TO KNOWOUR POTENTIALS
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.
Luna Arouca (33) studied Social Work at UFRJ and got involved with social movements, such as the Landless Movement, while still at university. These and other experiences took her to work at the Center for Security and Citizenship Studies, in the area of drug policy, collaborating with the initial formation of the Drugs, Youth and Favela group, which believes in a new drug policy, and which also resulted in a closer relationship between the social worker and Maré.
It was at one of the movements articulations that Luna got to know the Espeço Normal. Shortly, in May 2018, she came to work in the space to structure this methodology and reported her experience: “The work at Espaço Normal is profound. Working with people who are in a situation of extreme vulnerability requires giving new meaning to our eyes, recognizing the specificities and potentials of each one”. For Luna, the process of working with Espaço Normal enables listening and visibility of the desires and demands of this population.
In the campaign 'Maré says NO to Coronavirus', right from the beginning, she worked on delivering basic baskets, hygiene kits and hot meals, and also on the articulating with Health Clinics, due to the link already built with these public facilities in the territory, before of the pandemic. She helped in the construction of the ‘Eyes on Corona Bulletin’, and in the creation of the online service platform of Redes da Maré, which made possible a very important advance in the systematization of communication with residents.
With the increasing demands of residents for health care, Redes da Maré also mobilized partners to create the ‘Conexão Saúde”, and Luna was a key player in this process. “The organization of the campaign required a lot of effort from all the staff. But it also produced a sense of accomplishment. At Redes, I had the opportunity to feel that my energy was being useful for a work of transformation, of impact!”. The project currently offers free testing, medical call center and a care program for the safe isolation of residents of Maré.
Thinking about the next steps, Luna believes that “Redes must take advantage of the visibility already established, the involvement of new partners, to expand its actions and incidences so that the residents of Maré have their rights guaranteed”. But the expectation of the social worker for the coming months is still a lot of suffering and losses. “We are having a gigantic lack of coordination at the federal level that has negative impacts for the population of all of Brazil. I hope that all of this that we are experiencing now will give us strength and support to keep fighting and not to allow it to happen again.”
