This past Tuesday, ReliefWeb published an article about Viva Rio, an organization that has been providing community services in Port-au-Prince's Bel Air neighborhood since 2006.  However, in the wake of January's devastating earthquake, Viva Rio's priorities rapidly shifted to addressing more immediate needs, one of which was constructive activities for all of the suddenly displaced children.  Working in the Kay Nou camp, they teach Capoeira to over 100 children, helping them relieve stress, relax, and be kids again.  Keep up the good work Viva Rio!

On the other side of the camp, capoeira lessons are starting. Viva Rio has been teaching capoeira to children here for more than a year, but since the earthquake, the number of children in the program has grown by more than 100. In the shell of a building that locals say gang members used to use for hiding kidnap victims, about 30 children remove their shoes and sit on a rug in front of a line of musicians for the morning class. The music is key to capoeira, and the morning session focuses just on the songs, while the afternoon session teaches the components of the martial-arts based dance.

"Children and adults are not the same," says Rodney Jean Marc, one of eight assistants who help lead the classes. He has studied capoeira with Viva Rio since 2008. "Adults are used to hardship and difficulty but children are fragile . . . Capoeira helps them get the stress out."

The songs are taught in Portuguese, and the teachers then explain them in Creole. The songs' themes are about living in peace and respecting others – things that can be challenging for children in the best of situations, but especially difficult in the trying circumstances in which these kids now find themselves.

Arts Help Haitian Children Heal