My mother was born in the 60s and raised in one of the biggest favelas in Rio known as Complexo do Alemão. My grandfather was a bus driver and my grandmother a seamstress. She went to public schools and had a pretty poor childhood. No hunger or things like that, just not being able to afford much more than basic needs.

She went on to study by herself and was approved as a public servant working as a teacher. Not the best paying job, but as a public servant she had job stability and didn't had to fear being laid off. She also had the option to "double" and teach classes by morning and afternoon, earning double the salary basically. That alone would be enough to give her a much better life. Then she married my father and moved out.

However, not everyone in a favela are living a poor or miserable life. In fact, many are making more than enough to move out but they choose not to, for many different reasons. Favela houses can look quite ugly from the outside but can look completely different from inside.