By Natasha Baker | Development Volunteer
Feliz Ano Novo! Happy New Year!
In our first update of 2021, we want to share with you some of the work the Sustainable Culinary School has done to respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which continues to devastate Brazil.
As we all know, social distancing is a key preventative measure, but it also has enormous impacts on mental health and well-being. Social distancing measures have also been devastating to employment opportunities for the self-employed, which make up most of those whom the Community Mental Health Movement serves. We want to share with you how the Sustainable Culinary School has responded to this crisis, particularly when it comes to addressing hunger.
In the past few months, we have hosted 24 communal meals, as well as distributing meals twice a week, reaching approximately 3,600 people in the Marrocos neighborhood of Fortaleza. Included in these food distributions were cakes, breads, and cookies that were all made by students of the Sustainable Culinary School. It is always our goal to create networks of well being and solidarity and through shared meals, we advance our goal.
We interviewed Ariana for this report. Ariana is a mother of two – Matheus and Ryanna – both of who participate in our Sim a Vida Yes to Life anti-drug program for children. Ariana shared with us that the food assistance is so helpful. As a single mom who has lost her job because of the pandemic, Ariana is grateful to know she can count on the Community Mental Health Movement to feed her family.
We also talked to Carlenia, a student of the Sustainable Culinary School, about what it was like to be part of this COVID-19 hunger response effort. Carlenia shared that it felt good to be able to share her talents and skills by making homemade cakes for those most in need. Carlenia lives in Bom Jardim, the Fortaleza neighborhood where the Community Mental Health Movement is headquartered, and wished she just had more resources so she could have donated more cakes!
So in these difficult times, we refocus on solidarity, on our connectedness, on supporting each other. Because, after all, we are all related.
Muito obrigada (thank you) to all of our supporters who make this work possible,
Natasha (Development Volunteer)
Mitakuye Oyasin
Îandé Memé Maranongara
Somos Todos Parentes
We Are All Related
By Natasha Baker | Development Volunteer
By Natasha Baker | Development Volunteer
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