ABSTRACT
This ethnographic case study considers the role of relationship and humanness in creating wealth through well-being in a socio economically marginalized community. Though I am classically trained in business to conceptualize "wealth" in financial terms, I understand wealth linguistically as "that which brings value:' What is explored here, then, is the "value" created in individual lives through the transformative power of individuals who not only honor themselves and their life experience, but also honor others as equals. Doing this work requires that individuals come to know themselves beyond the boundaries created by social projections and economic labels (e.g., "dangerous drug addict" or "filthy poor people") . These relationships, grounded in profound and authentic humanness, can best be characterized by Martin Buber's "I-Thou" interactions (Buber, 1 923/ 1 970) . Traditional interactions for favelados, the people of Brazilianfavelas (shanty towns), are hierarchical relationships (Buber's "l-It" relationships), both with other classes of society and among themselves. The shift to I-Thou interactions brings value to the experience taking place between individuals, rather than locating wealth either in the individuals or in their possessions.
