Brazil
Background
Brazil is South America's most influential country, an economic giant and one of the world's biggest democracies. Its natural resources are highly prized by major manufacturing nations. It has a rich and diverse culture and is revered for its football prowess.
But there is a wide gap between rich and poor. Much of the land is controlled by a handful of wealthy families. Social conditions can be harsh in the big cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where a third of the population lives in favelas or slums.
Volunteer Opportunities
The Living Learning Together Programme was begun by the Assumption Sisters in 2001 to provide educational opportunities for the most disadvantaged families in the Santa Teresa district of Rio de Janeiro. The high degree of poverty here and the absence of State intervention leaves the families in vulnerable situations. The drugs market is seen as attractive employment, including employing children. Thousands of children are at social risk and have their full development hampered and their basic fundamental rights are not protected.
The Program workers seek to give people an environment that promotes the full development of their potential, the strengthening of their self-esteem, and access to information and culture. They encourage the exercise of rights and duties, to allow for social inclusion and local development. Their actions are guided by the educational ideas of Paulo Freire, ie. the development of critical consciousness as the determining factor to overcome oppression and social inequalities. They use participatory methods, particularly in informal contexts and workshops.
Currently the Living and Learning program is running 2 projects which need workers with fluent Portuguese. One offers psycho-therapy and speech therapy, and medical and dental care. Because the community also expressed the need for a place for their children and adolescents after school so that they would not be tempted into drug trafficking the second project helps children and teenagers to stay at school and gain qualifications with reading and writing workshops and homework classes.
British volunteers are welcome and needed in the second project for the teaching of conversational English to students of all ages. The volunteer will mainly be responsible for the planning of basic and conversational English classes for children of 8-10, 11-13, and 14-16 years old with varied methods including music and games. The children are also in touch with a British school and need help and guidance with posting messages on the blog, for example. The volunteer can also assist teachers with computer classes, arts workshops, the organic vegetable garden, cooking workshop and sports, and will produce a monthly newsletter to be sent to friends of the project in Britain and posted on the blog and on the homepage. It is also hoped to offer English classes to the adult residents of the communities. Out of class, the skills of the volunteer would also be used in organizing and cataloguing books for the library, helping to purchase provisions for the project and participating in the varied community projects at the centre.
The Development for All Programme helps to improve the living conditions of rural communities in North East Brazil. The work includes building decent housing, water projects, formation of community associations, primary health care, pastoral ministries, rural women's projects, agricultural projects and training courses for rural leadership. Volunteer participate in some of these projects while teaching conversational English in rural schools.
We work in partnership with Volunteer-in-Brazil. For further details and pictures of the projects, or for shorter periods than one year see www.volunteer-brazil.co.uk