Haves and Have Nots

This is Edimar. He is 11 years old and lives with his mother, Sonia. He wants to be a professional soccer player someday and he doesn't like going to school.

He lives in Peixinhos, a neighborhood in Olinda, Pernambuco. He house doesn't have running water. They get their water from a community tap down the road. If the water system is anything like Brasilia's when it rains the water pipes mix with the outside water to equalize the pressure. This usually includes the water full of oil, chemicals and sewage.
His community doesn't have plumbing either. The open sewer runs in front of his house. This next picture is his neighbor digging a new sewage trench from his house to the sewer.

This is his life and his story. Today we had the opportunity to paint his house. It really didn't change anything, but he watched us the whole time while his mom dressed up in her nicest clothes for pictures with us at the end.

Sonya, Cristina and Berkeley

I worked on one side of the house. We painted the world, with a mark to show where Recife is. A lot has been said lately about the growth of Brazil economically and politically. Here is a place that has yet to feel that. This is a place forgotten by the outside world, or as Vanessa puts it "This isn't the Brazil on the postcard, so people in charge don't want to remember".

Our art itself is meaningless. It's not very pretty, but I think that it means more than mere artistic value. I see it as message, that these people haven't been forgotten. That is the beauty and burden of being a witness. We carry that responsibility within ourselves, to make a difference. Knowledge is a terrible burden. We didn't change the world today, we didn't even give these people clean water, but we did show that somewhere, someone knows what is happening. We may not be able to change this community in one day, or even in a few years, but we can make a difference in the world.

We talk so often about the 99/1 percentiles or 'haves' and 'have nots'. I think we may have a somewhat distorted view in our society. These 'have nots' literally have nothing. Vanessa shared with me that while talking to people they said that when it rains the water goes up to the waist inside their houses. She asked them what they do with their furniture. "We don't have any" was their reply.

While there is always more talk than action in this world (especially from people like me who think they know something), I left something on the wall that I hope may pass on a spirit that may not be understood for sometime, the Rebel Alliance symbol from Star Wars. Originally I left it as a joke, but I hope that someday someone could see it as a reminder that good things can happen with sacrifice and with the help of good people.