WOMEN OF STRENGTH AND HOPE
By Jéssica Pires
This is the column Who Makes Redes, a compilation of the stories of people who build our organization and who work hard every day to do what we do best: actions and projects for residents of Maré. Learn about these stories, trajectories, experiences and the history of Redes da Maré itself - and how this work and the challenges faced since the pandemic have transformed them.
Helena Edir is from Conselheiro Lafaiete, Minas Gerais, and came to Rio de Janeiro in search of better life and employment prospects in 1970 - a very common flow at the time. Upon arrival, she went to live in Baixada Fluminense and, after a few years in the city, she decided to come and live with an aunt in Nova Holanda. “It was love at first sight,” she says fondly. Helena found similarities with her native territory in Nova Holanda and, since then, has lived in the same house, in one of the streets that surround Praça Nova Holanda, scene of many struggles.
In Minas Gerais, Helena already supported social movements linked to the church she attended, but in Nova Holanda, she came across a very powerful force of women in a campaign called “Chapa Rosa”, the first commission directly elected to the Association of Residents of Nova Holanda, in 1984, with women at the forefront. Helena soon became involved in the struggle of these women, who were protagonists in guaranteeing many rights for Maré.
“The residents couldn't be insensitive to the Chapa Rosa mobilizations. We held assemblies at Escola Nova Holanda, which gathered more than 300 people inside the courtyard”. There were many demands that residents had at that time, from access to water to ownership of houses. Nova Holanda was a slum formed by families removed from other areas of the city, however, without the arrival of policies to guarantee the needs of these people. Popular mobilization, especially of women, was fundamental to this process. “I worked outside the territory and, when I arrived, I would participate in meetings and mobilizations. If Chapa Rosa hadn't been so active, maybe I wouldn't have been so involved in the mobilizations. From seeing the performance, the achievements, we get involved and excited.”
It was during this struggle that Helena Edir met Eliana Sousa, founder of Redes da Maré, where both are currently part of the board. “When I look back and see where we started and where we arrived, starting with the Education Axis and identifying other demands, I am very happy”, comments Helena.
In general, the leading role of women from Maré in their personal and collective struggles caught Helena's attention when she arrived in Nova Holanda. In Minas Gerais, at the time, few women worked outside home, “but I always thought that women had to work, they didn't have to stay at home”, she comments. “The Nova Holanda day care was created because of this: the women wanted to work, they had no one to leave their children with”. Based on this need, the women got together and mobilized to guarantee this space of shelter for the children, so that they could go in search of their financial autonomy. Dona Helena, as many calls her here at Redes da Maré, also highlights the importance of Flavors of Maré buffet and the House of Women of Maré in this process (read on), and how the impact of these projects on women's lives is noticeable..
During the pandemic, Helena was surprised by the initial number of families suffering from hunger in Maré and even wondered if we would manage to support all these people, but she was happy with the amount of donations that arrived. She also highlighted the actions of the Health Connection fronts: “I saw how impactful our work was and also the courage of the women who were on the front line”.
We asked Helena how she would introduce the women of Maré and she said: “truly warrior women, because we've been through a lot, a lot of violence, a lot of need, discrimination, but we don't lose hope, we believe in our potential. We believed that there would be water and we succeeded, we believed that the streets would be paved and we succeeded, among so many things. That hope is what moves all the time. I hope that in a few years we can see more women inspiring other people, that they can multiply all of this, and that Maré can be even more powerful!”.
