Lar de Crianças Betel
An initiative of Brazilian Christians founded by Pastor Ernesto Swartele & his wife Josefina.
Their aim is to intercept children who are at risk before they end up living on the streets. There are about 160 youngsters at Betel, over half of whom are teenagers. They come from families which have disintegrated as a result of poverty or they have run away following abuse and neglect; some have been abandoned by parents or been in trouble with the law. The majority carry the scars, psychological or physical, of ill treatment by the adult world.
