Description

For years, Vale do Jequitinhonha has been known as the valley of poverty. The region is located in the northern part of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and houses communities that have faced extremely poor living conditions.

Among various development projects that exist in the area, MJPOP (Youth Monitoring Public Policies) has been significantly contributing to the life of communities. MJPOP is the contextualization of the Citizen Voice and Action (CVA) methodology in Brazil, and aims at bringing communities and local government closer in order to account for adequate delivery of public services.

Delma Mendes shares about the presence of MJPOP in the valley and their goals for the future. Delma serves as the CVA Health Coordinator and as a member of the National Committee of MJPOP.

“Before the introduction of MJPOP, young people from Ponto do Volantes, one of the towns in Vale do Jequitinhonha, Minas Gerais, had little prospects and opportunities to contribute to the future of their town. There was little participation within political spaces and little knowledge of the historical and political context of the town.

After the implementation of the MJPOP methodology in 2008, the situation started to reverse. And this happened, in the first place, because MJPOP provided the youth with a democratic space in which everyone was heard and had their opinions respected. They were free to speak about the problems that mostly affected their communities and were motivated to propose solutions. Secondly, the methodology was introduced with the objective of transforming the lives of young people and of their communities. A clear example of this goal is that we have the sailor’s community, the first one in which MJPOP was implemented at. Through community participation, which was mobilized by youth social action, we attained the building of a water reservoir that supplies water for the community.

Ponto dos Volantes was the first town in Vale do Jequitinhonha to receive MJPOP. After the results that were achieved there along with youth engagement, the coordinators of four Area Development Programmes (ADP) from UOPE Jequitinhonha asked for the implementation of the methodology in their regions. This approach, which was so important in the building of the history of youth political participation in Ponto dos Volantes, has expanded and is present today in all of the ADPs of UOPE Jequitinhonha, in the cities of Carai, Itinga, Montes Claros and Lontra. MJPOP has contributed to big changes, and has allowed young people to be at a central position in the process, and has empowered people, who have been motivated to participate in the networks of Defense of Children and Adolescents Protection Rights. In addition, MJPOP facilitates the dialogue with public institutions, allowing communities to hold local government accountable for adequate delivery of services, which are focused in improving people’s quality of life.

Here, in Vale do Jequitinhonha, the population has many needs, but through MJPOP, young people are mobilizing and engaging in monitoring public services. Specifically in Ponto dos Volantes, the group remains firm in the struggle, and we are dialoguing with the Chamber of Councilmen in order for them to take on a project of water supply for the entire population. With faith and disposition, we will achieve our goals.”