Feed a Hungry Child in Brazil Today

A big hello from the Educandário Comunitária Sonho da Vovó Clara (ECCSVC) or Grandmother Clara’s Dream Educational Community School in Mata Escura, Brazil. It’s been a busy summer – we are currently renovating a large indoor space which provides respite from the sun (and the rainy season) for the children to play, blow of steam and assemble for group activities and celebrations. This month we have been working very hard to replace the floor with tiles, that will help the kids stay cool and be easy to clean.

We have also been working on a new project – Projeto Leitura – or Project Reading. This is a big push to focus on reading skills, but also on the magic that books and storytelling can bring to children’s lives. Our teachers have worked really hard, alongside the older children, to decorate the classrooms to capture the children’s imaginations for make believe and story time exercises, the children and teachers have been acting out their favourite tales and enjoying daily group reading sessions.

We also celebrated Dia dos Avos – or Grandparents’ Day – on the 26 th July when we invited the grandparents of our 107 students to attend for a special celebration, where the children was singing songs and performing some prepared dances. We have also acknowledged that many of our students do not have grandparents who live locally. Many of our families have migrated from the state of Bahia’s extremely poor interior region – young families searching for work and opportunities often end up in favelas like Mata Escura, on the outskirts of Salvador, leaving behind older relatives in the countryside. Students have prepared cards for grandparents who can’t attend the celebration, practicing their drawing and writing skills, and also in a more general sense we have discussed the importance of caring for the elderly in our town.

The school’s teaching coordinator, Eliana, has specifically asked me to express her gratitude for all the support and donations that the school has received. She has asked me to convey just how important this help has been and continues to be in the lives of the children that attend the school. Without donors like you we would close and these children would be on the streets. Your donations this month provided daly fruit and a hot meal for all the children and also funded the props to decorate our classrooms and purchase 10 new story books. 

Funds are tight so please do help us continue to purchase food and resources in August and beyond, every donation goes a very long way over here and I 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.