Rio’s favelas are home to a third of the city’s population, but are almost invisible on maps. A situation five young women are trying to change with the help of GPS and the Internet. Rafaela Goncalves da Silva, 21, has lived in the Santa Marta favela, a poor and dangerous slum that was recently the target of a police pacification operation, since she was two years old.
She is bringing up her son there now, and takes him to school each day by cable-car under the watchful gaze of the Christ the Redeemer statue that dominates the city’s horizon.
There is plenty more for Rafaela to document. She takes photographs and videos, and little escapes her telephone. She even captures the location where Michael Jackson filmed the video for his song.
The five young women, chosen because they are "less timid than boys", will compete to see who can obtain the most information over the next six months. The winner will receive a grant to study journalism, but for now each of the five receives a monthly stipend of 105 dollars along with a GPS cellphone.
Rede Jovem works to try and drive social engagement among underprivileged youth by facilitating their access to new information and communication technologies. The group points out that Wikimapa can serve as a way to encourage Internet use.
In many favelas, wi-fi access is free and more and more residents have Internet access.
Source: GPS Daily