By Emma Astels | Project Co-ordinator
Dear Supporter,
The Carnaval celebrations in Salvador are the largest in Brasil – last year over 600,000 tourists visited the city for the week-long festival. Schools are closed during Carnival week, a public holiday, during which time many people travel back to the countryside to visit family. For other families in
Schools are closed during Carnival week, a public holiday, during which time many people travel back to the countryside to visit family. For other families in Salvador, Carnaval offers a much-needed opportunity to earn some money. Small enterprises spring up all over the beachfront district during this period, and although the local authorities have been tightening the restrictions on unauthorised street vendors, a very large number of the city’s children still earn money that week selling drinks, snacks and souvenirs and finding parking spaces for drivers. We have witnessed children as young as 4 years old selling canned drinks along the Carnaval route. The situation for these kids is far from ideal, but it would be naïve to try and prevent families from taking advantage of this opportunity.
Unfortunately, there is a darker side to Carnival – crime rates (already amongst the highest in Brasil) take a dramatic rise during this week. Pickpocketing and drug dealing reach endemic levels and children, owing to their size and protection from prosecution are sadly often involved. It is the continued work of our school to try and protect our students from becoming involved in Salvador’s criminal side. At the school our kids marked the Carnaval celebrations with a party – there
At the school our kids marked the Carnival celebrations with a party – there is lots of dancing and games and students helped to decorate the classrooms. Our older students also helped teacher Andrea with a huge spring clean of the school.
The return to school after the Carnival holiday marks the start of a new academic year in Brasil and we are currently welcoming lots of first-time students through the doors. Andrea is doing a fabulous job of settling them in and making them feel welcome. We are always very proud of how our older kids welcome new students so warmly and new friends are made very quickly.
An update on the Zika Virus
All of Brasil is currently caught up in the Zika virus crisis. With Salvador’s tropical climate, illnesses borne by mosquitos have always been an issue – dengue fever is common amongst the local population. Dengue prevention campaigns in the previous years have made the local population aware of the risks of leaving open water sources where mosquitos can breed. For the most part, people are very vigilant about this and teacher Andrea has been doing some refresher work with the kids to remind them of the danger. The problem for our community lies in what they cannot control – the lack of sewer systems and running water in many homes and the very poorly maintained drains in other areas. Flash flooding is very common in Salvador and we are entering the rainy period when mosquitos are at their most prevalent in the city – everybody is rightly concerned that without proper government assistance, the efforts of the locals to control the Zika mosquito will not be enough.
Thank you for your continued support!
With Gratitude,
Emma
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