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Tomazia Ferreira Martins has been living for 40 years at the same house in the hillside Rio shantytown of Rocinha - but as long as drug gangs ruled the neighborhood, she never got mail delivered at home.

Now that the government has flooded the area with police and soldiers and "pacified" her slum, letter carriers are delivering the mail in vans, and will soon deliver to each home.

Soldiers and police, backed by armored vehicles and helicopters, stormed Rocinha and two other shantytowns - known here as "favelas" - in mid-November.

The operation widened the security perimeter around Rio's residential and tourist area as Brazil prepares to host soccer's 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Ferreira Martins, 72, showed great mistrust when she opened her door to Alejandro Furlanatto, an engineer with the Rio city government. Furlanatto was with a team mapping Rocinha, which overlooks Rio's wealthiest neighborhoods.

"The goal is to map out the place, give the streets names, and number the homes. Then it will be up to the post office to give residents a postal code," Furlanatto said. Once that is complete, then they can get home mail delivery.

More than 1.5 million people, a third of Rio's population, live in some 1,000 slums perched on steep hillsides across the city. The areas have not been properly surveyed and appear as blank spaces on city maps.

Ferreira Martins answers questions from Furlanatto and his team, and is more relaxed by the end of the visit. Her three-floor brick home has finally been legalized. She has to meet municipal health and safety standards, and eventually she will get something millions take for granted: mail at home.

The challenge for the authorities after the massive security operation is to provide basic services like water, sanitation and lighting - and mail - in this labyrinth-like mini-city built on a hillside.

Questions:

1. How long has Tomazia Ferreira Martins lived in Rocinha?

2. When will the World Cup be held in Rio?

3. How many people live in Rio's 1,000 slums?

Answers:

1. 40 years

2. 2014

3. 1.5 million

（中国日报网英语点津 Rosy 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.