Before the activities of the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Rio de Janeiro began this week, Mirjam and I had the opportunity to visit the favela of Complexo do Alemao, where Roberto Kikawa, Social Entrepreneur of the Year from Brazil, and his social enterprise, Projeto CIES where working this week.
The Complexo do Alemao favela, not six months before, was in a state of chaotic violence, with several hundred people killed through gang related and drug trafficking warfare. The scene today is very different, as the military patrols the streets of the favela, making it safe for children to play soccer in the empty lots and for neighbours to gather and talk in the streets.
Roberto Kikawa, one of the most highly regarded gastroenterologists in the region, started Projeto CIES with the belief that access to good healthcare is a human right, yet very few individuals have this opportunity. Projeto CIES travels around Brazil providing specialized medical services at no cost to individuals who otherwise would not have access to good healthcare. What differentiates Projeto CIES from other projects is the technological sophistication and quality of care its hospital-in-a-vehicle can bring to underserved communities; Projeto CIES has a mammogram machine, an endoscopy machine, a digital image x-ray machine, among other medical devices.
Watching Roberto interact with the patients, I realized it is not just the medical care that makes the difference. It is the way Roberto cares about them, touching their arm when they talk about their pain, explaining in clear and simple words what they need to know about their medical problem, and always maintaining eye contact and a compassionate connection with his patients. The patients explained to us that when they go to the public hospitals, not only do they have to wait hours, weeks, or months to get care (whereas here they are treated immediately), but there the doctors will not touch them and barely speak to them or look them in the eye. They enter those hospitals with a common human physical ailment or injury that is often treatable, but may leave reminded that they are not viewed as equal among their fellow human beings; a pain that outlasts the physical problem and has repercussions throughout society.
As we leave the favela, AfroReggae, a social enterprise that uses music to bring together communities, arrives to help bring attention to the work Projeto CIES is doing in the favela. AfroReggae, many of whose members were former drug traffickers and gang-members, has been instrumental in brokering peace among the favela gangs through Brazil. Jose Junior, who leads AfroReggae greets us with a handshake, and then moves on to Roberto. I watch as the two talked, one is a highly regarded gastroenterologist and the other a grassroots rock star who was a former gang member. I think to myself that it is these conversations and unlikely collaborations that will heal many of the wounds that challenged communities face, and deliver an unprecedented social impact.
Abigail Noble
Editor's note
Abigail Noble, Head, Latin America and Africa,
Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
