Feed a Hungry Child in Brazil Today

Dear Supporters,

Greetings from a very quiet Educandário Creche Comunitária Sonho da Vovó Clara (ECCSVC) or Grandmother Clara’s Dream Educational Community Creche in Mata Escura, Brasil. Sadly, as we are seeing across the world, we have been forced to close to comply with lockdown restrictions in the fight to slow the transmission of Covid-19. This deadly virus is hitting everybody hard at the moment, but that blow is most acutely felt in poor communities like ours.  

Poverty stricken areas struggle to be able to take the basic measures needed to stay safe - on a practical level many homes in Mata Escura lack basic sanitation to make regular hand washing a possibility and sanitizing hand gel, gloves, masks, extra quantities of soap – these are items that are not in the budget of our families. As waves of panic buying have hit Salvador many of our families have been left behind – you cannot stockpile if you do not have expendable income. Consequently, many of our families have been very worried about dwindling supplies of basic items like baby formula, flour and eggs in the local stores. For our parents that work, most are employed in either essential manual services – for the transport system, refuse collection, cleaning, working in supermarkets etc and as such as still working – or in unofficial roles such as selling items on the beach, in the markets etc – there is no support in place for these workers, therefore there is little choice for many but to keep heading out and looking for ways to make money. It is a terrible dilemma faced by poor families, there is no lack of appreciation of the seriousness of the crisis, but when you have mouths to feed how do you stay home? 

Fortunately cases of Covid-19 in the local area have so far been limited, but there is evidence that numbers are beginning to rise sharply. This is extremely concerning given the poor, crowded and unhygienic state of the local public hospitals, coupled with poor diet and healthcare that will mean many locals, both young and old, will be disproportionately affected by the illness. The atmosphere in the area at the moment is one of fear and tense expectation.  

For our part the ECCSVC is doing what it can to help. Our school cooks have continued to cook up a storm – offering food for collection each day to our students and their families. We have also put together food and essentials parcels for families to take home – including comestibles and cleaning/hygiene supplies. Whilst our teachers have been unable to come to work due to the restrictions in place, our school administrator Eraldo, who lives on site, has been available every day to talk, support parents, to advise, help with practical solutions to the dilemmas they are facing, administer emergency aid and point families in the direction of the government assistance available.

 As in communities all over the world, Mata Escura is battling on. There will be tales of awful tragedy before this fight is over as I am sure there will be tales of wonderful community spirit and success against the odds; and the odds are stacked against many here. These are resilient people, with big, bold hearts and a fabulous ability to stay smiling through the roughest of times and I am sure they would want me to wish everyone the very best, stay safe and stay positive. 

On an entirely different note and in the spirit of focussing on the positive – our wonderful Andrea finished her studies just before the Corona outbreak took hold and has now qualified as a teacher. Andrea has worked in the school for nearly a decade and is beloved by staff and students alike for her calmness, kindness and fabulous sense of humour. We have been supporting Andrea to attend night classes at the local college and our students have already been benefiting from all the new techniques, knowledge and resources she has acquired. We are so proud of you Andrea, you have always been a marvellous teacher, but now it’s official! 

Thank you once again for your fabulous support that makes our work and the success of the children of our school a possibility.

With love and best wishes from the community of Mata Escura,

Brazil Education

Dear Supporters,

At our school,The Educandário Creche Comunitária Sonho da Vovó Clara (ECCSVC) or Grandmother Clara’s Dream Educational Community Creche in Mata Escura, Brasil, students are currently in the middle of their Christmas and Carnival break. This is the longest holiday in the school year in Brazil and coincides with the year’s hottest weather, when temperatures soar and studying in un—air conditioned classrooms can become impossible. Our project still works hard to support the local community during this period – we provide food parcels of rice, pasta and vegetables for our students to take home, to ensure they continue to eat well during the holidays. We also still offer reinforcement classes for older children and the school buildings remain open for children who want to pop in off the streets and play, dance or chat to our school founder, Sr. Eraldo, who is always a friendly face. 

The end of Christmas term was full of celebration in the school.  The Christmas party was a great success, with lots of dancing and games. There was also a small gift from Santa Claus for each child – only possible thanks to the kind donations we have received. Most of our students won’t receive gifts at home – in many cases their parents simply do not have the funds for this. They were ecstatic with the gifts they received at the party, although a little suspicious that Santa Claus might in fact have been Sr. Eraldo.  

This year we also decided to mark some exceptional educational achievements in the school by holding a graduation ceremony for the students completing the first and second stages of their primary education. This was the first year we have held these ceremonies and they had a huge emotional impact on our students – it was so great to see them celebrate their academic work and realise the rewards and recognition that can come from participation in education. The ceremony also created a huge sense of pride amongst the parents that attended. In a community where education has been so underfunded and neglected by the authorities, it is key that we continue to reinforce the significance of learning amongst our families.

For the past week our school teacher Andrea has been working hard to prepare the school for the new term and she has also been receiving visits from new students and their parents wishing to enrol. It’s great that we will have lots of new faces for 2020 and we are really hoping that all our regulars return – we know that many have travelled to the interior of the state to visit family. It is normal for some families decide to remain in the countryside after the festive period and, alongside the new faces we welcome, we are always prepared for some students to disappear. This is a pattern we witness every year; most of our families have migrated to Salvador from the very poor and barren interior of the state looking for employment. Unfortunately the promise of regular work in the city does not become a reality for most. We believe we will see a net increase of students this year, but we must wait and see.  

Thank you once again for your fabulous support that makes our work and the success of the children of our school a possibility. Happy New Year or Feliz Ano Novo! 

With Gratitude,

Brazil Education