Articulators (A.M.I.G.A.S.) Assists Engenho Women, Waste Pickers and Flood Victims Through Solidarity Kitchen, Education, Income Generation [PROFILE]"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Anna<\/a>
Anna Paula Sales, community organizer in Engenho, Itagua\u00ed, and founder of the Itagua\u00ed Women’s Association\u2014Warriors and Social Articulators (A.M.I.G.A.S.) shows off sweet potatoes being served in the Itagua\u00ed Solidarity Kitchen. Photo: Alexandre Cerqueira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This article is part of a <\/i>series of profiles of initiatives in Rio de Janeiro\u2019s Sustainable Favela Network<\/a><\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Initiative<\/strong><\/span>: Itagua\u00ed Women’s Association\u2014Warriors and Social Articulators (A.M.I.G.A.S.<\/a>)
\nContact<\/strong><\/span>: Facebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a> | +55 (21) 98660-6686 (Whatsapp & Calls)
\nYear Founded<\/strong><\/span>: 2015
\nCommunity<\/strong><\/span>: Engenho, Itagua\u00ed (municipality on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro)
\nMission<\/strong><\/span>: To promote social inclusion, transforming lives and realities through education, art, and culture, for the community at-large. Guaranteeing human rights, with a focus on employment and income generation.<\/span>
\nPublic Events<\/strong><\/span>: Itagua\u00ed Solidarity Kitchen, inside the Engenho Residents’ Association (A.M.E.) headquarters, on Mondays and Wednesdays, at 6pm, dinner is served for free. On Sundays, breakfast is free for the community between 9am and 10am, while lunch is served at 12:30am.
\nHow to Support<\/strong><\/span>: Physical donations can be dropped off at Rua Manoel Soares da Costa, 13 \u2013 Engenho \u2013 Itagua\u00ed<\/a>. Bank transfers via PIX cozinhaafetivacomunitaria@gmail.com or account: Bank CORA SCD (Code 403) | Checking Account: 2053522-9 | Name: Cozinha Afetiva Comunit\u00e1ria Sustent\u00e1vel<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Anna Paula Sales has lived in Itagua\u00ed for over twenty years. Originally from Pedra de Guaratiba in the far West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, she has since become a well-known and widely respected member of the community. That community is Engenho, a favela with around 20,000 residents in Itagua\u00ed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI raised my children here. My children went to school here. Our roots are here.\u201d \u2014 Anna Paula Sales<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Woman<\/a>
Woman Warrior Ana Paula Salles. Photo: Alexandre Cerqueira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The municipality of Itagua\u00ed<\/a> is located within Greater Rio de Janeiro<\/a>‘s\u00a0Baixada Fluminense<\/a>, a lowland region that covers much of the metropolitan area. Although it is a suburb of Rio, it is itself very isolated from the rest of Greater Rio. <\/span>\u201c[Itagua\u00ed] has no urban mobility<\/a>,\u201d Sales says, \u201cyou can\u2019t get here nor leave from here, because, either way, you\u2019ll spend three hours on public transit.\u201d This isolation from more lucrative jobs closer to Rio\u2019s metropolitan center has led to pockets of high levels of poverty in the city, among them in Sales’ community. In many ways, the residents of Engenho live not only physically on the periphery of Rio’s Metropolitan Area, but also socially, politically, and economically.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since 2015, Sales has been a key figure leading the women of A.M.I.G.A.S., an acronym which means, in Portuguese, \u201cgirl friends,\u201d and, at the same time, is an acronym that stands for Itagua\u00ed Women\u2019s Association\u2014Warriors and Social Articulators. Speaking of the roots of the organization, Sales clarifies that it is now even more far-fetched than before.<\/p>\n

\"Women<\/a>
Women that volunteer with A.M.I.G.A.S. during an action on International Women’s Day. Photo: A.M.I.G.A.S. Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA.M.I.G.A.S. arose from a demand, from a necessity, to defend the lives of women<\/a> victims of domestic violence and sexual assault… [and soon] we realized there was a need to support not just these women, but also their children.\u201d \u2014 Anna Paula Sales<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"The<\/a>
The main room of A.M.I.G.A.S.’s headquarters, located at the Engenho Residents’ Association (A.M.E.). Photo: Ben Bildsten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, due to increasing poverty and socio-environmental tragedies<\/a> from both the coronavirus\u00a0pandemic<\/a> and extreme flooding<\/a>, the support provided by A.M.I.G.A.S. was expanded to serve pregnant women, the elderly, and chronically ill residents of Engenho. Nowadays, Sales says that the public \u201cexpanded [even more]. We opened our services to everyone!\u201d<\/p>\n

Recently, A.M.I.G.A.S. launched their Youth Friends of the Environment (J.A.M.A.) program.<\/p>\n

\u201cJ.A.M.A. was developed to promote environmental education<\/a> among community youth. We have an open-air sewage canal, and when you educate people not to litter, life is better… We need a lot of help to do this, so we are establishing a network of youth from the community to support environmental preservation and sustainability [practices].\u201d \u2014 Anna Paula Sales<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another project spearheaded by advocates at A.M.I.G.A.S. is the empowerment of waste pickers<\/a>. Sales says that, due to high unemployment rates<\/a> caused by the pandemic, the numbers of these professionals have skyrocketed in her community and city.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Anna<\/a>
Anna Paula Sales shows off some of the food that is used to make community meals. Photo: Ben Bildsten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBasically, everyone became a waste picker<\/a>… [To empower these workers] we provide support, we offer food<\/a>, we incorporate aspects of environmental education as well. We direct them to the government, so that they are registered and protected, working under the law. We provide them with many supplies and guide the conversation with local authorities on their behalf.\u201d \u2014 Anna Paula Sales<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By providing both physical and mental support to the waste pickers of Itagua\u00ed, A.M.I.G.A.S. is able to help improve the overall sanitation of the city, while also augmenting household income and environmental protection. In many families, the money earned by waste pickers is the only source of income, serving as the only barrier between families and famine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each month, A.M.I.G.A.S. offers programs to the community of Engenho at the headquarters of the closely allied Engenho Residents’ Association (A.M.E.<\/a>), founded in 2018 to defend and support community residents as an official representative of the community. Sales describes some of the main projects planned for the coming months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with Zero Hunger<\/a>… [Our] July is [focused on] prevention of violence against women<\/a>… [and so is] Lilac August<\/a>, and then there’s Yellow September<\/a>, a campaign against suicide. Eventually, we arrive at Christmas Without Hunger<\/a>.\u201d \u2014 Anna Paula Sales<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"A.M.I.G.A.S.'s<\/a>
A.M.I.G.A.S.’s community garden. Produce from the garden is regularly included in their community meals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The watermarks from flooding in this room of the A.M.E. headquarters can still be seen roughly a half meter above the floor. Photo: Ben Bildsten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Preventing and eliminating hunger in Itagua\u00ed is very important to Sales and her women warrior friends at A.M.I.G.A.S. The women’s organization provides free meals to the community three times a week, every week as part of their Itagua\u00ed Solidarity Kitchen. It is not uncommon to have 300 people show up for a hot meal<\/a> on rainy days, when it is hard for waste pickers to collect raw materials for recycling and make enough money<\/a> to have a proper meal<\/a>, or when the low lying city is flooded and comes to a halt. So, even before the water levels go up and it gets dangerous, when people notice it’s going to start raining heavily, they go to A.M.I.G.A.S. to make sure they’re fed<\/a>, safe, and not far from home amid extreme weather events, that often ravish favelas in Rio. \u201cWhen the rain starts, everyone worries,\u201d Sales remarks.<\/p>\n

A serious problem in Engenho are the frequent floods that occur after heavy rains. Large sections of the Baixada Fluminense are below sea-level, which makes the problem even greater. This, along with poor drainage systems and lack of basic sanitation, lead not only to floods, but also to the backup of sewage, including human waste, in drains. Floods are recurrent during the summer, but in the February 2022 rainy season<\/a>, A.M.E.’s<\/span> headquarters, where most A.M.I.G.A.S. activities take place, experienced very high water levels, damaging or destroying much of their property. The water mark from the flood can still be seen on the walls. Now, the most important items are kept elevated, so as not to be spoiled when the rains are heavy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Refrigerators<\/a>
Refrigerators elevated on wooden boxes and cement bricks to protect them from future floods. Photo: Ben Bildsten<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These floods have also led to governmental forces entering the community and aggressively destroying homes<\/a> in 2021 and 2022, particularly houses along the canal. Evicting citizens was banned by a ruling<\/a> of the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF<\/a>) at the time, due to pandemic. Even so, some Engenho residents were removed. It is important to bear in mind that the most vulnerable<\/a> to climate change in Rio are residents of the favelas<\/a> and that the solution lays in improving their infrastructure, not relegating residents to the margins through eviction.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people [here] have tuberculosis<\/a>. They only have one bed in their home, they don\u2019t have a refrigerator, they don\u2019t have a stove, they don\u2019t have any money, they don\u2019t have a job. On top of all this, they are ill!\u201d \u2014 Anna Paula Sales<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Engenho<\/a>
Engenho homes that back up onto the community’s open air sewage canal. Photo: Alexandre Cerqueira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These are the particular individuals that A.M.I.G.A.S. supports through their events and programs. Other regular events include twice-a-week professional training. For these courses, A.M.I.G.A.S. partners with local businesses or other not-for-profits to train community members in professional skills that can help them secure a stable and higher-income job. A.M.I.G.A.S. additionally stores a large quantity of high-quality clothing, furniture, and other personal item donations that are free for community members to take as needed. A.M.I.G.A.S. works to eliminate extreme poverty and inequality in Engenho.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Women<\/a>
Women of Engenho, in Itagua\u00ed, participate in an activity promoted by A.M.I.G.A.S. at A.M.E.’s headquarters for the International Women’s Day. Photo: A.M.I.G.A.S. Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201c[Human suffering] is what concerns me the most. As a human being. I am unable to be well, knowing that there are others who are not.\u201d \u2014 Anna Paula Sales<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A.M.I.G.A.S. intends not only to maintain the services and resources they provide to Engenho residents, but to expand them, reaching more people in the city of Itagua\u00ed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBy the end of the year, we want to implement four new projects. We want to see if we are able to provide more empowerment for the youth by getting them an income, but still with a concern for the environment… other projects as well, such as expanding our professional training courses and provide more food support from our kitchen<\/a>.\u201d <\/span>\u2014 Anna Paula Sales<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Support\u00a0<\/b>RioOnWatch<\/i><\/b>\u2019s tireless, critical and cutting-edge hyperlocal journalism, online community organizing meetings, and direct support to favelas\u00a0<\/b>by clicking here.<\/a><\/b><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas This article is part of a series of profiles of initiatives in Rio de Janeiro\u2019s Sustainable Favela Network. Initiative: Itagua\u00ed Women’s Association\u2014Warriors and Social Articulators (A.M.I.G.A.S.) Contact: Facebook\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram | +55 (21) […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":245,"featured_media":75230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3071,1288,1290,3477,1284,1503,329,452,1329],"tags":[1027,460,411,472,258,910,504,456,397,417,3616,385,2436,803,78,3148,436,3337,577,1278,1708,1504,683,876,388,1403,3186,2124,232,2076,3097,259],"writer":[2933],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[3476],"class_list":{"0":"post-75061","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-coronaviruswatch","8":"category-highlight","9":"category-civilsociety","10":"category-climate-justice","11":"category-interviews-profiles","12":"category-opportunities-to-support-favelas","13":"category-solutions","14":"category-rio20","15":"category-by-international-observers","16":"tag-area-of-risk-designation","17":"tag-baixada-fluminense","18":"tag-canal","19":"tag-climate-change","20":"tag-community-solution","21":"tag-creative-organizing","22":"tag-culture","23":"tag-domestic-violence","24":"tag-education","25":"tag-elderly","26":"tag-engenho","27":"tag-environmental-education","28":"tag-environmental-justice","29":"tag-flood-risk","30":"tag-floods","31":"tag-food-security","32":"tag-gender","33":"tag-hunger","34":"tag-inclusion","35":"tag-income","36":"tag-itaguai","37":"tag-job-training","38":"tag-mobilization","39":"tag-poverty","40":"tag-recycling","41":"tag-solution","42":"tag-sfn","43":"tag-sustainable-favela-network","44":"tag-tuberculosis","45":"tag-violence-against-women","46":"tag-waste-pickers","47":"tag-youth","48":"writer-ben-bildsten","49":"photographer-alexandre-cerqueira"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=75061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75061"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=75061"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=75061"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=75061"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=75061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}