The brazilian community saying no to plastic pollution

Photos: Moisés Lopes/Tearfund

It’s been 50 years since Rildo Wandray was able to swim in the river that runs through his neighbourhood in the suburbs of Recife, Brazil.

When he was a boy he was able to bathe in the Tejipió River with his friends. But now the water is filthy. Clogged with plastic bottles and wrappers, it floods at least once a year, destroying lives, homes and possessions. Rildo and the other residents of Coqueiral have no formal waste collection, so their rubbish ends up dumped in the river or on the roadside.

Dreams for the future
‘I would swim whilst my friends would fish. It was a nice river, now it is dead,’ Rildo says, ‘I want to make a difference and this project is helping me learn about the issues.’

The 64-year-old dreams of being able to swim in the river once again. Thanks to Tearfund and our church partners, Instituto Solidare, it may soon be possible.

Tearfund is funding projects that collect the neighbourhood’s rubbish and recycle it. Local women are given jobs turning the discarded plastic into bags, purses and ornaments. They’re then sold on to help fund their work.

Changing attitudes
The work in Coqueiral is more than just that though. Pastors are preaching in church about plastic, children at youth groups are being taught about the environmental impact and encouraged to take that message home to their parents. Residents are equipped to campaign for local government to take action, and their lobbying work has already convinced politicians to invest more in the area.

President of Instituto Solidare, Pastor José Marcos da Silva, says: ‘The river should be a life blood for the community. We need to recover the river!

And Rildo adds: ‘I hope to be able to swim in the river again before I die and I want to see it clean for my grandchildren’.

Please pray

• Praise God for 40 churches already mobilised to work together with the community for a cleaner river and healthier environment.
• Pray for the campaigns calling on local government to do more. Pray that the voice of the community would be heard and that they would get the support they need.
• Pray for the success of all the initiatives being put in place so that people can earn a living from waste collection.