Paper long abstract:

Within the disadvantaged region of Trancredo Novish, west Manaus, there is a constant battle between the Presbyterian Church and the gangs of the area for the recruitment of children. As a direct result of this battle the Little Disciples Project - an initiative to provide children in the area with a range of educational and emotional supports- was created. This paper, drawing from ongoing ethnographic research, aims to explore how the children of Trancredo both carve out a niche for themselves and exert a sense of agency over their lives through their use of the Little Disciples Project. I argue that through the changes in both the physical and moral landscape of the area as a result of the establishment of the Project, the children are able to negotiate their life paths and change how certain members of both the upper and lower echelons of Amazonian society view them.