The Brigade and the Education Sector of the Homeless Workers Movement

the intersections of the right to housing and to literature in Pernambuco’s occupancies

Abstract

This is an ethnographic experience report on the activities of the Brigade and the Education Sector of the Homeless Workers’ Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto - MTST) in Pernambuco, carried out between July 2021 and July 2023, and whose target audience were children and adolescents who live in occupations of the movement. The activities were based on Antonio Candido’s work The right to literature (O direito à literatura), in which the right to literature is considered a human right, hence, broadening the understanding of the right to housing and to the city as complex rights. In this context, using participatory methodologies and Paulo Freire's popular education, the Brigade and the Education Sector carried out a series of storytelling workshops and recreational activities in order to promote education in human rights. It was noticed that the workshops helped children and adolescents understand the purpose of the MTST, as well as key concepts such as the right to housing and the city. In addition, the activities fostered a sense of community and social cohesion among occupants, also helping to identify participants as subjects of rights, which also had an impact on the increased self-esteem of children and adolescents who participate in MTST’s occupations.