LOOKING AT THE POWER OF MARÉ
By Julia Bruce
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.
Dalcio Marinho (51), born and raised in Niterói, is a geographer graduated from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF). Upon meeting Maré, in 2001, he immediately understood the occupation of the space, which made him even change his subject of specialization research. Today, Dalcio is the general coordinator of Censo Maré and works with data production for several projects of our organization.
It was during a meeting with his former professor at college and founder of the Observatório de Favelas, Jailson de Souza e Silva, that his story with Redes da Maré began. He was invited to visit the territory and study a topic related to the organization's work in the region. Dalcio sought to develop an evaluation survey of the Pre-College Course with students, for his specialization in Market Research and Public Opinion at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). Ten years later, this study generated a new assessment of the course.
The geographer recalls that, upon arriving in Maré, he saw a “colourful, alive, organic place, with learning and discoveries” that left an intense impression on him. He reinforces that he came from a background that used to look at a space and analyze its order, and he liked to observe this. “By circulating in Maré, I was able to understand, for example, how the relationships between businesses and the public space and residents were based on a pact recognized by the people. There was an acknowledgment of the space of each one, what each one did or did not do on the sidewalk, in the street, at their door, at the window, and this spontaneous place made a big impression on me. When I had work on Saturdays, I loved to go out walking, I went from one community to another, so I could enjoy and see what was in general and in particular in each favela”, he explains.
Dalcio has also collaborated with the work of Observatório de Favelas in partnership with institutions such as Instituto Pereira Passos, producing the cartography of Rio+Social program in 2012, by coordinating fieldwork in 205 favelas in the city. During the production of Censo Maré, he says that the team was impacted by the experience of interacting with residents at the time of household interviews, of getting to know different realities: “For me, I knew from experience that this was the impact. We find, mainly, the strength, the resilience, the creative and entrepreneurial potency of the people, that's what comes out the most in the interviews.” The Census, through conversations with each resident, contributed to revealing this power..
Dalcio is aware of how much a research work can help transform a territory or specific issues in the lives of individuals: it is knowing the reality, giving visibility and, at the same time, recognition to Maré. “Inside, it helps people to identify and better assess the demands and strengths. And it makes public policies better demanded, not just planned”, he says. The Census Maré left a legacy of producing new data with new research, showing courses of action for all axis of Redes da Maré. He has already worked on the research team for projects such as: Building Barracks (2021), Education for girls and COVID-19 at Maré (2020) and Mostra de Mobilidade da Maré (2015).
In the campaing 'Maré says no to coronavirus', Dalcio participated in the preparation of project proposals to establish partnerships, in addition to producing data to show the population size, income range, how many were in the poverty line, how many households were occupied by the elderly or just one person, etc. In the beginning, a team was formed to work directly with the database and they even helped monitoring the volumes of the baskets that had already been distributed, with the production of data for the accountability report, in addition to participating in the first 20 editions of the newsletter 'Eyes on Corona'. This year, with #VacinaMaré, he helped to estimate the target population for dimensioning the campaign's demand, during planning.
Given the entire trajectory of Redes, Dalcio guarantees that the institution does not act in the unknown, but seeks to know in order to act. “One of the ways to get to knowledge is to conduct a survey and take advantage of the results to strengthen and even expand their actions, evaluating them as well. Redes has this commitment, and it was an institution of resilience in that moment of emergency, joined forces and responded very well. Its credibility and creativity are combined with solidarity”.
