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Flavio Jose Rocha da Silva |
Year Joined MKLM: 2003
Country: Brazil
City: Joao Pessoa
Focus: Education, Civil & Human Rights
Project(s): 1. Advocacy Workshop, 2. Environmental Education
Project Goal(s): 1. Train leaders of oppressed groups in Brazil in the techniques they will need to be successful advocates for human rights and social justice. 2. To raise awareness of the environmental degradation of Brazil and countries throughout the world. | 
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Personal Data
Flavio is a Brazilian citizen and joined MKLM in 2003. He is married to Kathy Bond, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner since 1993. Flavio and Kathy met in Brazil when they were working on a social justice project. After they married, they lived in Berkeley, CA, where they were active in the Holy Spirit Newman Community. At that time, he received a graduate degree at the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland. Flavio's faith has led him to work with youth groups and campus ministry, and he served as a representative from Brazil at the Continental Youth Conference in Chile. His most recent work in Brazil was as the Education Secretary in the government of his hometown. He also graduated from the Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil. Flavio and Kathy returned to Brazil in 2004. Their daughter Maya was born there in 2005. Current Ministry
Flavio lives and works in Joao Pessoa with his wife Kathy and daughter Maya. His primaries ministries are with the Theater of the Oppressed, an advocacy-training workshop, and the Environmental Education project. In his project with the Theater of the Oppressed, Flavio works with people who live in extremely marginalized conditions. Given that reality, many suffer from low self-esteem. This creates a barrier for them to advocate successfully for their rights. Participating in a group allows them to build their self-confidence and seek possible solutions, on individual and collective levels. The groups organized through the Theater of the Oppressed discuss and role-play topics that are relevant to people's lives, focusing on social injustices such as racism and poverty. Currently the Theater of the Oppressed is spreading the technique by training leaders to begin new groups throughout João Pessoa. The effort is part of a network that works in 70 countries around the world. The leaders participate in an intensive weekend course and then provided follow-up support through weekly meetings. These meetings provide the opportunity to evaluate how the techniques are used on the grassroots level to bring about community change. Flavio also works in an Environmental Education project with other Brazilians to raise awareness about the importance of respecting God´s Creation through retreats and workshops for youth, college students and community leaders in events like the World Social Forum and the Brazilian Bishops´Faith & Politics courses. He has engaged in campaigns and protests to call attention to the death of the rivers and the deforestation crisis in the Northeast of Brazil. |
