For years this favela in Brazil was controlled by the brutal Third Command drugs gang who ran extortion rackets, imposed curfews, and kept the terrified population in line with violence. Almost a quarter of the homes in the in Chapéu Mangueira and Babilônia neighbourhood, built with whatever materials the poor residents could get their hands on,  still have no running water or electricity. But for one night only 11 girls from this hillside shanty town in Rio de Janiero were able to forget the misery of their daily lives and become princesses at their very own debutante ball. Scroll down for video
@highlight
Debutante balls are traditional for Brazilian girls on 15th birthday and some families will spend $50,000 on event
@highlight
But even modest parties are beyond the reach of those living in favelas and surviving on average of $30 per week
@highlight
Local police have been helping to organise events for country's poorest in effort to rebuild trust in authorities
Some of the girls are reduced to teas after arriving at an upmarket tennis club in @placeholder that volunteered its premises for their ball