In one of the classrooms at Escola Municipal Murilo Mendes, in Juiz de Fora, kitchen assistant Daniele Saldanha try to reorganize your life. Belongings are distributed in an improvised manner on chairs, and there are mats spread across the floor on a children’s rubber mat.
The house where Daniele lived with her family in Alto Grajaú, in the east of the city, was condemned by the Civil Defense: only one column is keeping the structure standing, after the landslide that occurred in the nearby ravine.
“We lost our house and now we have to wait and see what will happen. Very difficult, even more so because I have six children and an elderly father. We are managing here as best we can. Trying to turn on the television a little to distract the children, who are very excited about all this”, says the kitchen assistant.
Anxiety and anguish increase because, in addition to not having any plans for a permanent home in the future, Daniele has been paying the bills for months only with unemployment benefits.
A few hours after the interview, Juiz de Fora city hall informed that, for security reasons, the shelter that operated at the Murilo Mendes Municipal School was being transferred to the Padre Frederico Vienken State School, in Bairro Bonfim, also in the east zone.
The latest update from the Minas Gerais Military Fire Department indicated a total of 3 thousand homeless in Juiz de Fora and 26 in Ubá, main municipalities and landslides that began on Monday (23).
To date, confirmed 47 deaths, and 20 people are missing.
Support points
With the calamity situation, other sectors of society also began to mobilize to help the homeless. The president of the Food Industries Union of Juiz de Fora, Flávia Gonzaga Costa, says that she transformed a commercial space in the Industrial neighborhood, in the north zone, in a support point.
The region is very close to the Paraibuna River, which overflowed its banks this week. The group led by Flávia obtained boats to bring water and food to those who remained in isolated areas of the neighborhood.
“I didn’t expect so much collaboration from the people. We have a large volume of donations here. We sent food, oil, butcher’s items, lunch boxes. Lunch and dinner are distributed to the homeless and workers”, says Flávia.
“And the residents who manage to get here come with clay up to their shins. They ask for a mop, a broom, cleaning materials, bleach, anything that can help inside the house”, he adds.
*Brazil Agency
