The Tiny NGO That Changed Reporting On Rio’s Favelas During The Olympics

“R<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3633573/Rat-kids-Rio-earn-1-day-sifting-raw-sewerage-bay-hosting-Olympic-sailing-just-EIGHT-WEEKS.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Rat kids</a>” digging through garbage. Millions of people squatting “<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/olympics-2016-the-road-to-rio-gold-is-paved-with-grinding-poverty-10439009.html" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">in huts amid sewage and sorrow</a>.” “A world of youth gangs, violent crime and drug dealing” that represents a “<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11494389" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">no-go zone</a>.” These were among the descriptions of Rio’s favelas that appeared in major global media outlets as the city geared up to host the Olympic Games. These images were exactly what Theresa Williamson had feared. After 16 years working with residents of favelas, the informal settlements that house nearly a quarter of the city’s population, she knew that reporters parachuting in to cover the Games were likely to fall back on harmful clichés. As in many cities, media reports on Rio’s informal settlements have often depicted them as decrepit, dangerous, and miserable. They’re the same stereotypes that U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte and his teammates drew on to concoct their bogus story about being robbed at gunpoint just over a week ago. <a href="https://brightthemag.com/the-tiny-ngo-that-changed-reporting-on-rios-favelas-during-the-olympics-8fd24e623f22">Read More</a>