For 11 years, a group of people, led by Brazilian social entrepreneur and activist Edu Lyra, has been taking education and economic development projects to at least 6,000 favelas in Brazil. What started in a shack in the community of Guarulhos, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, has become an ecosystem of social development to combat poverty.
During a lecture held this Wednesday morning (12) at Gramado Summit, Lyra commented on her difficult childhood and said how she managed to change her reality through the idea of bringing better conditions and dignity to residents of the periphery.
“We don’t choose where we are born or what happens in life, but we have the power to choose what we are going to do with it, if you will be just another weight on Earth, or if you are going to go after it and make it happen”, declared Lyra.
Between 2010 and 2019, the number of favelas grew by 108%, reaching 13,151 people. According to research by Gerando Falcões, of which the activist is the creator, there are 5 million households in favelas (89% of them located in metropolitan areas) and 14 million residents.
With the creation of Gerando Falcões, several people, including celebrities such as Ivete Sangalo, Anitta, Marina Ruy Barbosa and others, began to support the project. From this, the NGO started to carry out actions to bring more dignity to vulnerable people.
Projects for the transformation of favelas
Falcons University, which trains people in favelas in several Brazilian cities, in topics such as management, fundraising, innovation, human resources and data use, is one of the NGO projects that have transformed reality and helped in the social development of these residents.
Favela 3D, which is another Gerando Falcões project, aims to transform the aesthetics of these communities, bringing families more dignified housing and changing the surrounding scenario. Edu Lyra revealed that, in one of the project executions, the teams were able to build a house in 24 hours with recyclable materials.
“What we want is to transform the favelas into a stage for social innovation, in partnership with the government, private institutions and people”, declared Lyra. The entrepreneur emphasizes that the objective of the NGO “is to take poverty to the museum”.
What is Gramado Summit?
Gramado Summit was created in 2017 by entrepreneur Marcus Rossi. Over the years, the event began to welcome larger companies to the trade show and also a wider audience for keynote discussions.
In 2022, in its last edition, it received 6,000 people from all Brazilian states, more than 300 exhibitors and 140 speakers. In 2023, which started this Wednesday morning (12), 10,000 people came to participate in the event, which focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation and technology.