Maré slum dwellers present their community demands
Rio's Mayor Eduardo Paes met with community leaders of the Complexo da Maré slums
Rio's Mayor Eduardo Paes met with community leaders of the Complexo da Maré slums for about two hours on Wednesday afternoon (Mar. 9) to map the most pressing needs of the community. The local residents' associations listed two priorities: health and education, including early schooling.
The chair of the residents' association of Parque da Maré, José Carlos Barbosa, said building new health centers is a priority, targeted to serve a total 130,000 people living in the 15 slums of the complex, edging Guanabara Bay in the north side of the city.
“We would need three [new] community health centers to meet our demands. We don't just want military occupation with all that ostensible police force – most importantly, [we want] the capabilities we all need to care for our youth and seniors,” Barbosa said. Parque da Maré alone has a population of 25,000 according to him.
Cristiano Reis, chair of the residents' association of Praia de Ramos and Roquete Pinto, complained that the two communities haven't received as much investment as other slums in the complex. “We need basic sanitation and health centers, but most importantly, day care, which is something we still don't have. Those of us with young kids end up having to find somebody to look after them, or simply can't get a job because they don't have anybody to leave their kids with. We're also badly underserved in terms of healthcare,” he said.
Reis said a local day care center capable of serving 300 children would be enough to address shortages in the two communities, which he estimates to be home to 20,000 people.
The mayor promised to establish the community health centers – which will be operated by private organizations – in addition to 19 learning facilities, including a school campus with six schools and a day care facility by 2016.
“What we are looking to is give full-time education to all our kids in Maré. A bidding was held last week so that works on the campus can start within a month near the Olympic Village. And there's still the three community health centers which we should be starting to build very soon,” Paes said.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Maré slum dwellers present their community demands
