Prof.'s abroad program gives students look at poverty

PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press

Some impoverished Brazilian children walk down a mountain to school every day, past armed men controlled by local drug lords. A Boston University professor gives law students the chance to see this scene for themselves.


BU law professor Kevin Outterson started the "poorism" study-abroad program in Brazil four years ago at West Virginia University, and he is considering bringing the program to BU. His trip combines education at the university at Getulio Vargas Foundation Rio de Janeiro, with tours of Brazilian slums, known as favelas, through the touring company Be a Local.

"Most of the students say it's the most transformative experience of their lives," Outterson said.

Outterson said his goal is to introduce students to the favelas' legal culture just as he was exposed to it on trips to South America as an attorney.

"I want lawyers who think about the impact of what they are doing on the poor," he said. "Awareness is important because lawyers are in the position where they can do something."

Outterson, who is in his first year at BU, said he does not yet have concrete plans to establish a similar program through the International Programs office, but if graduate students express interest in the trip, he will take them with WVU students in July.
Be a Local founder Luiz Fantozzi said he began the company to show the world the reality of poor communities.

"The favela is real," Fantozzi said. "It's impoverished, right beside a rich neighborhood."

With permission from local drug lords who act as the authority in the Rocinha, the largest favela in South America, Fantozzi said he began the company in 2003. He said he finds interested backpackers like Outterson by word of mouth in nearby hostels.

"The people are happy to see us," Outterson said. "Most [middle- and upper-class] Brazilians think this is a crazy idea."

Outterson said after his first visit to the Rocinha, he decided to take students with him. Without knowledge of these favelas, students have an incomplete picture of the area, Outterson said.

Outterson said students prepare for the trips by reading and discussing issues with law students in Brazil. They also raise money before each annual trip to donate a new floor to a nursery school.

"It's good for people to come every year to see the difference," Fantozzi said.

Be a Local also gives 10 percent of its proceeds to the community, and Fantozzi said the money often goes to children.
But getting to Rocinha is not an easy task. Students travel two to three hours off the main road using local transportation and then walk through narrow streets.

Fantozzi said Rocinha is improving but is still poor, with only two understaffed health clinics available for 100,000 people.

"Most students are nervous in the beginning, but by the end they are surprised at how safe they felt," Outterson said.