The Brazilian non-governmental organization (NGO), Central Única das Favelas (CUFA), will bring a series of events for the spring/summer in New York aimed at the community, at its headquarters in The Bronx.
One of the most well-known Brazilian NGOs landed in New York, USA, in 2015 to test the challenge of a global office and interact with 16 other representations outside Brazil.
It all started during the UN Global Week, when CUFA’s founder, Celso Athayde, brought about 100 people to the event, Global Cufa Week, and presented a series of activities that are part of the institution’s DNA, generating reflections, debates, artistic and cultural interventions.
The director of CUFA New York, Luis (Eli Efi) Da Silva, was responsible for starting the “Artist Movement” in 2017, which provides arts for children, DJ courses, and open mic for future MCs. He says that the dates for the 2019 programs are already confirmed, starting in April.
One of the most anticipated projects for this year is the “Saturday Program,” which 
is named “Ode to the Bronx,” a partnership between CUFA and the Harlem NGO called Wham.
The program is held at the Andrew Freedman Home cultural center and features several volunteer teachers, most of whom are Brazilians who already know the organization from Brazil.
The activities are not just for children but for the whole family, with activities ranging from capoeira, dance, arts to graffiti and music. “Our idea has always been to have parents present with their children. I realize that the problem is not just with the youth, but encompasses the family. The distance that parents have from the young person’s need to express themselves is very large, and sometimes children are repressed at home,” observes Luis.
All participants receive certificates upon completing the courses. The project, now in its third edition, started in 2017 with 85 participants, mostly Africans and Latinos living in The Bronx and surrounding areas.
However, last year’s program had a special taste. Luis recounts that they had children from Foster Care as participants – an entity that cares for children separated from their parents, mostly due to immigration issues.
“Some children had not seen their parents for months. Therefore, they developed a bond with the program, and when we said we were going to end it, they cried so much that we decided to extend the program for five more months. The ending was very difficult and touched me deeply.
The second project scheduled for this summer is the children’s soccer championship. Initially, it will be held in the garden of the cultural center, where CUFA’s office operates. However, the plan is for it to continue throughout the year if it goes well.
“I intend to, in the future, do an exchange with children here and from Brazil. And hold the Taça das Favelas – a project that operates in CUFA Brazil – here with the final at Yankee Stadium,” dreams the director of CUFA NY, who, when he arrived in the USA, was a soccer teacher at a public school and his team won three times.
The main challenge for CUFA NY now is to make these summer projects permanent. For this, they are still seeking support from some foundation or a response from a potential sponsor.
According to Luis, the NGO does not receive any financial aid from Brazil, and all programs at the moment are run by volunteers and donations. Participating families bring food they prepare as payment for the classes.
The dream of CUFA’s director, Luis da Silva, is to one day offer a music program for children with violin, piano, and music production classes, requiring in return that they have good grades in school.
“The event is an opportunity for CUFA to export and democratize international access to its unique social technology in the world. Additionally, it will be possible to import new ideas and generate debates about the role of popular culture, community sports, social entrepreneurship, and the empowerment of favela and peripheral residents as powerful weapons against social prejudice and racial discrimination,” he declares.
Before CUFA, Luis, who has already released five hip-hop albums in Brazil with the group DMN, was already doing social work teaching percussion and soccer to children. With CUFA Brazil’s invitation, he saw the opportunity to do the same in New York.
CUFA is present in 27 countries and today consolidates itself as one of the largest organizations of youth from favelas in the world, directly mobilizing about 80,000 people per year, including children, adolescents, young adults, and the elderly.
VIVIANE FAVER
Journalist
vfaver@gmail.com