Out of the favela and into the fire: Sydney University’s first Brazilian scholarship student tells all

The last time Brazilian scholarship student Luiz Augusto Duarte de Araújo saw his childhood best friend alive, he was urging the young gangster to flee cartel life before it was too late.

The last time Luiz Augusto Duarte de Araújo saw his childhood best friend Rickson, the pair were celebrating New Year’s Eve in Rio de Janeiro, and Luiz was urging the young gangster to flee cartel life before it was too late.

“I said to him, ‘get out of this life – you are a smart guy, you don’t need to be in the place you are,” the 24-year-old graphic designer recounted.

Rickson had been scanning the area, on the lookout for cops.

“I said ‘quit it … your mum needs you, your family needs you’. He was like ‘Oh I just need some money, I will get out soon’, but this day never arrived.”

Just one month later, Luiz woke to the news that his friend was dead, gunned down in a shootout with police.

Luiz Augusto Duarte de Araújo outside his godmother Dilza's home in the Rio de Janeiro favela of Pavão-Pavãozinho. Picture: Rodrigo Oliveira/University of Sydney

The first Brazilian to earn a full-ride scholarship to the University of Sydney, the postgrad international student is now spending his time outside of class kicking around a ‘futebol’ with peers at St Paul’s College.

His new digs are a far cry from Pavão-Pavãozinho, the impoverished favela where he grew up in southern Rio.

Scholarship student Luiz now lives and learns at the University of Sydney. Picture: Tim Hunter.

In an emotive interview Luiz – who is now studying a Master of Interaction Design and Electronic Arts – revealed the heart of his “mission” in Sydney.

“Maybe I can be the person who will open this door, to other people from the same community I grew up (in),” he said.

Against all odds, Luiz “grew up happy,” he said, his adolescence and young adulthood taking a trajectory entirely unlike those of the friends he once played soccer with in the streets.

Luiz as a teenager in his Rio de Janeiro hometown. Picture: Supplied

The 24-year-old is now living a life he barely dared to imagine. Picture: Tim Hunter

He credits this fortunate life to the single mum who raised him, sheltering him from the worst of the violence and poverty in his community.

While Antonia worked long hours to earn enough money to keep Luiz well fed, his godmother Dilza took him into her home.

Luiz’s godmother Dilza took care of him while his mother worked. Picture: Rodrigo Oliveira/University of Sydney

Antonia fought long and hard for her son to be enrolled in the highly sought-after philanthropic school Solar, where the school day lasts more than ten hours and students spend their afternoons doing sport, learning a musical instrument or playing capoeira supervised.

“I was a lucky guy … if this place didn’t exist, I don’t know where I would end up,” Luiz said.

Getting a good education is not easy in Rio’s public school system. Most schools dismiss students at midday, often leaving young people to their own devices for hours.

“In the place I grew up, it is really hard to thrive – to manage to have a good job, to gather money, to build a family and a great house.

“Crime seems to be the perfect path … and almost all my friends were attracted by this trap.”

Luiz (third from left) with childhood friends in Pavão-Pavãozinho. Picture: Supplied

He would later learn that Rickson was not the only childhood friend to have paid the ultimate price for getting mixed up in organised crime.

Luiz meanwhile would become the first in his family to attend university, earning a scholarship to Brazil’s top-ranked private institution PUC Rio.

Receiving his acceptance letter for an undergraduate journalism degree was “one of the best days of my mum’s life,” Luiz said.

Luiz Augusto Duarte de Araújo attended the Solar school in Pavão-Pavãozinho, run by a philanthropic organisation providing quality education in disadvantaged Brazilian communities. Picture: Supplied

His studies landed him a job working for TV Globo, the largest television network in Latin America, and while a career in journalism never worked out – a creative at heart, Luiz found greater joy in graphic design – the role came with immense pride for Antonia.

“For my family … especially my mom, to see her child working in a place like that, it was a big deal,” he said.

Then came the most extraordinary offer yet – EduMais, his old school Solar’s partner charity, wanted to nominate Luiz for a $150,000-per-year International Equity Scholarship at the University of Sydney, on the other side of the world.

Luiz Augusto Duarte de Araújo at his old school, Solar. Picture: Rodrigo Oliveira/University of Sydney

“I was like, ‘you said Australia?’ and she said ‘yes, Australia’,” Luiz recalled.

“I didn’t think twice.”

All but confirming the stereotypes, one of his first priorities upon arriving in Sydney was to join the college soccer team.

“As a Brazilian, I have to play to live,” he said.

Luiz was diplomatic in his assessment.

“Their way to play is … different.”

Originally published as Out of the favela and into the fire: Sydney University’s first Brazilian scholarship student tells all