The National Movement of Street Children (Movimento Nacional de Meninos e Meninas de
Rua, or MNMMR), a voluntary NGO, was founded
in 1985 by activists and “street educators” who
sought to empower and organize street kids in
their own environment-the public spaces of the
“city centers. At present, the Movement includes
some 3,000 “street educators” united under local
commissions in 25 states, reaching tens of thou-
sands of children and adolescents in the streets
and parks of Brazilian cities. Locally, the children
are encouraged to organize into ndcleos, which
typically bring together children engaged in a simi-
lar livelihood-for example, kids who watch cars,
or kids who shine shoes-or children who occupy a
common location. The city of Recife alone has
close to 30 ndcleos. Representatives from the vari-
ous nOcleos meet together weekly, and every three
years the National Movement organizes a national
encontro in the nation’s capital.
In addition to organizing children in the street,
the MNMMR has given high priority to creating
effective municipal and state children’s rights
councils (conselhos de direitos) as mandated by the
Child and Adolescent Statute, and to forming
alliances with other branches of the popular move-
ment. Other priorities include the training of street
“educators,” extension of the movement to the
smaller municipalities of the country’s interior, as
well as the ongoing work of monitoring and
denouncing rights violations against children and
adolescents.
The Brazil Project of the International Child
Resource Institute (ICRI) is collaborating with the
MNMMR to bring greater local and international
attention to human-rights violations and assassina-
tions of street children in Brazil. The ICRI, based in
Berkeley, California, has initiated a Campaign
Against Impunity to put international pressure on
the Brazilian government to investigate and prose-
cute individuals and organizations implicated in
death-squad killings of children and adolescents.
According to the MNMMR, over 90% of murders
committed against children are never brought to
justice. The Campaign supports current efforts in
Brazil to break the cycle of impunity tacitly grant-
ed to the assailants of children. For further infor-
mation, including fact-sheets, petitions, and post-
cards addressed to Brazilian politicians, write to:
The Brazil Project
International Child Resource Institute
1810 Hopkins Street, Berkeley, CA 94707
Telephone: 510-525-8866
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