For those of you who don't know us we're Rosie, Stu and Ottelie Bayford and we’re based out in Olinda, Brazil where we’ve been since the beginning of 2019. We are part of a charity called Revive who work with children and teenagers who are survivors of abuse, trafficking or exploitation. The aim is to free them from their situation and to find a loving family for them to grow in.
Our primary role is in prevention work where we lead a community project called the Mercado Comunitário (Community Market). It’s located in the favela community of Aguazinha and is run in collaboration with the local church with the aim of providing food and practical support to families who live in a situation of food insecurity and depend exclusively on government benefits, which are minimal. We want to strengthen the families in the place they find themselves, be that financially, nutritionally, spiritually, so that long term fewer children are in ‘at risk’ situations.
So far the Community Market has journeyed alongside over 50 families, providing them with food that they would otherwise go without and creating a place where they can meet others in similar circumstances as themselves and have a time of conversation, prayer, games and laughter. It’s largely the mums that come along, but the occasional dad too, and lots of children! We’ve recently been able to welcome a volunteer who’s specific role is to be with the children, to both supervise and play alongside them. We also run monthly workshops where we get local professionals to come in and teach about life skills that could help these families get back on their feet.
There have been many challenges over the course of the Community Market’s three years of running but we’re grateful to God for His provision in times of sparse food donations, for His wisdom in difficult relationships, and for His perseverance through times of personal struggles. There are also lots of wonderful stories to have come out of the market, including mum's being baptised and dad's breaking alcohol addiction. We see it very much as a way of engaging the families with their faith, hopefully as a stepping stone to getting more involved in the local church.
We will be returning to the UK for our furlough at the end of March and will be at St Paul’s on the 30th March (Mother’s Day), so it would be fantastic to see you there and to share more about recent activities then. In the meantime we would really appreciate your prayers as we prepare for our trip and organise all of our work with the Community Market to be handed over to our team of volunteers and new project coordinator, Greice.
God bless,
Rosie, Stu and Ottelie
