WHAT’S OUR GREATEST WISH FOR 2005?

What more heavenly wish could one dream for than a capacity building scholarship to help us to realise our objectives!

“We aim to raise the number of Capacity Building Scholarships for the children and young people of Hummingbird.”

In the traditional sense, one definition by Western standards, a scholarship may be a financial reward/grant to attend a school, generally college. CARF’s Scholarship Programme is unique and aims to preserve the positive development of a safe and healthy environment for at-risk children and youth, safeguarding the process of growing up to become responsible and productive citizens. For underprivileged community children or former street kids, a scholarship signifies a whole new world of possibilities at the Hummingbird Activity Centre, besides assuring their basic education.

In 2004, we managed 20 scholarships supported by either private individuals or organizations. Our aim is to triple that number by the end of 2005. If you would like to help us then please read on!


In a nurturing environment for musical, artistic and cultural development, scholarships help our children to realise their objectives.

In Brazil, social training and educational programmes have today become essential in facilitating the "safe passage" to socially constructive adulthoods for potentially delinquent children and adolescents from underprivileged communities, which far too often cultivate antisocial forms of behaviour. Building on the African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”, such programmes intend to integrate psychosocial activities into a child's basic education and are essential if high-risk children and youth are to establish or maintain the “basic trust” in adult authority that is considered to underlie successful social adaptation.


Célio was once an impoverished kid growing up in the famous “Moro de Cantegalo” favela in Rio de Janeiro. Today, thanks to the support he received, he is a flourishing artist with a great future.

Good examples of communities with NGO’s involved, successfully creating safe environments for at-risk children and adolescents, are today becoming more common in and around the big Brazilian cities. Local governments are also becoming aware of their importance and some are now supporting such initiatives.

Unfortunately not all children from at-risk communities have regular access to such healthy environments as offered by CARF’s Hummingbird Activity Centre, which not only offers self-awareness, self-love, and self-esteem, but also guarantees the child’s moral and emotional intelligence by building development assets in young people based on the categories of support, empowerment, boundaries, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity. These important factors in the process of growing up to become successful young adults are essential if we are to combat degeneration in such societies. This process not only needs time and patience, but also financial support to thrive and this is where you our supporters can really make a difference!


Concentration and self-esteem need to be strengthened in many of our children and most activities at Hummingbird are beneficial in that direction. Likewise, Capoeira combines all aspects of art, music, theatre and movement. It is the complete sport. Check out our web site at: Capoeira Beija-Flor

CARF’s Children & Youth Capacity Building Scholarships contain the following elements:

Scholarship recipients must participate an average of 20 hours per week in a CARF sponsored development programme. Attendance and participation is monitored and recorded weekly.

They must maintain the regular public school attendance of up to 20 hours per week.

Scholarships are used to pay for their educational materials, travel costs on public transportation and other personal necessities. In addition, they help pay for supplementary external activities or educational courses, which are crucial in enhancing future job and life opportunities.

Scholarships can also assist with some family expenses such as part of the electric bill or basic foodstuffs, which is often expected from teenagers in the family structure once they reach a “working” age.

By helping to contribute to the family expenses, this also helps take family pressures off the youth to go after temporary, informal jobs, which often interfere with any further educational progression.



Scholarships allow youth to be involved in educational and vocational training programmes at CARF’s Hummingbird Activity Centre (ECBF – Espaço Cultural Beija-Flor), strengthening their individual life project as opposed to hustling to make money or becoming involved in the ever-present drug trafficking that is profuse in most underprivileged communities in Brazil.

The programme includes regular orientation and education regarding drugs, alcohol, sex, citizenship and money management.

Monitoring of the current family situation helps motivate parent/guardian involvement and safeguards against improper use of the scholarship, giving maximum priority to funding their selected programme activities.


Thanks to our supporters, several of our young people have received great opportunities and are today multiplying their growing experiences with other children at Hummingbird. Interactions with youth from allied projects such as GCAR – Grupo Cultural Afro Reggae are inspiring moments for further development.

If you would like to become a regular sponsor for any of our scholarships, please subscribe by clicking on the PayPal Subscription Button of your choice, at the very bottom of this page. Subscriptions are monthly and will be confirmed by e-mail. They may be cancelled at any time. As a regular sponsor you will have the opportunity to stay in contact with your scholarship holder and to follow the changes your sponsorship will be making in this young person's life.


13 year old Jason looks forward to 2005 in the hope that he will find a sponsor for his scholarship. With a brother still on the streets and own experiences from the streets and FEBEM (Juvenile Detention Centre), Jason literally clings onto the hope that Norwegian National Television's film team, Steiner Birkeland and Thomas Hellum, will arouse the interest of many new sponsors for the Hummingbird Project when their documentary about CARF is viewed in Norway on January 10th. Jason is a talented songwriter and Rapper and his ambitions are in that direction.

CARF's Hummingbird Project provides scholarships on three different levels:

BASIC – USD$40.00 - $50.00 per month.

Aimed at impoverished younger children participating in our Street Migration Prevention Programme, normally aged between 11 and 14 years of age. This scholarship guarantees their active participation at the Hummingbird Activity Center alongside their essential attendance in public schools. The scholarship helps combat child labor in high-risk families by preventing these children becoming new victims. The scholarship is awarded to those in particularly difficult life situations where survival often becomes a more important factor than the child’s educational needs and mental and physical health.

INTERMEDIATE - USD$60.00 - $70.00 per month.

This youth scholarship is aimed at developing vocational interests in young people as they grow with our programme, guaranteeing their commitment and eventually leading them on towards an advanced scholarship. A firmer step towards their personal life project.

ADVANCED - USD$80.00 - $100.00 per month.

Aimed to inspire older youth reach their potential in whatever area they are developing natural or acquired abilities in programmes at the Hummingbird Activity Centre. The scholarship can be used to cover costs for supplementary, external educational courses or for extra training sessions and materials. Such funds would otherwise be an impossible priority for them to obtain within an impoverished family situation.

Please Note: As we aim for a flexible solution so as to be able to satisfy the specific needs of each scholarship holder according to the nature of their individual life project and associated costs, the final value of their particular scholarship can vary somewhat within the above stated amounts, which are meant as a general guideline.


It’s comforting to know that this scene is one taken from a theatrical performance at Hummingbird. Many of our children know only too well how damaging life on the streets can really be, they have been there themselves. Our Capacity Building Scholarship Programme is one way of securing a positive future development for these children.

“We cannot rescue all the children at risk in Brazil, but if each privileged individual would "adopt" just one child, our workload would certainly diminish.”