Sarah Wilkinson discovers the remarkable story of Gregory J Smith, who gave up everything to help rebuild the lives of South American street children.

I first discovered Gregory J Smith’s amazing account of dedication and personal sacrifice while I was web researching’ for pictures to do with another news item. His story ñ one man’s dream to save the fate of Brazilian street children ñ is really quite remarkable.

Most of us know about the plight of Brazil’s street children ñ perhaps most poignantly due to the disturbing social-cleansing’ that took place back in the 90s, when the killing of homeless youngsters by agents of the state captured world headlines. None of the deaths were investigated properly and to date no one has ever been prosecuted.

Street children nearly always come from the favelas’ or slums which surround the larger cities in Brazil. Such places hold very little hope for any child’s future as they are generally run by drug traffickers who recruit children as young as 8 or 9 to do the running’. To escape the drug world, a life on the streets is seen as being the only realistic option for survival.

After a visit to the region in 1992, Gregory J Smith observed that the situation urgently needed someone to step in, take charge, make shelter and help defend the lives of those so vulnerable. True to his pledge, he about-faced on his profitable career as an art dealer in Norway and upped sticks across the world to the troubled streets of S„o Paulo. He sold everything ñ his impressive home, his antique furniture and all his lifelong belongings. Abandoning the safety net of middle-class normality and mid-life contentedness, he said goodbye to his family, his friends, his home comforts, his familiar territory and even, being English born, his second language. Thirteen years on, he is still there and, because of him, hundreds of young people are still there too.

With the money raised from the sale of his past life and donations from some of his old Norwegian art-world’ clients, Gregory established CARF, the Children at Risk Foundation. Then, from the legacy of a charitable and like-minded Brazilian lawyer, came a large house in Diadema, one of S„o Paulo’s suburbs. It had outbuildings, a nearby reservoir and enough land for a football pitch.

Gregory did not acquire his street wisdom’ from the sterile safety of a hotel but moved onto the streets to get first-hand experience of life void of any physical or emotional shelter. After gaining some trust, he was able to offer a small homeless group a realistic and dignified alternative, a place where they could live and grow in a family-orientated environment.

In 2002, CARF opened the doors to its Hummingbird Cultural Activity Centre, where self-esteem’ is the key. This is the home-base for their Street Migration Prevention Programme and it has allowed the organisation to expand its capacity from 80 children to over 600. Using activities such as singing, DJing, painting, hairdressing, carpentry, sculpture, music, football and Capoeira ñ Brazil’s traditional martial art ñ the vision is to nurture and promote confidence, character and connectedness.

CARF’s Hummingbird Programme operates around Gregory’s in-depth analysis of who street children are and why so many make the streets their home. By understanding their real needs, building trust, teaching conflict resolution and reducing their dependency on the street community, CARF can work towards integrating the children into a structured family space and provide follow-up guidance. ‘Recuperating damaged children’s lives is a complex process,’ said Gregory to BeyondShotz Magazine. ‘It is burdened with sentiments and suffering. There is also much joy but the balance is so difficult to achieve.’

The Hummingbird Centre also offers the children employment and training opportunities so that they can become Youth Entrepreneurs ñ key advocates for social change within their communities. ‘Of the children in our Street Migration Programme, less than one per cent return to crime or go back to a life on the streets, which is an extremely satisfactory result,’ Gregory informed BeyondShotz. And now, further testimony to his 13-year-lasting dedication to achieve change against all odds, there is another fund-demanding challenge up ahead: a waiting list ñ one thousand children long.

There is, however, more to Gregory’s story. A keen photographer, he acknowledges that for most of us, our baby days, school years, family holidays and festive get-togethers are all concurring Kodak’ moments, snapped up and cornered into pages of the family album. Street children have no such reference to help them see the changes in their physical appearance, and recollection of their past life must depend entirely on their own capacity to remember. Gregory’s pertinent and moving pictures have dual purpose. Using a relatively new public domain website, anyone can access the photographic history of his 13 years in S„o Paulo and learn about the immense and crucial work of CARF. It serves to spread the word and recruit much needed and truly valued support. Besides this, the albums are a key part of the rehabilitation process. Rescued children can browse through, reflect over their past selves and see their street comrades in pictures that come from another world. ‘The choice to go back to that world is always theirs,’ explains Gregory. ‘But the photos play an important and convincing role.’

BeyondShotz Magazine has described CARF’s work as a light in the dark, that serves to recuperate, reintegrate and re-cultivate social responsibility and child welfare inside a community where many view life as holding little value. Brazil’s economy is also victim to surges of political corruption and public funding often disappears into private accounts ñ money which was allocated for health, education and the development of new sustainable enterprise. CARF’s independence as a privately financed NGO is therefore crucial, in a climate where resources often end up in the pockets of the privileged few and the most ambitious of politicians have the most ambitious of personal interests. ‘All we can do,’ reflects Gregory, ‘is take on as much as possible in order to transform the lives of these children. We know that we have succeeded and this gives us the strength to carry on with our work despite the limitations and challenges that occur everyday.’

To date, Gregory is foster parent to eight former street children. His work has gained recognition internationally and in 1997 he was elected member of the Council for Children and Youth Rights, for the suburb of Diadema. In 2000, he was elected a member of ASHOKA, a global organisation that identifies and supports individuals who are innovative and creative within their respective fields. In 2001, he was awarded the Melvin Jones Fellowship for his dedication to humanitarian services’ from the Lions Clubs International.

Contact: CARF ñ Children at Risk Foundation,
Estr. Pedreira Alvarenga 2343/9, Eldorado,
09971–340 Diadema, S„o Paulo — Brazil
Tel: +55 11 4049 4440
Website: www​.carfweb​.net

To see Gregory’s photographs:
www​.flickr​.com/​p​e​o​p​l​e​/​b​e​i​j​a​-​f​lor
To read his interview in BeyondShotz:
www​.beyondshotz​.blogspot​.com

Gregory with 9-year old foster-son, Vando. Photo: © foster-son, Jason