Staff
Esdrianne Cohen
- dandy.cohen@wordmadeflesh.org
- Country
- Brazil
Esdrianne Cohen was born on January 3 in the bairro of Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was raised until age 13 by her maternal and paternal grandparents in Rio de Janeiro and Capanema, in the Brazilian state of Pará. They gave her Christian homes in which biblical teachings were rigidly taught, and she accepted Jesus as her savior when she was a young girl.
At age 13, Esdrianne moved to live with her mother, where she was introduced to another side of life and rebelled against her upbringing, involving herself in once-prohibited activities like spiritism (macumba). After the suffering that came with such experimentation and lifestyles, one day she decided to make a life-changing decision. After hearing a television preacher speak, Esdrianne remembered her past and the teachings of her grandparents, and asked God for a second chance. Together with her young daughter, Isabella, Esdrianne began a new life. In 2003, while working, she was introduced to Projeto Vidinha and also her future husband, Alex Araújo. Projeto Vidinha is a philanthropic institution that assists needy children. Alex was and is one of the most dedicated people at Projeto Vidinha and the love that he has for this work infected Esdrianne too: after a few months, she became a volunteer at the project. They began a relationship that blossomed: on June 24, 2006, they were married at their church, Igreja do Nazareno da Tijuca II, and joined their two families into one. They have three lovely children: Isabella, Arthur, and Júlia.
In 2004, Esdrianne met WMF staff through the work at Projeto Vidinha. Their relationship deepened and in 2006, Esdrianne began helping with the work on the streets. In January 2007, she became the first Brazilian to be part of WMF Brazil. The work on the streets, is, for Esdrianne, "very gratifying. Since I was a child, my family always taught me the lesson that loving one's neighbor is fundamental in fulfilling the will of God. It is because of this that my heart overflows with joy to help people." She is currently the secretary of Projeto Vidinha and a street educator on contract with WMF Brazil.