Feed and Educate Children in Salvador, Brazil

Dear Supporters, 

At the end of the December, Andrea, our school teacher, successfully passed her fourth semester at teacher training college – she is doing very well and enjoying every minute, whilst our students benefit from all the new techniques and ideas she is learning. Andrea will be a fully qualified teacher 2 years from now, a fabulous achievement, especially given how hard she works in the school during the day.

Before term finished for the end of year holiday, the school held a Christmas party and you can see some of the wonderful photos here. 56 students attended and many brought their parents along for the event – we are always very happy to engage parents and carers in the work we do at the school. In previous years, the local government have provided a Christmas present for each child in poverty stricken areas, however, this policy was scrapped in 2016 due to economic and political problems in Brasil. To ensure that all of our students received at least one present, Andrea organised fun but educational gifts for all the kids – made possible with your donations. There were board games, doctor’s sets and toy vehicles handed out by our very own Santa Claus and the children were ecstatic – it was lovely to see them proudly and excitedly clutching their gifts as they left.

In the photos of the party, you will also see some of our wonderful school staff. They all deserve a special mention – Eliana is our school administrator, Andrea is the head teacher and is assisted by teachers Tatiana and Maria Auxiliadora, Sonia is in charge of the kitchen, with help from Vandi and Marinalva takes care of cleaning, maintenance and assists with the youngest children. Sonia and Vandi ensured that all our children left for the end of year holidays with a food package of rice, vegetables, fruit and pasta, to help ensure they remained nourished over the holiday period. Holidays are important in Salvador as we have a large migrant population – many of our families use the time to return to their home towns and villages in the arid interior of the state.

Andrea, Tatiana and Maria Auxiliadora will be focusing on the theme of nature for the Summer term..expect lots of great photos of our student’s wildlife projects in the next report…with the jungle just outside the back door of the school, the kid’s certainly have great access to the subject matter!

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your donations that enable us to continue the work of our school – they are greatly appreciated. On behalf of the children of Mata Escura we wish all our donors the very best for 2017.