They volunteer as drivers, teachers, chaperons. Then there are about 30 volunteers who work very hard on specific projects. Some children who have grown up in the program return as volunteers. A cultural icon in Brazil is the carnival preceding Lent. For a week, businesses and shops all over the country shut down and people come out and celebrate carnaval de rua carnival in the streets.
Groups perform dances and present skits.
The project demands a level of organization far beyond simply planning dance steps and costumes. The children themselves meet and plan what they will do. The accomplishment they feel with a successful performance really raises their self-esteem. Street children, transformed into well-trained, beautifully costumed dancers, perform as part of the Bloco Eureca entry in the Carnaval of S o Bernardo do Campo, February 1998. A bloco is a performing group, including dancers, drums, and marchers.