Warrior of Light 2003

Yvonne Bezerra de Mello is an award-winning artist and human rights activist who has gained international recognition for her projects with street children in Rio de Janeiro. As the wife of a hotelier from a wealthy, traditional Brazilian family, Yvonne enjoyed the benefits of an extremely privileged lifestyle. In 1993, however, she was moved to take action by the execution of eight children by military police. Turning her back on luxuries and leisure, she founded the radical "Children of Light" project committed to the education and protection of abandoned street kids. She not only organizes and fund-raises for the undertaking, but also works actively every day with the kids in the streets and slums of Rio. Offering considerably more than just food and literacy, she nurses the many who have AIDS and encourages them to develop self-esteem by surrounding them with love. Astutely political, intelligent, courageous and infinitely energetic, de Mello is a charismatic and inspirational subject.