JOANA D’ARC FIGHTING FOR DIGNITY: A PRACTICE IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - DOI: 10.5212/Rev.Conexao.v.12.i3.0014

Abstract

This paper discusses a community development practice conducted for five years (2005-2010) in the Joana d’Arc community, in the poor outskirts of Porto Alegre/RS. This initiative, called Joana d’Arc fighting for Dignity Project, was linked to the Social Development sector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul was sponsored by the Development and Citizenship Program, Petrobras. The project aimed at the improvement of the quality of life of residents through the implementation of a collective enterprise, which offers employment and income generation for a group of women. In addition, it sought a way to problematize the living difficulties and the articulation of the group for the development of a work grounded on collectivity. The methodology was essentially participatory and dialogic. Thus, it was through the establishment of meaningful links, such as caring between educators and students, that daily militancy gained space to encourage autonomy as well as the central role of the community in the process of social transformation. After five years of community actions, the main results were: 37 women trained in bakery and pastry skills; the construction of a place for the collective enterprise as well as an additional space for community activities; acquisition of specific machinery; 19 women trained to work with children as Educator Assistants; and the implementation of a set of interdisciplinary actions that contributed to the improvement of various aspects of community life.