Rocinha tries to overcome the handicap of comings and goings

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Faced with the imposition of this reality, alternatives are created to face daily life in the narrow streets and up and down the winding and irregular stairs of Rocinha. Hundreds of young people, for example, have begun doing what they call “human transportation,” carrying change, household appliances and construction materials; and posts were established in the main streets to receive goods and correspondence. There is no shortage of creativity: there is a disabled person who gets around on a skateboard and a carpenter who improvised the “samuzinho”, a chair that allows people with reduced mobility to be transported. Relying on the help of loved ones and creating a support network in the neighborhood is also essential for people with reduced mobility to be able to leave their homes.

— Rocinha has grown absurdly, but there are no ramps, no ramps, dumps occupy the sidewalks, cars still stop. There is no public policy – ​​summarizes Ruan Juliet, baptized Ruan Gabriel da Silva Nascimento, who has more than 730,000 followers on Instagram.

A situation that affects public services. Light, for example, says difficulty accessing communities sometimes leads to delays in service. In a video recorded some time ago in Rocinha, to transport a transformer of approximately 500 kilos through the alleys, the help of residents of the community was necessary. It is only with this partnership that equipment damaged by excess energy “cats” can be replaced.

According to the census, only 14.9% of Rocinha residents live on streets where trucks and buses pass. Known as Peso Pesado, Fabrício Pereira de Carvalho, 24, from Piauí, like other “human freight” guys, stands at delivery truck unloading points to wait for customers. He is also hired to make modifications, which can cost up to R$500. It all depends on the difficulty.

— I already had to tear out the window so the refrigerator could fit. No one buys storage beds because they don’t fit into houses, even if they are taken apart. Some devices can only be lifted with a rope; they don’t go through the alleys — says Fabrício, who mentions the heaviest thing he has carried recently: — I climbed on an iron chain for beam and column, weighing more than a hundred kilos. The other day I took 20 bags of cement, each weighing 50 kilos. Not all at once, of course.

— Here, on the hill, it’s a question of brute force, of race, of talent.

With shipping costs, Peso Pesado earns enough to pay for his expenses, including renting a studio (R$450) at the top of the favela and Carteiro Amigo’s basic plan (R$14 per month, plus R$5 per item he picks up on site). Since most houses do not have a number, residents send products and correspondence to establishments, such as Carteiro Amigo and Correio 199. In addition to the basic plan, the Amigo and Express services are offered, which cost R$22 and R$33 respectively, giving the right to receive five or ten packages per month for free.

— We started in Rocinha, arrived in Rio das Pedras and became a transportation company that operates throughout Rio de Janeiro — explains CEO Carlos Pedro da Silva Júnior, a former resident of the community. — In Rocinha we deliver to homes, but 80% collect the goods in store, where we receive on average 580 deliveries and 96 letters and magazines per day.

“Effectiveness in disability”

Among the more than 72 thousand inhabitants of Rocinha, the street vendor Michael Batista Tavares, Mick, 53, does not complain of having been massacred, despite the adversities. Paralyzed due to polio contracted as a child, he uses his skateboard and flip-flops in one hand to climb the stairs of the hill and reach Cachopa, the town where he lives. Known in the community for the motorcycles that circulate in the favela, he also hitchhikes, getting pulled while he sits on his skateboard.

— Accessibility is only getting worse in Rocinha. There are more and more houses in the favela. As I got older, going up and down stairs became more difficult. I have to do this more slowly than before. But I make my handicap my efficiency. I don’t set limits. And I count on people’s help – says Mick

And for those who have difficulty getting around, the lack of sidewalks poses another obstacle. Only 12.1% of addresses in the community have a sidewalk at the door. A rate which is, on average, 41.2% in the city’s favelas.

To transport her granddaughter in a wheelchair, Mariza Mello, 64, needs the collaboration of her husband and the father of Jennyfer, 19, born with cerebral palsy. Religiously, from Monday to Thursday, the two go down and up the dozens of steps from Rua 3 to Estrada da Gávea, with the wheelchair, so that the girl can get on and off the school van.

— Before, the van had stopped below, on Estrada da Gávea. We had to go down there, in the middle of the street because of the dumps and the lack of sidewalks — remembers Mariza. — Jennyfer is our treasure. She responds with a look. We know you love walking on the beach. Even with difficulty, whenever we can, we take it. We don’t want you to stay at home.

Carpenter, Pedro Leôncio de Souza adapted a chair a few years ago: using pieces of wood, he improvised long arms on both sides, which allow two people to transport a person in a wheelchair. The nickname quickly appeared: “samuzinho”. At first, the initiative was aimed at helping neighbors in and around Upper 1st Street, who can’t even get to the doctor’s office because they can’t get down stairs and uneven ramps in alleys.

The idea was retained. He made more chairs and received a donation of a stretcher, like the one used by firefighters, for emergencies. Today, at 94, he uses one of three available chairs when he has to leave the house.

— We wanted to have more chairs and stretchers to help more people. But we need partnerships to invest in this project, which is very important for our community, where it is so difficult to move around — says Leda Costa, the old man’s daughter.

“A project that never stops”

For the president of the Instituto Arquitetos da Favela and resident of Morro da Providencia, the architect and urban planner Fernando Pereira, the issue of mobility in Rocinha has reached the level where it is due to the lack of continuity in programs, with the change of mayors and governors.

— The favela is a large living organism. If public authorities do not collaborate with architectural entities and local projects, nothing will work. The resident needs a roof and builds it, leaving less space for mobility. It also has a direct impact on the health of those who live in this space. The project must be well thought out, well structured and continuous – he emphasizes.

The president of the Council of Architecture and Urban Planning of Rio (CAU-RJ), Sydnei Menezes, emphasizes that Rocinha has a solution. He recalls that “there is a project of the State Government, prepared by the architect and urban planner Luiz Carlos Toledo, who has just completed 20 years, without leaving the drawing board.”

— The project provides for a detailed mobility plan with the creation of roads for vehicles, the requalification and development of alleys, in addition to the introduction of an inclined plane. To move forward, simply prepare a notice of projects and works, obtain public resources and begin implementation.