Community-based Rise || Candeal

Carlinhos claims his music has roots in the Brazilian Carnival.
When Carlinhos was born, his parents named him Antonio Carlos Santos de Freitas. He lived in Candeal, an area in Salvador in the country of Brazil.
Candeal was growing so quickly, it became very dirty and very poor. Human waste flowed through the streets. Children often played in the same streets. These streets were not smooth or finished. So rain would move waste and wet dirt down the roads, sometimes even into people's homes.
The condition of Candeal concerned Carlinhos. He decided to use his famous name to improve the area. But he did not want to do it alone. He wanted the people of Candeal to be involved. He wanted them to decide what was necessary, and how to do it. This way the people could protect all the improvements and start other new improvements without him.
The first thing Carlinhos did was start a music school. He did not receive much education. But because of this, he believes education is very important. This school provides new chances for poor children who did not have the chance to attend school before. Carlinhos named the school Pracatum.. He hopes this school will give students a new attitude about life. He hopes they will see how they can change their own situations.

Next, Carlinhos started a community organization called Pracatum Social Action Association. This group would work to improve the living conditions of Candeal.
One of the first achievements of the organization was getting the roads finished. This success was a great encouragement to the people of Candeal.
The day Candeal street was paved, we knew that we could successfully do anything.
Pracatum Social Action Association also persuaded the health department to open Candeal's first health center. It has worked with the city government to remove human waste from the streets. And it has also completed work to improve homes and fix a public structure for water. These improvements make a big difference to the people of Candeal. The people of Candeal have been greatly encouraged by these developments.

People used to look for ways to move out of here because of what this place was like. Now, no one wants to leave. Candeal is poor, but it has honor.
Since then Carlinhos has done many other things to develop the community of Candeal. He started a community-based building and construction organization. This organization identifies the needs of people in Candeal. Then it creates goals and organizes the process.
More recently, the Pracatum school began a short fashion class. It is a five month program. Pracatum Fashion trains students in the work of making and designing clothes and other things in the field of fashion.
Carlinhos Brown is happy with his success. He said "Poverty is not an excuse for anything. Poverty is an opportunity."
Brown wanted the people of Candeal to be proud of the place they live. He did not want people to only see the poverty in Candeal. Instead, he wanted people to see the work of community members in improving Candeal.