We change the world from where we are
Who we are
Viramundo stands for public health and environmental sanitation as undeniable human rights
We strive to establish connections between Rocinha and other marginalized communities in Rio and Brazil
Recognizing the similiarities among cities across the globe, we operate on an international level
We use visual activism to get people involved in learning about health and sanitation
This strategy encourages people of all backgrounds make visual tools like YH3T (see below), participatory videos, and Photovoice projects. These projects help people connect with each other
Some of Viramundo initiatives are innovative 
One of them is Your Health in 3 Takes or YH3T You can access the YH3T User Manual here
In 2011, Viramundo methodologies were integrated into the Health and Ecosan Educational course (HEED) at PUC-Rio. That year, we received the Victor Valla Award (honorific mention) from the Ministry of Health
In 2013, Viramundo fieldwork was acknowledged for exemplifying Mandela’s dedication to humanitarian work. (access here)
In 2014, The Social Service of Commerce (Sesc Rio) made the decision to use the Viramundo/HEED course as a model for advancing health literacy among its extensive public. (access here)
Our methodologies have caught the attention of researchers in different countries. Recently, we were invited to expand them to Africa
YH3T will be a key tool for engaging residents in the Community-Based Monitoring of Canadian Mines in Brazil, Philippines, and Kyrgyzstan project. (see our Blog)
Viramundo
🟢 Founded in 2006 in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Viramundo is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing health and environmental education using educommunication tools both locally and internationally. The NGO also offers free mental health services and helps collect health and sanitation data to prioritize public policies in both spheres.
⚫️ Its current board consists of Gabriela Bastos Wittlin as main director ([email protected]) , Marcelina Gomes da Silva as general secretary, and Helena Bastos as finance director ([email protected]).
THE TERRITORY WHERE WE TAKE ACTION
Rocinha is a huge slum (favela) in Latin America. It’s home to over 100,000 people While there are many commercial establishments , the majority of residents are living in poverty Sanitation is inadequate and access to health services is limited and inconsistent. The pandemic further hindered this access Numerous women experienced the onset or exacerbation of anxiety and depressive disorders Violence is structural and associated with the drug trade/police crackdown Even though, Rocinha shows remarkable emotional resilience despite the daily issues.
Immediately adjacent, the São Conrado and Gavea neighborhoods have about 25 thousand residents Here, people live like those do in many cities in the northern hemisphere.
Rocinha and São Conrado are neighbors with views of a majestic valley opening onto the Atlantic Ocean Together they show the deep social inequalities prevalent in Brazil.
PRESENT IN THE COMMUNITY SINCE 2006
We get people on the ground involved by using educommunicative tools like “Your Health in Three Takes (YH3T),” Photovoice, and participatory videos.
We know that the main challenges in health and ecosan literacy are getting people to adopt, improve or change their health and hygiene habits, to recognize rights and duties, and to gain literacy to combat misinformation/disinformation.
Viramundo also offers free one-on-one psychology sessions, and plan to add selected free primary healthcare services soon (for instance, STI care).
In 2011, Viramundo started an international extension course at PUC-Rio, the Health and Ecosan Education Course. The HEED included fieldwork in Rocinha and in the Complexo do Alemão. Since then, we’ve connected with academics at national and international centers.
This year of 2024, Viramundo was approved for the AgPopSUS program by Fiocruz Brasília/Minister of Health (see here) We will train 40 residents to become certified by Fiocruz as Popular Agents for Health Literacy. Our NGO hopes this will let us implement YH3T and other educommunicative tools and monitor their effectiveness. (see the Blog session here).
In 2019, Viramundo was authorized by PUC-Rio to take over a small building in Rocinha, which was situated in a troubled area called “Valão” with sewage issues. Despite our efforts to repair the building, we had to leave it abruptly due to an unexpected and undesirable occupation. We are at this address for now: Estrada da Gávea, 445, Rocinha (Fundação)
Our Invitation
Get involved with our NGO and explore the different ways to engage
Our mission is to stand up for the rights of disadvantaged communities, addressing issues in health, environment, and other social spheres.
The Program
The NGO encourages people in different places to make healthier choices, understand their rights and responsibilities, and instructs them on how to detect and refute misinformation about health.
Our perspective is that community members can and should play a role in monitoring health and disease, managing treatment and recovery, promoting access to healthcare, and dispelling health misinformation.
The Viramundo program instructs people how to collect and use basic data to make informed health decisions.
We’ve joined forces with researchers and activists from various native and international centers to enhance data collection and visual activism techniques.
We’re all about empowering communities in everything we do.
That’s why Viramundo is all about sharing the best ways to get people really involved in what we do.
CONTEXT, OBJECTIVES, METHODS, AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES
aims to strengthen public health and ecological sanitation policies. We work with civil society and the government to achieve our goal
In Rocinha and other communities here and abroad, we help people make participatory videos and photos about health and the environment
We also help people understand their rights to public health and environmental sanitation, and we work to combat the misinformation that contaminates both areas
There in Rocinha, over 100,000 people live in bad conditions: sewage, trash, rats, tuberculosis, alcoholism, drug abuse, early pregnancy, AIDS, violence, gender violence, and fear
Always with the high-level participatory approach in mind, our specific goals include:
1) Identifying the main health and sanitation problems in Rocinha and other outcast communities.
2) Learning about each community’s health and environmental habits.
3) Encouraging communities to determine the most significant generative themes in health and ecological sanitation, considering different perspectives.
4) Sharing skills for data collection and digital media management for participatory videos, Photovoice, and YH3T.
5) Evaluating residents’ competency in managing their health and hygiene routines, awareness of their rights to public health and eco-sanitation, and ability to differentiate between accurate information and misinformation/disinformation in these fiel
Methods
The Viramundo Program uses high-level participatory methods at every stage.
The process starts with identifying the most important health and environment problems or problem situations (generative themes)
Next, we look at the attitudes and behaviors related to these problems in the community
Then, the residents choose a generative theme of most interest/desire and share it with the mediators
As for the Community-Based Communication Technologies (CCT), a group of residents will learn basic digital media skills for interactive health literacy
This includes creating and sharing visual products that cover the selected generative themes with the community
The group will try to get more people involved in the discussion and find solutions to health and ecological sanitation problems.
In the process of recruiting and organizing participants for conversation circles, Viramundo will give priority to using the YH3T (*), a cost-effective and user-friendly visual tool that shows the following features:
Participants of all age groups, literacy level, educational degree, cultural background, etc. are able to handle YH3T; and
Health themes are something communities usually want to chat about.
(*) For more information about Your Health in 3 Takes, please access the YH3T User Manual here
Target Population
The program is open to all residents who want to be data collectors in health and eco-sanitation and visual agents for health and ecosan literacy. Duration of the Program: variable
All other residents are welcome to join us at the exhibitions and debates resulting from the videos, Photovoice, and YH3T.
Expected Results
aims to achieve four different results, as follows:
1) Community-based data collection for health and eco-sanitation research to inform local policies;
2) Viramundo‘s health and ecosan literacy program is endorsed for its success in helping Rocinha residents and other communities;
3) The visual agents and residents engaged in permanent dialogue to defend their human rights to health and eco-sanitation;
4) Spreading the word about the project and sharing results across academic institutions, government, social media, and more in Brazil and abroad.
PARTICIPATORY VIDEOS WE HAVE SUPPORTED
🟢 Viramundo has worked with residents on the creation and exhibition of digital videos ⚫️ At these moments, the Visual Agents for Health and Ecosan Literacy have been simultaneously creators and part of the community audience 🟢 They share their own visualproducts with the community ⚫️ We use the same approach in both photovoice and mobile-based storytelling, Your Health in 3 Times (YH3T).
Come see our videos
Rats infestation in Rocinha (8’14”)
This video was made by teenagers from Rocinha favela who took part in the 2008 Visible Voice Project. It was also made to help residents make demands for better living conditions.
Mudslide in Rocinha (5’26”)
This video by Viramundo shows the damage to part of Rocinha favela caused by heavy rain in April 2010.
Rocinha/ São Conrado. Social Bias, Almost a Public Health Problem (10’03”)
This film was made in 2011 with the support of Viramundo. A group of teenagers from Rocinha made it.
Tuberculosis in Rocinha (4’04”)
The Photovoice samples in this 2009 film demonstrates the quick dissemination of this disease in Rocinha, a phenomenon that remains prevalent.
Awards/Media Appearances
🟢 Viramundo was honored with the 2011 Victor Valla Prize in Public Health Education from the MoH.
⚫️ This year, the University of Cumbria’s Professor Margaret Ledwith highlighted Viramundo interactions in the 2nd edition of her book “Community Development: A Critical Approach.(read here).
🟢 In 2013, BuzzFeed named Viramundo as one of the top 10 humanitarian initiatives of the year, highlighting its connection to Nelson Mandela’s fight for justice.(read here).
⚫️ This year, Viramundo was mentioned in an article on the London School of Economics blog entitled “A different kind of security: The need for appropriate healthcare policies in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas”. (read here)
🟢 In 2014, YPAR, a UC Berkeley website, offered Viramundo a space to share updates on its work in Brazil (read here)
Final Words
needs your help. If you want a fairer society where everyone has the right to health and a safe environment, you can help us make it happen.
