A final blog from Brazil

My final full week began with a common Brazilian theme - football. I went to the Pernambuco Arena with the some of the boys and staff from Hope House to see one of the local team's final game of the season. Sport (the name of the team) were playing São Paulo (from the Capital) who finished second in Brazil's top league. Anyone interested in world football might be aware that Kaka, one of the best players in the world a few years ago, has been playing for São Paulo this year. Unfortunately, he was not playing but I enjoyed the game, although one of the staff, Flavio, and one of the boys enjoyed seeing Sport win more as they support the team. It was a good goal to win the game (see link below)

Sport Recife 1 - 0 São Paulo

http://youtu.be/eZcvzT8_Z5I

This week seems to have been a week of parties - we have been to three!

Party number 1: This was arranged by a church community in Recife. They put chairs and tables out in front of a church in central Recife and encouraged street families to join them. During the evening, they danced for them, sang to the people, and gave out food including a little bit of cake. 

Party number 2: It was the final week of the English class for girls and to celebrate the end of term, we had cakes, ice cream, drinks and more cakes. We also watched 'Despicable Me' in Portuguese. Luckily for me, we had English subtitles. It was amusing this way as when the minions spoke, the subtitles simply said 'talking gibberish'. At the end of the party, gifts were presented to the teachers of the group and we were surprised to be included too! We have a lovely card from many of the girls although I need a little help reading it as it is naturally in Portuguese.

Party number 3: On Saturday morning, we had the biggest of all the parties. Almost all of the boys who attend the football project, came to the base for the Show de Bola party. It started rather early with the boys arriving from 8am - yes, 8 in the morning! Lots of activities were available including painted tattoos, trampolines, candy floss, playing in the swimming pool and even a couple of football tournaments - well, you can't have 100 boys who love football at a party without football!

In the morning, one of the staff, Frank from Senegal in Africa, who lives here with his family, organised two tournaments. I played in the African Cup of Nations tournament with my team. It was great fun but tiring and hot in the Brazilian sun. My team played really well and we won the tournament. It seems that playing with Brazilians has helped my football skills!

The boys all seemed to having a great time and really enjoyed playing in the pool. However, they then decided that they wanted to throw all the staff into the pool...including me! It was all done in good spirits and just for fun, although I am glad that they considered my lack of swimming ability and so they put me in the shallower end of the pool.

After lunch, the boys sat down for a presentation. During this time, they gave out gifts for commitment/attendance, and all of the boys received a gift too. The staff, including me, were also given a present.

It was a fantastic party and I will miss working with the boys. It has been really good to have had this opportunity and when I have seen the boys in and around the local community, they seem to have been pleased to see me too. 

In action!

The party in the pool 

The gifts ready to be given out

The presentations for Show de Bola

This coming week, I will be landing at Gatwick Airport, and I'm sure that I will see lots of signs of Christmas on my journey home including lots of Christmas lights and trees - things that are familiar to me regarding Christmas in the UK. Some of these customs also exist in Brazil, but Christmas here does have some differences:

Father Christmas, or as he is known in Brazil - Papai Noel wears red silk because it is too hot for him to wear the same clothes as he does in the UK. In Brazil, Santa Claus is called Papai Noel & Bom Velhinho (Good Old Man). 

There is a very common tradition among friends and families, called amigo secreto (secret friend). At the beginning of December, participants in the game write their name on a piece of paper. Each participant takes a paper (but does not reveal the name of the person on it). During the month there are exchanges of correspondence among the participants who use apelidos (fake names). At Christmas, family and friends gather to reveal their secret friends and offer them a special gift.

Favourite Christmas foods in Brazil include chicken, turkey, ham, rice, salad, pork and fresh and dried fruits.

Also, many people start the Christmas celebrations on Christmas Eve with fireworks and a big churrasco (barbecue).

Finally, there are many, many things that I will miss about Brazil but there are many things that I am also looking forward to about returning to the UK. Here a just a few of them:

I will miss being able to wear shorts day and night. 

I am looking forward to the weather being more like that associated with Christmas. Hot sunny days do not feel too much like Christmas.

I will miss the children we have met in both the projects and the on the streets.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at West Leigh again and meeting 6W properly.

I will miss being able to get Guarana almost anywhere - I don't think I would survive here without it!

I am looking forward to getting fresh milk. In this area of Brazil, fresh milk is less common; it would go off very quickly in this climate.

I will miss the friends we have made here including one incredibly friendly Brazilian who is originally from the Amazon.

I am looking forward to seeing my family, especially as it will be nearing Christmas.

And so we say goodbye. In a couple of days, we will be back home. Whether we return again, or keep in touch another way, it has been a very special time, and I am glad that I have been able to share it with you also.

Tchau!

A busy week...

The time here in Brazil has had ups and downs, and sometimes I have felt challenged by whether I could really help or not. Let me explain about one such time...

On Monday, I was helping in Hope House. One of the boys had some homework to do and was reluctant to do it. Eventually, he sat down to try it but it seemed difficult. I sat down with him and had a look at it. It was maths so it should have been well within my understanding but, even to me, it seemed to make little or no sense. At this point, I felt a bit helpless as I couldn't easily communicate with him due to my limited Portuguese and I didn't really know how to help him. At this stage, we could have both given up but we persevered. I got him to show me what he understood by the questions and even then I was still unsure. Using all of my mathematical understanding, I began to try what he showed me with numbers of my own and realised what was required. We proceeded to work on the questions together and got through them.

Something lovely happened the next day: I was approached by the same boy who wanted to show me something. He handed me his test that he had taken in school. Using what we had learned together, he had performed really well in his maths test and subsequently he felt proud about himself. The fact that he wanted to share this with me was touching. Don't underestimate the power of helping people. It was a challenge but, in the end, he felt good about himself and that is fantastic!

On Thursday, the English class for girls was a little different. Instead of the usual format, we spent the majority of the time playing games. This was one of the last sessions with the group before a break for Christmas. We played many fun games, some of which I may use in the future - they were great ideas. One idea that was not so great for me was a competition to build the best statue. My team wanted me to be their model and I said' yes'! The pictures below explain better than I could.

Deciding what to do!

Making a start.

On Friday, we once again visited homes in Recife. This is quite likely to have been our final home visit during our time in Brazil. During our time visiting, there were two things of great interest:

1) The mother was busy making jewellery using a range of materials including recycling aluminium cans. It was highly intricate work and she was creating beautiful products. She does this so that she can sell them to help support her family. Despite this, she wanted to share her work with us and gave us all a free gift of a bracelet which, considering her life and how much money she has, was an incredibly generous gesture.

2) There was a little girl (probably about 3 years old), who was sitting quietly. I approached her and offered to help her as she was trying to put a simple toy together. At first, she did not really want my help most likely because she did not know me well, but soon she accepted it. Soon, we were playing a game together using a few counters and a little plastic football net. During this time, her imagination came to life! She was pretending to be Brasil, then Germany, and in the end, even England. She was having great fun and so was I. Once we finished playing, she wanted to show me something. I eventually realised that she wanted me to cover my eyes as she wanted to surprise me. When I opened my eyes, she showed me a doll's basket and a pram. She obviously felt proud of these toys, and although the pram was broken, she really liked them. We continued to play and, despite the fact that her home would seem unbearable for us to live in considering our expectations, joy can still exist in that place if it is given the chance. I just hope that she has the opportunities that all of you have as she grows up.

And so, as we draw closer to Christmas, I want to challenge you yet again. This week, we also saw many families in a new location on the streets. They were on a busy corner near a bus station, with buses coming around the corner incredibly quickly and often dangerously. Here is where many families have set up for Christmas, where children are playing, where they will sleep and eat. They know that at Christmas, more things will be given to them by Churches and charities and that is why they have chosen this spot. As you approach Christmas, consider others, and try to avoid too many 'I wants'; many of you will know what I mean. Instead, try to spend time with others and enjoy their company - play a game, talk to relatives, listen to your grandparents' stories, offer to help your parents. Perhaps you can think of other good ideas too.

This week, I also had another great opportunity - to attend a football final for the project's under 13s football team. The final was held in a small local stadium and even though they lost 1-0, I was impressed with several things: how well they played, how respectful they were in defeat, the encouragement given to them by their coaches after the final, and their determination to never give up. It was how football should be and I saw many of the values in sport that I know we value at West Leigh also.

Preparing for the game

Where the boys usually train

Finally, in this epic blog entry, I want to share something fun with you. In Portuguese, the sounds of the vowels are different to those used in English. Therefore, reading words and saying them correctly needs  practice. One way of doing this, aimed at young children, is to use a song from an animated programme 'Galinha Pintadinha'. Why not try it for yourself. If you'd prefer, why not try the English version. Good luck - it's not easy! You'll see why!

Learning Portuguese sounds

http://youtu.be/0JkSpPZJDkE

English version

http://youtu.be/xdFCi4pRkDs

Until you read again (and my final blog entry from Brazil), tchau.

Taking things for granted!

In the UK, we have so many things that we enjoy and sometimes we want more. The hideous behaviour of some people on 'Black Friday' only goes to prove this! However, it is some of the basic things in life that are so important that we can take for granted and not fully appreciate. One of these is water.

On Sunday morning, we work up to find that there was no water in the base where we are staying. This caused problems including being unable to clean dishes, flush the toilet, wash our hands, have a cup of tea, or have a shower. During this time, it was inconvenient and a bit frustrating and even though it only lasted for a few hours, it was bad enough during that time. I'd like to challenge you for half a day to consider the effects on your day not having water would have. Each time you use water, think about what you would have to do if it was not available. For many of the families that we have visited, this is an ongoing issue as they do not have clean running water in their homes!

As our time nears an end in Brazil, we have also been lucky enough to be able to afford taking a few days away from the base and our work. Currently, I am writing this from a beautiful location in a resort called Porto de Galinhas, which translated means 'Port of the chickens'. It is a beautiful place and is considered to have one of the best beaches in Brazil! 

So why is is called 'Port of the chickens'? 

Until 1850, the town was called Porto Rico (Puerto Rico) when it became a place where people bought and sold slaves to work in the plantations of sugar cane. As this was illegal, passwords were created by the traffickers (people trading in slaves). When a ship arrived in town, as it was prohibited to mention slavery, the word spread as "there are new chickens in the port"; and so the place gained its name of Porto de Galinhas.

That's all for this week - a shorter blog, but I'm off to enjoy the rest of my stay here!

Tchau!

Building relationships

During the past week, we have continued working in the various projects that I have described in the previous entries, but on Friday, we had a special time in one of the favelas when visiting several families. The particular area that we went to is home to many of the families who go to one of the locations we visit in the evenings. When we go there and on home visits, we wear special t-shirts; mine is bright orange! Because of the t-shirts, and because of the positive relationships that grow between the families and the group, including ourselves, the children quickly recognise them when they see them. They become really excited to see us and that is why I was taken by surprise by a young child who ran up behind me and gave me a great big hug before I even realised that she was there. It was lovely to see her again. In fact, it was the same little girl who had painted my wife's nails in a previous week. 

We soon reached the family we were intending to visit first and by now there were several children around us. At this point, a friend of mine made an appearance out of our bag - Tutter (or Tutter de Mouse to give him his full name). If you are not aware of Tutter, perhaps ask a member of staff who has been at West Leigh for several years or one of my past pupils. Anyway, he had great fun with the children and they seemed to enjoy playing with him. It turns out that he can speak a little Portuguese; I never knew that! 

Tutter visiting a family in their home

Something interesting was evident during this time with Tutter though - some of the younger children had never seen a puppet and didn't seem to know how to use one. The older children did, but it made me realise that some of the toddlers don't get the wonderful array of experiences early in their life that those in the UK do!

Finally, for this week, I want to explain something that has hit me this week - the power of the projects! Although we have only been here for two months, we have got to know so many children through our involvement in football, teaching girls English, visiting the streets and working with those at Hope House. I am surprised how quickly this can happen and that is exciting. These projects really do have a positive impact on the lives of people. The people who work on them really care about the children and families they meet and it has been great to work alongside them. Of course our time is not yet at an end so we can still enjoy these opportunities for a few more weeks.

Unfortunately, not everything here is quite so great! On Monday, we were walking through the jungle taking the shortcut to Hope House when we noticed a huge spider in the middle of a massive web. That was interesting but what we saw next wasn't - at least 8 huge spiders all with webs of their own only a few steps further on! 

Hopefully they stay in their webs and I'll stay our of their way.

Tchau again!

Playing games

This week in the blog, I want to tell you about a project that is run in the local community that I have attended each week - brinquedoteca. This is the Portuguese word for toy and the club is open to children from the local area to come and play games. 

Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed being a part of this. The best way of visualising the club is to think of 'No Breakfast Club' at West Leigh. However, there are quite a few differences:

For the children attending this project, it enables them to learn how to play board games - an opportunity which is less common at their homes than it would be in the UK. They particularly enjoy traditional games like dominos, making a jigsaw, but love the opportunity to draw and create artwork. They also have the chance to play new games which, even for me, has been great fun. For these children, having the chance to play different games allows them the opportunity to learn new skills such as taking turns fairly, counting, and developing thinking skills in some of the more complex games. Without this club, the possibility of developing these vital skills would be much less. 

At the end of the session, the children have the option of borrowing a game from the club but they must be responsible with them. The pieces are checked and recorded when they take the game and when they return it. If they demonstrate that they can be trusted to look after it, they will be able to borrow another game if they wish. Such a simple idea is so good to see in action as it allows children who don't have as much the chance to play more.

I've even been influenced by the games at the club and am looking forward to getting some of the games when I return to the UK. 

Ligretto: one of the games that I have enjoyed.

Of course, not everyone knows how to play every game...especially if they are very young! This amused me on a visit to the streets on Wednesday evening.  A little boy wanted to play a game and we chose a travel version of Connect 4 to play. When we began playing, I realised that he didn't play by the 'normal' rules but instead it seemed to be a race to put all the counters into the frame. I lost as he used a tactic of holding and blocking my hand when I tried to put my counters in. We may not have been using the traditional rules but he was enjoying the game and that was the most important thing.

Children playing and drawing during a street visit

This week, we also visited three homes in the poorer areas of Recife again and these visits were really encouraging. Whilst there, we played with balloons, a little boy decided to throw the toy money he was given out the window into the river below (I hope he doesn't do that with real money), and we learned about how one mother works making and selling chips on the street to help support her family. Each of the families that we visited were given some food items (including oil, rice, crackers, pasta) and each famiily was really grateful to receive these.

I hope that you have been enjoying reading this blog and I have been encouraged to know that many people have seen it. In actual fact, I have been rather surprised. The internet makes communicating with a vast audience so easy and therefore, I have been very careful to chose my words thoughtfully especially when I know that my blog has been read in the UK, Brazil, USA, France, Spain, Ireland, Australia, Venezuela, Philippines, Ukraine, Germany, Italy and China!

A few less common things have also happened this week:

My wife had her nails painted by one of the children on the streets 

I had one nail painted when the girls were learning about makeup at their English class. They wanted to paint them all but I didn't feel that I suited the bright pink colour they had chosen! I hope the photo that was taken never appears on the internet!

I told a story in English to a class of girls (aged 10-14) who don't speak English! I had a translator but I think they enjoyed my overacting in the English version.

Until next time, tchau!

A small, small dot in Brazil

Imagine a tourist from Brazil visiting England and spending all their time in Leigh-on-Sea. They might have a lovely time and visit the shops on the Broadway, have a nice meal, eat seafood in Old Leigh, but would they be able to experience everything about life in the United Kingdom? No! They would know nothing of what it is like to live in the countryside in Yorkshire or a busy industrial city like Glasgow or about the lives of poorer people living on the streets in London. 

You might be wondering why I have started my blog this way but it is simple: If you look on a map of Brazil, you will see the vast nature of the country and that Recife in merely a dot. That dot is a huge city and to get from one part of it to another can sometimes take two hours or more on public transport. The things that I have explained to you exist here and many of these aspects exist elsewhere in Brazil but so do many other very different things too. For example, in some parts of Brazil, it is considered that people are more friendly or more hardworking. So really I am trying to say, do not judge all of Brazil on what you read in this blog; there is so much more to learn.

I have recently learned about another region in the north-east of Brazil called the Sertao. It is an area of Brazil which is very hot and often very dry, and in parts is a desert. You only need to compare the two following photos to see the comparisons between two regions which are both in the north-east of Brazil.

The desert in the Sertao

View from the base in Camaragibe

Another difference which I have learned of relates to foreigners visiting Brazil. Normally, tourists go to certain places when in Brazil - Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon Rainforest, Manaus but rarely Camaragibe on the outskirts of Recife, where we are. For this reason, we stand out as we look different to the vast majority of people here. 

I haven't mentioned wildlife too much recently so perhaps it is time to explain why caterpillars are dangerous. There is a fury caterpillar that exists here and if you were unlucky enough to touch it, it would cause the skin that it came into contact with it suffer a burning pain! A friend of ours explained this to us and that the pain lasted for hours. I have been more wary of caterpillars since then.

On Saturday, we spent the day in Boa Viagem (the area by the beach in Recife). It is beautiful there and there are lots of hotels for tourists but the sign in the photo below clearly put me off going for a swim in the sea!

Finally, with Christmas approaching, I'm sure you have seen more and more displays of Christmas trees and decorations in shops. We have seen that too but it seems strange especially when we consider the weather. We associate Christmas with the idea of snow but at Christmas here, it is the middle of the Summer! Also, even in their winter the average minimum temperature (at night) is 21 degrees celsius so anyone living in this part of Brazil who has not travelled far, will never have seen snow; it is merely something they have heard about. And this is why it is a dream for one of the boys at Hope House to see snow in his lifetime.

What is poverty?

Recently the blog has included many brighter stories and events but this week I want to discuss something that my brain has been struggling to fully understand.

I read a quote this week which made me think quite a lot. I don't know who said it but it carries a great deal of truth. The following is a paraphrase (my own words) of that quote:

 

'We think sometimes that poverty is being homeless, hungry and in need of clothes. But the poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is a much greater poverty.'

Since I have been in Brazil, I have viewed much of the first type of poverty and this is challenging enough to see. However, we mustn't forget that it exists in the UK as we learn that more and more families rely on Food Bank donations to help feed their families each week. We also know that there are homeless shelters in Southend and all over England which are needed greatly. 

I then began to consider how it must feel to be unloved, unwanted and uncared for! For the children living on the streets here in Recife, the initial cause leading them to this life will be at least one of these! For me, thinking about this can be uncomfortable especially as I have begun to get to know some of the children for whom this is a reality or is a part of their past. Even the boys currently at Hope House will have a story that began with this type of poverty.

I'm not going to go into details about any one child as that would be unfair to them and I know that I wouldn't expect a friend of mine to share my problems with the world on the internet. This is also why I have decided to not share a photo this week of any street children. I'm sure you understand this choice.

However, this type of poverty is not without hope! There are so many good people in the world and charities that do so much. Many of these help with food, clothes and homes. Others carry out the important job of showing care to someone and showing them that they are wanted and loved. I'd like to challenge you to do something in the coming weeks and months. Around you there are people who feel lonely, perhaps unwanted or unloved. This could be a pupil on the playground who has no one to play with or a grandparent who has very few visitors. Find time to show them that someone cares about them and that they are wanted. It might not change the world but it will change theirs!