‘People think it’s magic’: how one of Brazil’s poorest cities gets its best school results
As you approach the city of Sobral in north-east Brazil, the road worsens. Huge pot holes slow traffic to a crawl. The heat is suffocating, even worse when there is no cloud cover.
Sobral is poor. Jobs are scarce, salaries meagre, gangs the only option for many. For children, it’s a tough start to life. Ana Farias, headteacher of an early-years school in a low-income neighbourhood controlled by a gang, knows this only too well. Some of her students wouldn’t eat if it were not for free school meals.
By Sarah Johnson via The Guardian