Train Brazilians in Sustainable Culinary Arts

Feliz Ano Novo! Happy New Year!

We are excited to embark on a new year and want to thank all of our supporters for helping us start off 2020 on strong footing.

For this report, we want to update you on a program of the Sustainable Culinary School that we first shared with you back in October: Culinary Arts and Therapy: The Kitchen As a Place of Healing. This project has been a true success, lasting 5 months and serving 75 women from the community, many of whom shared how transformative the program was for them.

One of those women was Rafaela, 28 years old. Rafaela came to the program with her mother. For the past two years, Rafaela had been in treatment for depression and panic attacks. She joined the program as another means of treatment. She shares:

For me, the Culinary Arts and Therapy program represents an opportunity to grow, improve, get to know myself better, learn, and so much more. It was so much more than just a professional development opportunity. I learned how to interact with others, how to appreciate and value others, and how to value myself. This program gave me the strength to finally recognize that all of us – myself included – are capable of learning and of being valued. I felt welcomed, not judged, and by being treated that way, I learned how to treat others that way, too. 

For another participant, Maury, the program was also transformative. She shares:

I am 35 years old and since I was 17 I’ve worked in commerce. In my last job as a manager, I started developing several health problems. I didn’t understand exactly what was happening nor why. I suffered from constant irritability, pain, shortness of breath, drowsiness, and a lack of motivation to do the things that I used to love doing. I spent a week without working because I was having headaches, dizziness, tightness in my chest, and weakness in my legs. I made several trips to the hospital, but all they said was that I had migraines and was under a lot of stress. That is, until one day when I couldn’t breathe and I almost felt like dying would have been a relief. I wasn’t sleeping or eating well and I had lost a lot of weight. I was down to only about 100 pounds. 

My mom encouraged me to get tested for depression and lo and behold, I was. I also received a diagnosis for generalized anxiety. I was prescribed medication. When I went back to work and presented my doctor's note, I was fired within a few weeks time. The medication wasn’t helping and I was performing worse and worse. I saw the firing as a relief, as I was in such a dark place and wasn’t capable of keeping up with the pressures of work.

I sought out psychological treatment, but was met with waiting list after waiting list. I knew I needed to get help. I have a 10-year-old daughter and I needed to get my act together so I could be there for her. It was during this dark time that I learned about MSMCBJ on Instagram. I mustered up the courage to go visit the organization. I was welcomed and began receiving individual therapy, then group therapy. This intervention was transformative; I began to feel more energy and motivation to live and to get back to my old life.

I also participated in the Culinary Arts and Therapy program. There I found yet another way to overcome everything I was facing. In the program, we learn how to cook and then take a break during the class to do group therapy. During group therapy, the facilitator helps us relax, reflect, and rebuild our self-esteem.

The program was so helpful to me that I became a volunteer. In the 8 months or so that I have been coming to MSMCBJ, I have felt so welcomed and healed and I want to pay it forward so that others can have that same transformation. It feels really good to feel good about myself again and to help others feel that way about themselves, too. I learned that life is not just about achieving goals, but also about loving your neighbor, particularly when they are ill. There are so many people in my community who are ill and have no hope for the future. We’re struggling not only materially, but also emotionally and spiritually. 

I am now a receptionist for MSMCBJ, and I provide what people are most looking for when they come to us: empathy, welcoming, attention, and affection. I have seen the power of MSMCBJ to help heal myself and it’s an honor to now be one of those people who can help heal others. There are many people like me who have had their lives transformed by this organization. MSMCBJ not only helps people gain the practical skills to be able to provide for themselves and their families, but also to be strong mentally and emotionally, so that people become the protagonists of their own lives, rather than victims of their circumstances.

Thank you to all of the GlobalGiving donors who help make this possible. 

There you have it folks. MSMCBJ is not about charity. MSMCBJ is about social change – empowering vulnerable community members to overcome their challenges and direct their own lives. Your support is invaluable to that mission. 

Obrigada (thank you).

In solidarity,

Natasha Baker (Development Volunteer)

Mitakuye Oyasin
Îandé Memé Maranongara
Somos Todos Parentes
We Are All Related