Carolina told of two boys who wandered the streets of the favela coming from shelters in the city. In the shelters there were innocent children abandoned or orphaned, but there were also young criminals condemned to stay there. Both groups were brought together and treated as if they had all been sentenced to prison. Carolina wrote: “I heard that in the state shelter the morals of the children were low. […] What is missing? Concern for the unfortunate or state money?” (81). Whether it was children dying in the favela or children growing up in poverty, families in the favelados were doomed to misfortune. Carolina's older children still attended school, but contributed to the family income, as was customary at the time, by going out to beg or collecting paper and scrap with her. Brazil's favelas bred the destruction of innocence and children grew up quickly, as when “Joaquim's son went to school drunk” (130). The intersectionality of race and class was also relevant. Racism and classism have prevented poor and impoverished children from receiving any opportunities to improve their situation