The Saint Monica’s Home, the socio-educational center of the Augustinian Recollects in Fortaleza (Brazil) that fights against abuse, exploitation, abandonment, unschooling, or violence against young girls, has presented its social media project “A Life in a Minute” on Tiktok.

Given that every hour a minor suffers some violence or abuse in Brazil, according to the Abring Foundation's statistics, the Saint Monica’s Home for Girls has wanted to make visible the transformation of these victims with careful, preferential, dedicated, dedicated, and professional attention. Lives have changed through the miracle of affection, listening, understanding, and supportive therapies.

In 2020, 29,000 cases of child sexual violence were reported in Brazil, according to records from the Ministry of Health and the Grievance and Notification Information System. The most hurtful thing is that almost three out of four notifications of sexual violence in Brazil (73.94%) had minors as victims.

The Saint Monica’s Home receives girls sent by the competent authorities (courts, municipal guardianship councils) because this is the only institution in Fortaleza that welcomes them as a proper home, a permanent refuge freeing and protecting them from their aggressors.

“A life in a minute” gives them the space to express themselves and share their new dreams for the future.

In the first chapter, Wandinha (8 years old) tells us about the affection she receives in Santa Monica. She also mentions she wishes to be a police officer or a soldier, along with his sister. She discusses how she discovered what it means to have fun, take a walk, vacation, and attend school at the Saint Monica’s Home. Even though her past includes a sad story, she enjoys the freedom, love, and care of the present.

Su speaks in another video. She is 12 years old, and her dream is to be a soccer player, and she sees this dream as possible because she's good at it and trains hard. Su found a new home and family at the Saint Monica’s Home for Girls. She had learned many good things, especially discipline, because her disobedience caused her many problems before. She loves the idea that when she leaves Santa Monica, she can work and have a new and independent life.

In the third episode, Gabi, who is 13 and originally from some 2,000 kilometers away, has been in the institution for seven months and has left behind many problems due to dysfunctional family crises. She admits that, at first, coming to Santa Monica was not easy, and she had to undergo a complex adaptation process. But now she knows Santa Monica is her home, and the people she lives with honestly care for her. She experienced it when she had an accident and had to be taken to the hospital. She saw how much everyone cared for her, even by someone she didn't like, until she fully recovered.

She has learned to understand the process of getting to know others, accepting their differences, and treating others more maturely. She has also learned how to be more responsible for her duties. Her dream is to return to her family in Pará and study to be a judge and thus help young girls in her situation.

In the last chapter, we have Mari's story, who is 11 years old and has been in the Santa Monica House for Girls for a year and four months, and her sister, ten-year-old Juju. Mari wants to be a teacher, and Juju wants to be a police officer. One of Mari's memories was when she arrived in Santa Monica. At first, she was so scared, but as soon as she entered, one of the hosts went to receive her, gave her a big hug, and asked her to be friends. She felt very calm, thinking she would receive much love there.