This is Elielton, a friend and hard worker who recently saw his life shattered by an armed gang when he went to pick up a load of cargo with his truck in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Elielton is the loving husband of Zeza, who has helped care for our children for the past seven years and is like a second mother to them. With our assistance, Zeza and Elielton are asking for your help to put their lives back together.

Elielton was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the morning of August 26th in the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Men with machine guns blocked his way into the industrial complex where he was picking up a load. They threw a bag over his head and drove him into a slum, where they made him empty his bank account via his cell phone. But worst of all, they took his long-distance hauling truck, of whose value he still owed 70% to lenders (refer to pic of police report). Elielton has no recourse to insurance; vehicle insurance is too expensive for contract drivers in Brazil (about 1/5 the price of the truck per year) precisely because of the dangers of the profession. So our friend finds himself in a dangerous predicament: he currently owes a large amount of money at high interest rates and has lost his livelihood. 

Help us in meeting our goal of putting him back in the driver’s seat of his life. The cost of a new-used truck is about R$200,000, which converts to about $49,000 Canadian or US$37,000. 

If you can help us with anything at all, even $5, it will make a difference. The exchange rate is currently 4:1 for the Canadian dollar (US$5:1), so your $5 donation goes far in Brazil. The donations are in Brazilian Reales, so R$400 is approximately Canadian $100. 

The Backstory

Born in Itaborai, Rio de Janeiro state on November 8th, 1982, Elielton began working at 14 years old to support his family. At 17 he lost his mother and had to do his best to survive. He worked as a construction grunt, operated an excavator, then drove a public transport van around the outskirts of Niterói. It was on one of these trips that he met Zeza and they fell in love. 

Zeza encouraged Elielton to pursue his dream of owning and operating his own trucking business. He started by working for a transport company, then after three years used his earnings plus loans to buy his own rig. Honest, reliable, and personable, Elielton earned a rapidly growing clientele. He had paid back 30% of the cost of his truck when the world stopped because of Covid-19. The few jobs he did were to deliver medical equipment to hospitals in the states of Bahia, Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. Elielton became infected with the coronavirus, as did Zeza. His symptoms were mild, but Zeza nearly ended up in the hospital for lack of oxygen. After seeing his wife through her fight with the virus, Elielton returned to work with renewed drive, eager to make up lost time, support his family and pay off his vehicle. 

Tragedy struck when armed bandits walked away with his life savings and his livelihood. Elielton was left penniless on the periphery of Sao Paulo. A stranger helped him call the police and he eventually got home to Rio. 

He’s thankful to be alive and healthy, but his spirits are low as he grapples with his predicament, debt collectors and all. More than anything, he is eager to get back to work. We are crowdfunding in the expectation of making that a reality.

Again, if you can donate anything at all, even $5, it will help Elielton and Zeza get back on track. Your donation in Canadian or US currency goes far in Brazil. The donations are in Brazilian Reales, so R$400 is approximately Canadian $100. 

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Carolina and Greg