Anti-racist education for a violence-free future

Dear Friends and Supporters

“what touched my heart was the work about racism” Quilombola mother

We’d like to start today by telling you about one of our successes, made possible by your wonderful donations - our relationship with the Cordoaria community!

“To the parents and management, I would like to say something, because I don’t have any contact with the staff … I thought [the Afroteca] was a library, … but on Friday [my son] came home with some activities he’d done … for careful reading and the material is so well organized and distributed in plastic envelopes, photographs, a magnet with a photo of my little boy, photos of joint activities and, what touched my heart, was the work about racism, which unfortunately still exists and seems to get stronger every day, and it’s so good to encourage them to say no to racism at this age, because there are still some things they say, which we keep correcting so they don’t reproduce them. May God continue to bless all those involved, [especially] the teacher who does the work with them, when I can, I’ll come over to support and accompany this wonderful project.” Message from one of the quilombola mothers

We’ve been working in the Cordoaria Quilombo for five years, this is the third year of activities with the children, in which we seek to build relationships with the families, because forging such links is so important for strengthening the conversation about a racism-free childhood. Over the years, we have developed and applied certain tools - two from 2025 are worth not#ing, since they have demonstrated powerful results:

Our Portfolio, which covers the semester’s activities with reflections on learning, group and individual evaluations and photos. This helps the families get to know Afroteca activities and strengthens our relationship with them.

Another strategy to bring us closer to the community is the Literary Bag. After being awarded the Preservar Prize, as part of the Bahia State Department of Culture’s Aldir Blanc National Policy to Promote Culture (PNAB), we were able to carry out the first stage of the Literary Bag. This is a powerful tool for children and young people to promote reading for pleasure, strengthen bonds, develop cognitive and emotional habits, broaden cultural range, and promote autonomy and responsibility.

Twenty-five families are involved in this project to read and share knowledge, in which our team and pupil volunteers go from house to house delivering bags full of knowledge!

The joy of the children when they receive their bags is so inspiring! Here are some of their reactions:

 “we’ve never had any books at home”

• “now I’m going to read to my mum”
• “are these our books?”
• “can I help deliver the books?”

 II – AFROTECA MUVUCA

Regular Workshops: work continues in our multiuse space using our archive of ethnic and race-based literature, with workshops for quilombola children based on anti-racist education, in line with Law 10639/2003.

We have doubled the number of participants over this period and are now working with 60 children from the Nossa Senhora do Santana Elementary School, including from the fourth and fifth grades, reading Yuri de Franco’s book Chupim (Shiny cowbird), a work that invites readers of all ages to reflect on their ancestry, emotions, memory and grassroots Brazilian culture, and Itamar Vieira Junior’s book Terra (Land), which dives into the universe of the Brazilian countryside with lyricism and social critiques, addressing themes such as child labor, inequality, belonging and affection.

Community Library: The PNAB award has enabled us to employ staff, allowing us, over the last three months, to open the Afroteca on Saturdays, something we’ve always wanted to do. Today children and community members of all ages can turn up on Saturdays for storytelling using a curated book based on relevant social issues. We’ve read: Somos todos iguais (We are all equal), Tudo bem ser diferente (It’s good to be different), Amor de Cabelo (Love of Hair), A semente que veio da África (The Seed that came from Africa), Da minha Janela (From my Window), Eu não gosto de histórias (I don’t like stories), O cabelo de Arthur (Arthur’s Hair) and O pequeno Príncipe Preto (The Little Black Prince) - an excellent collection of children’s books.

We’ve also run a movie session on the theme of Diversity, where the children were able to recognize themselves through the lens of cinema.

Saturdays are also a day for outdoor activities, reclaiming traditional games and making toys from recycled materials.

Afroteca at home: As noted, we are now delivering books from house to house. We have distributed 50 books in the literary bags so that families can enjoy shared reading. We plan to do this twice a month.

III – YOUNG PEOPLE:

+ Criativas:The group is having a break from its regular activities but new experiences are still taking place. In September, we visited one of our partners, the company Indorama, to consider the theme Industry that Inspires. A group of teenagers participated in a talk about mental health, there was a roundtable debate about professions, they visited the factory and were surprised to carry out a practical activity, in which they saw chemistry in practice. The idea is to stimulate these young people, take them out of their comfort zones and try out new experiences.

V – ADVOCACY:

Camaçari Social Organizations Forum: We continue working with the forum in our position of Vice-Director. On 27 September, the forum held a meeting on the theme of: Caring for those who care – training with strategies for self-care and emotional management, provided for 8 social organizations in our area. All the forum’s activities aim to strengthen the service provider network.

Camaçari Child and Adolescent Municipal Council (CMDCA): We have been elected as a substitute member of the council, which is an essential body for the promotion, protection and guarantee of the rights of children and adolescents. It functions as a bridge between civil society, the public authorities and policies aimed at this age range, which is why it’s so important for us to be involved. As a substitute member we can contribute to wide-ranging debates and use our experience to strengthen the collective.

Camaçari Racial Equality Conference: On 28^th July, we attended the 4^th Camaçari Municipal Conference for the Promotion of Racial Equality on the theme of “Redirecting Racial Equality Policies”. The event brought together representatives from civil society, social movements and the public authorities to debate proposals aimed at constructing a fair and more egalitarian society, with the following objectives:

• To guarantee equality of opportunity and combat discrimination;
• To promote active listening to traditional communities and ethnic/racial groups;
• To formulate public policies aimed at racial justice and historical reparation;
• To elect deputies for the IV State Conference for the Promotion of Racial Equality (CONEPIR), which took place in Salvador between 20 and 22 August.

The conference is an important milestone for the local anti-racist struggle, reasserting Camaçari’s commitment to the construction of inclusive and participatory public policies.

Launch of CASA 8, a memoir by Juracy Bahia, Viva a Vida’s President: From the age of 8 months to 18 years, Juracy lived in a Children’s Home, then moved to a Young People’s Hostel, where stayed until he was 21. He has brought these life experiences together in a memoir CASA 8, which was launched at an event in September, attended by educators, managers, friends and family. The Viva a Vida team curated the event, which featured strong emotions and powerful memories.

This important and uplifting book can be used for discussions about these types of institutions, the challenges they pose, family and community inclusion, autonomy and preparation for adult life, the risks of social vulnerability, public policies for those in care and care leavers, accompanying care leavers, networks and support, active listening and empowerment.

VI – Training: Hearts and Minds Learning. Évelin, our Coordinator, is finishing this course, which aims to develop social, emotional and ethical skills for work with children and adolescents, learning about mindfulness, self-compassion, resilience and interdependence. We believe in providing our staff with training to strengthen their emotional techniques, since our work involves all kinds of vulnerable situations and challenges. The course is run online by the GAIA+ Group.

Dear Friends!

Today we focus our attention on our recent successes in:

NETWORKS, NEW PARTNERSHIPS & OTHER PERSPECTIVES! 

Over its 21 years of existence, with support from our fantastic donors, Viva a Vida has strived, planned and connected with others so that we can grow as an institution within a network, supporting social oversight.

That's why we participate in municipal councils, forums and collective arenas. With the Afroteca Muvuca: community library project, we have started to join other arenas and to celebrate the possibility of becoming part of new networks.

We are now officially on the municipal and state registry of community libraries in the municipality of Camaçari and the state of Bahia, which has already supported us through book donations and support for our literary fair; and now we are on the contact list of libraries to apply for public funding.

Through the Pedro Calmon Foundation, as part of Bahia State Culture Department, we have joined the library network and recently received a donation of 63 books. We are also applying for funding from the Ibero-American Public Library Program, an opportunity we only became aware of because of this partnership.

I picked up the books at the Pedro Calmon Foundation and was impressed by the respect and admiration everyone has for the Afroteca. They recognize that it is the only physical library containing ethnic-race based literature in Bahia. Ramon Carneiro, member of VAV’s Board of Trustees

At the level of private partnerships, we have received support from the company Boticário to present the team and the community with beauty kits. We used these kits to engage the community as part of a strategy to organize a cooperative, which now supplies food to the state government, generating income and dignity for local families. This demonstrates the importance of actions that may appear small, but which, when working through a network, have a range of benefits and results.

You are always thinking about the community, about the small details. Thank you! These actions are so important because, above all, they value women. Tamara Reis, youth leader in the Cordoaria Quilombo (commenting on the distribution of the kits).

And finally, one more reason to celebrate the power of networking and our persistence in apply for funds - we have been honored with the Preservar Award, part of the Aldir Blanc National Policy for Promoting Culture (PNAB) through the Bahia State Culture Department. Following our registration as a public library, this means we can now receive funding in this category. From next month onwards, we'll be able to provide community workshops every Saturday in reading, theatre, visual arts and storytelling. The library will be now open every Saturday with book loans and literary bags, which will be given to 30 families so that they can share reading moments at home.

II - AFROTECA MUVUCA

Regular Workshops: we have maintained our activities in the multipurpose space with our ethnic-race basedliterature collection, with workshops for the quilombola children, based on anti-racist education, in line with Law 10.639/2003.

We have worked with 33 elementary school children from the Nossa Senhora do Santana School reading the books ‘What hairstyle shall I go for?’ by Kiusam de Oliveira, which deals with diversity and black beauty, and ‘The Girl who Hugged the Wind’ by Fernando Paraguassu, which tells the story of a Congolese refugee girl.

We're getting ready for the second half of the year, when, once again, we’ll be working with more than 100 children from the other three Quilombo schools, with an educational program full of new experiences.

III – YOUNG PEOPLE:

1. + Criativas: This year the group is only focusing on girls. Since last year’s pilot, there are now six girls from the Quilombo who actively participate in workshops on various topics. Over the last few months, the theme has been IDENTITY, where we've talked about puberty and everything related to this phase. We’ve been lucky to have support from psychologist Dil, who kindly took part on a voluntary basis.

I never had sex education at home, this is such an opportunity. I didn't even know how to start talking about it with my mum. Elane, a VAV trainee

I don’t think I’d be able to talk about these subjects at home, I’ve learnt everything myself. Geovana, a young participant

IV - COMMUNITY - BOTICÁRIO

In partnership with this company, we held a round table discussion with the Bahia State Government about entrepreneurship and family farming, which led to the formalization of a cooperative in the Quilombo. A group of 20 people are now supplying the state government with family farming products and those produced in the flour house.

It's something we’ve fought for over many years and now it's come true. I can’t believe it. It's working well, we have someone from the community who controls the buying and selling, we issue invoices. It's changed so much for us. Jaciara, Beijuzeira leader.

V - ADVOCACY

The Camaçari Forum of Coastal Social Organizations (focused on the population along Camaçari’s coastline) is a strategic part of Viva a Vida’s efforts to strengthen social movements in the area. We hold bimonthly meetings, and have received training from Regina Santana on Nonviolent Communication, which is so important for the preparations of social organizations in serving their beneficiaries.

As Deputy Director of the Camaçari Forum of Coastal Social Organizations, I would like to highlight the progress the forum has made, in just a few months, for organizations and projects in the region. We have obtained funding for structural activities within the forum, training and visibility. Évelin, VAV Coordinator

The latest news is that we have received funding from a private company to hold the first Forum for Social Organizations, with employability workshops, ethnic-racial storytelling workshops, training for NGOs and resources to help formalize projects that need support in their compliance documentation.

VI - PARTNERSHIPS - Pedro Calmon Foundation

We received a donation of 63 books from the Pedro Calmon Foundation to boost the Afroteca collection. There were many different titles, but most are related to the themes of our anti-racist education work. This is a highly significant partnership for us, because it strengthens our relationship with the state government and as a public library.

Huge thanks, as ever, to all of you for making all this possible!