Biography

Tia Bete has been a resident of the Compelxo do Alemão for the last 45 years; there are 13 favelas that make up this area with 100,000 residents. She is a mother of three, an artist, an NGO director, and a true community leader. Ambitious from a young age, Tia Bete began working at age 12; she sold kites, ornamental flowers, and ice cream. During her teenage and early adult years she worked as a waitress, a housemaid, and a factory assistant.

In her early 20s, Tia Bete shifted her focus and began teaching children to read. She taught small literacy classes using her mother’s home as a classroom (also located in the favela). After a few years, Tia Bete’s literacy classes became more popular in the community and she wanted her students to succeed. She attended school to earn her teaching credentials and registered her informal school with Rio’s municipal government. It became known as Pré Escolar Quito and it was the beginning of her life as a community activist. As her school expanded, so did her determination to promote social change in the favela. She joined the board of the newly-created Residents’ Association in the region, and shortly thereafter became the Association’s Director. In this leadership role, she worked with government stakeholders to bring official electricity to the community, improve infrastructure, and expand employment opportunities. She also helped obtain public-sponsored salaries for teachers in various schools, opened two day care centers, launched welfare programs focusing on food distribution, and implemented diverse social outreach programs focusing on human rights in the favela.

In 1989, Tia Bete proudly purchased her first home and immediately began repairs to create the Cultural Center Oca dos Curumins. Her goal was to open a community center for elementary-aged children and adolescents to provide them with a safe environment as well as educational, extracurricular, and cultural programs. To do this, she transformed her own house into an NGO that continues to thrive today.