The Unknown Writer

Old Sobrinho family photos.

He lives in Brazil and became homeless in the early 1980s. From then on he lived in the streets of Sao Paulo, in a makeshift shelter, usually with a plastic covering. No matter what, he kept writing and writing. They were beautiful stories and poems, too.

At 77 years old, he was still out in the streets, his body covered with the grime of years, his hair unkempt, wearing whatever fabric and plastic he could scrounge to cover his body. And still, he wrote beautiful stories and poetry. His name is RAIMUNDO ARRUDA SOBRINHO. Before he had become homeless, he had worked as a gardener and book seller.



By 2011, Raimundo had been living in the streets for about 35 years. In April of that year, Shalla Monteiro came into his life. She was a person who didn't just pass him by in the street. She stopped to chat with him every day and they developed a friendship. She had also observed that he somehow kept a supply of scrap paper, with pens and pencils, and he wrote regularly. Then came the day he shared one of his poems with her - and it was beautiful.

Shalla felt that she had to share the works of this wonderful writer with the rest of the world, so she started a facebook page about Raimundo and his writings, which she kept up to date. Over the years, Raimundo had dreamt that one day, his works would be published. But since he was homeless, the wider world, even within the city of Sao Paulo, didn't even know he existed, much less wrote so well.

Out of the friendship between these two human beings came something remarkable. This is where the worldwide reach of the internet brought recognition to a man who lacked connection with the world. For one thing, when Shalla befriended Raimundo, she also created a sign that drew attention of passers-by to the facebook page, where she published updates about him and his works. And then another group of facebook denizens, Facebook Stories, filmed a short documentary about him, THE CONDITIONED.

People now started to notice this man on the streets. Now, there were people who came up to Raimundo and gave him gifts. They praised his poetry and stories. Then came a connection from a time long ago, a connection that had been severed for years. That reconnection led to a different life. You see, he has a brother. His brother found him via facebook and got back together with him - and offered him a home. So, now life has changed. He lives in a permanent home, has been able to clean off the grime, and got a haircut, too. Even in his new home, his friendship with Shalla is as strong as ever.

Raimundo, still living on the streets, meeting his brother after  years of no contact.

Raimundo still writes stories and poetry. He's looking for a publisher, his dream of seeing his works in a book still very much alive.

Raimundo, transformed, with his friend Shalla Monteiro.

Thanks to this article from Little Things.com: http://raimundo.littlethings.com/raimundo-homeless-writer/?utm_source=out&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=inspiring; this article from Anything Brilliant: http://anythingbrilliant.com/home/the-conditioned/; and the above links.

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