The fight for survival has completely filled the days of Sandra Maria de Freitas.
To her 43 years and with painful calluses on the feet, The result of decades of intense work as a laundress, she goes in search of food discarded in garbage trucks through the supermarkets of a luxury neighborhood in Fortaleza, capital of the state of Ceará, Brazil.
She and others families face the heat of more than 30 ° C and the risk of finding contaminated food, like other cases that recently made the news throughout the country.
He wakes up at 4 in the morning and goes with his wheelbarrow to wait for the garbage truck . Sometimes it arrives in the early morning, others around noon. There are no fixed hours.
“You can find bananas, carrots, slightly crushed berries that the rich throw away. It is very sad to have to look for them in the garbage, but it is the solution that remains for me ”, says
The last installment of the benefit that the Federal Government established during the pandemic was paid in October, and now it waits anguished the program that will replace him.
“I can’t work like before. I have no one to take care of me. What has alleviated the situation are some food baskets that some people donate. ”
Sandra lives in a one-room house shared with a man with disability dad . Often they cut off the water, electricity and gas.
“Sometimes, when we find meat, we have to cook with alcohol, (at the risk) of burning ourselves,” he says.
His dream is to buy a hot dog cart to work in front of his house. “That way, I wouldn’t have to walk that far, giving my feet relief. People would come and buy. My dignity would be my best gift. ”
Extreme poverty and unemployment
The increase in poverty and food prices are a challenge for many. According to the Ministry of Citizenship, Ceará has 5.1 million people living between poverty and extreme poverty.
In all of Brazil, 19 millions suffer some degree of food insecurity, according to estimates in 2020 of the Brazilian Research Network on Food and Nutrition Sovereignty and Security.
Unemployment and the pandemic have aggravated the problem. María de Lourdes da Silva, from 30 years, is part of more than 14 millions of Brazilians out of work , according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
Government aid has been insufficient to cover their expenses. Unable to pay the rent, she lives in the house of some acquaintances with her husband and daughter and, in addition to hunger, she lives with the fear of eviction.
“The worst thing in the world is depending on the the rest. To survive, I appeal to recycling and, whenever I can, I am on call waiting for the garbage truck to pass in search of food “, he details.
“When the truck passes early, you can buy good things, bologna, bread, sausages and malt. When it doesn’t happen, you don’t have many options ”, he laments.
Diseases
María de Lourdes is also diabetic and also has an eye infection caused by wearing makeup that she found in the garbage. “We need help and work, there is no lack of willingness. I don’t want to live in luxury. I just need a chance “, he says.
For her part, Anice Monteiro, from 64 years, he says his heart problems have made his battle for life difficult. In September, when she was picking vegetables from the garbage truck, she felt severe chest pains.
“I almost fainted, I left here in the ambulance and I spent a few days in the hospital after a catheterization. Now I have to buy many medicines while I lack the basics to eat ”, he details.
Less than a month after her hospitalization, Anice was back in the same place where he got sick.
“I came to look for food donors. Here, a lot of rich people pass by in luxury cars. It doesn’t even seem like we’re in the same city. Trusting in the compassion of others is a hope because I am not in a position to work now, much less with this sun. ”
Voluntary and governmental assistance
But there are people at the other end of the economic spectrum who are aware of the situation, such as the pharmacist and teacher Renata Euletério who tries to help these families with food baskets, guidance and support.
Their motivation came after seeing a video that went viral in October that It showed people taking food out of a garbage truck in Fortaleza.
“The people of Fortaleza and other cities began to mobilize. I started encouraging my family group and expanded the network of volunteers ”, he explains.
The objective The main thing, says Renata, is to collect data from families in a situation of food insecurity to guide them towards the public policies available in Fortaleza.
“We want to register to try to help you in your job search, to know if you are vaccinated against covid – 19 and guide them in relation to agencies protection. So far we have delivered food baskets to 13 families, we are trying to understand the demand of each of them so that they have autonomy in relation to the programs that already exist in the city, such as assistance, medical attention, etc. ”.
In a statement, the City Council of Fortaleza affirmed that the families of the people who appear in the viral video of the garbage truck will be accompanied by the Secretariat for Human Rights and Social Development, which says that it carries out frequent visits to points of the capital of Ceara with water and snacks .
The municipal government also ensures that it has launched other actions aimed at the vulnerable population, such as an active search carried out 6. 000 contacts to identify this public and direct it to social services, in addition to the distribution of 300. 000 basic food baskets and the supply of 100. 000 meals per month.
The government of Ceará, in turn, says that between April and May 255. 000 coupons to pay gas to vulnerable families in municipalities of that state.
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