Recycle Life Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Activated Minstries provides in-kind assistance to this independent project via
Christian outreach materials for use in their ministry and work with the needy they serve

My co-workers and I had already heard good things about Recicla Vida (Recycle Life), an ongoing project that other Family members conduct to aid families living at the Bongaba lixão ("really big garbage dump") in Magé, Rio de Janeiro, so when we were invited to help with their Christmas program there, we jumped at the chance.On the appointed day, we met up with about twenty other full- and part-time Family members.

Alexandré, one of the project's founders and its current director, gave us a recap: About 280 families (over 1,000 people) live off this dump-- rummaging through the garbage for recyclables like plastic, glass, aluminum cans, or paper that they can sell, and putting anything that might be edible into a communal stew or soup. Before Recycle Life, this was all these people had to eat, but for the past year each family has received a monthly "box of basics" nonperishable foods (--in this case, a 30-kg box that includes powdered milk, flour, oil, beans, rice, sugar, and canned vegetables).

Volunteers from The Family also collect and distribute good-quality used clothing, shoes, toys, toiletries, and other items to the families living at the Bongaba lixão. Each month Recycle Life has a drive to help meet some special need. For example, in preparation for winter, the team collected and distributed over 500 blankets; at the beginning of the school year it was school supplies; at Christmas and Children's Day it was toys. They also meet individual needs: the wheelchair for the paralyzed child; aspirators for children with respiratory problems; music books and a guitar for a teenager who has a special interest and aptitude for music; baby needs for expectant and new mothers; a TV for a single mother who must leave her five children alone at home while she works at the dump.

"Everyone involved in the Recycle Life volunteer work contributes whatever they can," James explained, "and together it makes for a substantial offering. Anyone who has ever come with us has either returned to help us again, or has made some other significant contribution to the project. The owner of the company that puts together the "box of basics" sells them to us at a 20% discount, which saves about $600 per month. He also delivers them for free. A transport company donates the use of a truck each month for us to bring whatever other items we have gathered. When they made the first delivery, the company truck drivers were so impressed with what was being done that they volunteered to make the delivery each month on their day off, so they can help with the unloading and distribution, which usually takes four or five hours. Another man came to participate once, and has donated soft drinks and 400 cheese sandwiches each distribution day since. At first we had to carry out our work in the open air, regardless of the weather, but the owner of an unused factory nearby now lets us use the factory warehouse when we come to distribute goods. You'd have to see the faces of everyone involved to understand how rewarding this is to them!

"We hope to be able to do even more in the future," James went on. "Many plans are in the works, including teaching these people how to better support themselves, and helping them build a community center. We feel we have only barely begun to meet the need, but one thing is certain, this little part of the world is a better and happier place because of all those who have committed their time and resources to help these families and show them God's love."

Sorting and organizing heaps of goods for distribution The 280 boxes of food were an impressive sight, stacked up beside the delivery truck, which had arrived ahead of us and had already been unloaded. But I was taken aback when I saw the mountain of other goods that was about to be distributed! I couldn't imagine anything but mass confusion, seeing the hundreds of men, women, and children who had gathered and the bags and bags and bags of clothes, shoes, and sundry other items in no order whatsoever. With just one hour before the distribution was scheduled to begin, the Recycle Life team dove in and began sorting. To my astonishment, we were done organizing within the hour.

I can only describe what followed as a good-natured, charitable, three-ring circus! Some friends of The Family who run a professional party company would prove to be key players, keeping the children entertained and happy while the parents received their "box of basics", clothes, and other items.

Then comes entertainment

First a group of Family children, ages five through eight, took the stage and sang Christmas songs that filled the factory with a message of hope and love, and reminded us all of the One whose love had brought us all together. The professional party makers took the stage, and the rest of us began the distribution, which was actually pretty orderly most of the time. Adults filed past to first pick up their "box of basics", and then clothes and other items. I found myself in the shoe, belt, and purse section, along with two or three other volunteers. By this time, the shoes were all laid out on the floor, and as the people walked by, one of us would ask them their size and then scramble back to see what we could find for them.

It was a far cry from your typical air-conditioned, tastefully decorated shopping mall, and at times the phrase "feeding frenzy" came to mind. But I wish you could have seen the people's faces light up when they saw the things they were being given, as though that used shirt or purse or pair of pants was exactly what they'd been wishing for! I am convinced that many angels were there with us, helping us find the right sizes and styles for different ones.

The miracle match

For some reason, one particularly nice tennis shoe had no mate. That seemed a shame, especially since a number of people pointed to and asked for it. Then, towards the end of the distribution, a young man came through the line on crutches. I looked down and saw that his left leg had been amputated. On his right foot, he wore a worn-out rubber sandal. I had looked at that lone tennis shoe enough times to know that it was a 37, his size, but I couldn't remember if it was a right or a left. My heart pounded as I ran back to look. It was a right!

There were many touching moments that day, like when a boy of about ten came around to wish us all, one by one, a merry Christmas. A smaller boy, dressed only in a T-shirt a few sizes too big, called me uncle and gave me a hug that totally disarmed me.

Then there was the lady who called me over as we were leaving and apologized for having been pushy and trying to sidestep the line earlier. She had wanted so very badly to get some shoes for her daughter, she said, and she wanted me to know that the ones I had given her fit just right.

The sight of hundreds of happy kids had also been immensely rewarding. They laughed, they jumped up and down, they danced along with the music, and they beamed as they received a snack and gifts of toys and clothes. But the thing that touched me the most was the scene with the quiet young man and the one tennis shoe. Seeing that Someone cared especially for him and saw and met his special need made this a Christmas I will never forget.