Brazil isn't just football but it is a lot!

Last time I wrote this blog, I mentioned that I was going to do something exciting and I did! I went with two Brazilian friends to a football match held at the Pernambuco Arena which was one of the World Cup stadiums. We went to see Santa Cruz, a team from Recife, play Vasco da Gama, a team from Rio de Janeiro. The stadium was beautiful and the atmosphere was electric at points. I have been to many games in the UK but the noise and intensity when Santa Cruz scored was more than I had ever experienced!  Have a look for yourself using the link below.

http://youtu.be/bJON2oiLP2c

An interesting story related to this match was that one of the players who was in the Santa Cruz squad had grown up with his football training at Show de Bola - the project run by at the base where we are staying. Although the player in question did not play on this occasion, it is really exciting to know that the project helped to shape his life and he fulfilled his potential and dream by becoming a professional footballer. 

This week, I also helped with the Show de Bola project although I mostly ended up playing 6-a-side football with them. It was great fun to play with them. The various teams (different age categories) were preparing for matches in a large competition this weekend. All the teams played really well and won (if my Portuguese has understood correctly). If you are wondering how good they are, the following video will show you - a great free kick on a dusty pitch.

http://youtu.be/Pc37lkfytn8

This week hasn't all been about football though! On Monday, I spent the day in Hope House with former street boys. It was a great day and included more loom bands, playing football and I was also able to help two of the boys with maths. We were learning about equivalent fractions so we used fruit in the kitchen and had a penalty shootout outside! In the evening, we went with the boys to a funfair in Camaragibe. Although the rides were quite simple in comparison to some of those you might know about, that didn't make them less scary! As a result of a relaxed view to safety, they were actually much more terrifying!

The boys who are Hope House have had several great opportunities this week. 

Sunday: they were taken to the beach

Monday: they went to the funfair 

Friday: they were part of a fancy dress party

Not every week is like this, but I hope it shows how much the staff who work there try to make their lives the best they can be. The boys also have responsibilities with homework, cleaning and they are expected to do all their washing. However, they also know that if they behave well, they can be rewarded with privileges such as being able to use the washing machine instead of washing by hand.

Finally, I want to share something that touched me on Wednesday evening. During a visit to the streets of Recife in which the main aim is to develop relationships with street families and street children, I was sitting next to a young man who was colouring in a picture using the things we had taken with us. He was in his teens and was really focused on the task and seemed to be enjoying it. It is important to realise that although this may not be normally enjoyed by teenagers in the UK, his life is not like those of teenagers in the UK! When he finished it and had signed it, I was thrilled when he decided to give it to me (see below).

Perhaps that wasn't the final thing...

On the Metro (equivalent to the London Underground)  people are not allowed to sell things but they do...a lot! You can buy:

crisps, chocolates, sweets, nuts, popcorn, CDs, combs, small toys, keyrings, water, headphones, sunglasses, jewellery, credit card holders, story books etc

People pay in cash but apparently in Rio, where there is even more that can be bought, they even accept credit card payments!

Bye again!

This isn't Essex

This week's blog is going to be a little bit different. Over the past few weeks, many serious situations have been discussed relating to the lives of the poor people in this area of Brazil. There are more stories to share about the street families and children but I will save those for another week.

In the past few days, we have continued to learn about wildlife and this week it relates to something I found. On Monday, we were helping in Hope House (the home for former street boys) and during the afternoon, none of the boys was actually there as they were either at school or playing football at Show de Bola (the coaching programme for boys from the local community). So, instead of spending time with the boys, we were cleaning. Whilst sweeping the floor, I found something - a snake skin! I suppose this was better than finding a snake but it did make me think: Where was the snake now?

As if that wasn't enough, on Wednesday whilst my wife was in the church at the base, they were visited by a snake. Many people there decided that it was best to stand on the chairs but my wife decided that it was best to climb out of the open window.

Since these experiences, I have learned how dangerous some of the snakes in this area can be - deadly! There is even one very small snake that is capable of killing a large bull with its venom. I also learned that if you avoid them, they won't bother you. 

This week, I also had the opportunity to play football with many of the Brazilians here on the base. In summary, they were incredibly skilful and can control a ball very well on a dusty hard patch of ground. I didn't find it so easy! Also, playing football in such warm weather and humidity does not make it easy for someone who is used to much colder weather. 

A final story for this week relates to a special day that was held on Wednesday - Teacher's Day. The following link explains a little more about it:

http://www.irenescorner.com/home/braziliancorner/feasts/teachers/teachersday.

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On Thursday, at the English class for local girls, they planned a surprise for their teachers. Each girl brought something ranging from cakes to traditional sweets including brigadeiros (see photo). It was lovely to see how appreciative the girls were of their teachers and how much effort they made to keep it as a surprise. Once again, if showed the great generosity of the Brazilian people especially knowing that many of the girls come from a poorer community.

As my time here continues, I am beginning to understand a little more about Brazil and its people. I have even seen a little of their traditional culture including a traditional dance.

At some point in the near future, I hope to be able to tell you more about the school here as education in Brazil is very different.

Finally, I don't have too many unusual facts to share but I have learned that:

Brazilians don't knock on a door; they clap

A driving test is expensive and has so many tests that need to be passed. Apart from the actual driving on the CRAZY roads, they need to learn about first aid, about pollution, and mechanics so that they can fix their car when it breaks down on the road. They also need to take a psychological test, a drugs test and  learn how to defend themselves in their car on the road.

It is a day off for us today and I might be doing something quite exciting but I'll let you know about that next time.

Bye!

A few more thoughts!

Ola!

In a previous blog, there was a photo of a favela with homes on wooden stilts over the river. This week, we visited one of these homes. A few things surprised me: 

it was much larger than I had imagined it would be with four separate rooms

one of the teenage children was working on a laptop. I found out that it was supplied by his school.

they had wifi but no running water

their toilet was simply a hole in the floor of one room which was over the river.

I'll let you generate your own opinions as to what it might be like to live there.

Since I have been in Brazil, I have been so impressed by the generosity of the Brazilian people, and I have two amazing examples from this week which can illustrate this point:

1) Whilst helping in the school (with the same 5/6 year olds), I noticed one of the children during breaktime did not appear to have anything to eat. I then saw something beautiful - several children, without being asked, went to her and gave her some of their break. 

2) On Wednesday, we visited a family in the local community of Santa Monica. We were visiting particularly to see a teenage boy who had recently attended the football coaching sessions until he was possibly bitten by a rat. This caused him to become seriously ill and he had to go into hospital. The mother warmly invited us into her home. During the conversation, it was clear that money can sometimes be difficult for the family but she tries hard to provide for her family even if they only have rice and beans for meals. However, she offered us so much fruit whilst we were there - grapes, mangos, apples and melon. For her to do this was so generous especially considering they often cannot afford such food! 

If people who have so little can be so generous, how generous are we? 

This week seems to have had a theme - making things! Firstly, making loom bands has been a great success especially with the boys who live at Hope House (a home for boys who previously lived on the streets). When one of them found out we would be returning with the loom bands again, he was genuinely thrilled. 

We also had fun within a craft lesson in the school with children similar in age to Year 6 pupils. They were having a special themed week (just like we sometimes do): Children's Week. As a part of this, they made toys and we helped them to make a bat and ball set (the one with the ball attached by elastic). Some other children made horrible creepy crawly models which where then dragged around the floor by a thin thread - urghh! 

Over the coming weeks, I have decided to share a little about the wildlife here in Camaragibe. We are surrounded by jungle and so this week, I would like to tell you about the visitors we had at breakfast time. Where we eat is only metres away from the trees and one morning we spotted at least 15 very cute little monkeys. One or two even wandered down to nibble on a banana.

A few more interesting (I hope) facts:

the boys in Hope House (Casa Esperanza) have started using sumdog.com to help improve their maths skills

In RioMar, the posh new shopping centre which caters for the wealthy, the security go around on segways

 

(This photo, including RioMar shows how life can look for the wealthy in Brazil) 

Bye again!

Another week in Brazil

Another week has flown by and once again I have had many valuable experiences.

On Monday afternoon, we visited another favela in central Recife next to the main Metro station. Having previously visited a favela, I thought that I had an expectation of what I would experience, but I was in a for a surprise. The home that we visited was even smaller than those from last week. It had one room probably similar in size to the school office. The family invited us in and offered for us to sit on the mattress and then the father proceeded to show us his home. At this point, I did not understand entirely as he only spoke Portuguese and my Portuguese is very limited (it is a challenging language to learn). In another corner of the room were utensils for cooking and he showed me a small stove which they owned. It was more basic than a cooking stove many people would use for camping. Unfortunately, he also showed me that he had no more fuel for the stove. In the third corner, I could see the toilet! There was no bath or shower - that is done in the narrow alleyway in front of the home. In spite of all of this and the unpleasant living conditions, he still showed me his possessions with great pride most proudly his DVD collection. It is important that you understand that DVDs in Brazil are readily available as cheap illegal copies. In a difficult life these must be so important as it gives the family an escape from the reality of their lives.

All of this was made more real to us by the fact that we had actually met this family before on the streets. In fact, this was the home to the four year old little boy whom I mentioned in my last blog. However, during our time visiting, he was such a joy! He played with my wife and I with a plastic sword and a toy camera - it hurt when he 'hit' us with the sword but he was only playing! Then he climbed onto my wife's lap so he could watch a DVD - Disney's Cars. 

On Wednesday, we went to school and spent a morning with a class of 20 5/6 year olds. This was an interesting experience as no one in the room in which we were helping spoke English including the teacher. Communicating with infant children who are only speaking to you in Portuguese was challenging. During our time there, the children learned about names of shapes and drew pictures (and so did I).

circulo = circle

retangulo = rectangle

quadrado = square

trangulo = triangle

We also played games with them during their breaktime which was fun. School is not so different for them other than they attend for half a day each day. From a West Leigh point of view, it was very clear how lucky we are to have so many resources  (books, ICT, PE equipment - I could go on!) In comparison, they have very little in their school e.g. they learned about shapes only by drawing them on the board. Consider how you first earned about shapes.

(The photo above is of the school we visited)

Meanwhile...

We have no washing machine here just like many of the people living in Brazil so we have had to handwash our clothes. I never realised how physically demanding this was and now love my washing machine a whole lot more! 

Last weekend, we went into the town of Camaragibe and took a new form of transport for me - a Kombi which is a VW camper van. It has three row of seats in the back. How many people do you think it can fit? Wrong! More than that! Standing, sitting, on top of you - basically, if it is possible, another person can be squeezed into it.

Finally, again there have been some interesting findings. I have learned that:

cars don't go 'beep beep' or 'honk honk', they go 'faw faw'

frogs can be massive

Guarana is my favourite drink in Brazil (it's a fizzy drink!)

Bye for now!

Life in Brazil: Our first few days

It may have only been a week, but I have learned so much about Brazil and seen so many things that have been beautiful, sad, joyful and surprising. In this entry to my blog, I won't attempt to tell you everything as I don't have enough time to write it and you wouldn't have enough time to read it! 

The base where we are staying is beautiful. Situated in Santa Monica near Camaragibe (a town at the end of the Metro to Recife), we are at the top of the hill overlooking the countryside. To our left is a community with many poor families, in front of the base is a concrete 5-a-side football pitch and some local shops selling amazing fruits some of which are only available in Brazil. One surprise regarding our view was seeing one of the World Cup stadiums so nearby - the Pernambuco Stadium which hosted several games. Having seen the local area, this stadium looks so out of place being so modern and expensive! It is easy to see why so many Brazilian people were upset and angry about vast amounts of money being spent on stadiums for the World Cup. 

On Tuesday, we travelled into the centre of Recife and I saw the incredible contrasts of life here in Brazil. On the way in on the Metro (similar to the London Underground), we passed housing that in England would never exist made of any materials the people could find. Then, as we travelled further, we entered an area of great wealth (similar to Canary Wharf) which had majestic new shopping malls and impressive new buildings.

This week, we have also spent two evenings on the streets in the centre of Recife visiting children and families. Before I went there, I felt scared as I did not know what to expect and what I would see. There were quite a lot of people in the many places we visited of all ages from young babies to older men and women. I have learned that many of these people come to the streets at nighttime from their homes in the favelas (slums) as they can receive soup from charities who often give it out on the streets. Knowing this has helped me realise how challenging their lives can be. Imagine taking your family including really young children into the town centre late at night just so that you can get food! Imagine little children being out in the town centre at midnight (and later)! 

The children we met on the streets were so excited to see the team as they knew  that we would spend time with them and play games. During those evenings, I played Uno, street football, and even played with a very young child with a broken cardboard box that was lying on the street. The fact that he seemed so happy playing with a piece of rubbish really tells you a lot about his life. Another little boy (4) was playing with my wife and was making up a game with little stones that he could find. These simple experiences have already made me consider how we in England sometimes are not grateful for the things we have and often want more. For the little boy, at that moment in time, he had everything he wanted and was having fun in what otherwise is a challenging life!

There were other children who live on the streets but I'll explain more about them another time as I still learning about that situation. What I do know is that it is much more complicated than I first understood.

I have also had the privilege to visit several families in the slums. My wife and I along with two Portuguese speaking members of staff from the base went to a favela next to a busy Metro station in central Recife. I was allowed to go into two separate homes and the first thing I noticed was, unfortunately, the smell. However, within a few minutes, I was used to it. The next thing I noticed was that it was a home. The people living there had made it look as nice as they could! I learned that they can be very crowded; the first family had six children in a small space with one bedroom! Whilst visiting, I did not understand the conversations but was able to bring a smile to some young children's faces by just being a bit silly whilst playing with a balloon and some bubbles which we had taken with us. 

To finish for now, I thought I should share some of my more unusual findings from this week:

buses are busy. When you think that the bus is full, 30 more people can get on!

five-a-side football can even attract a huge crowd

traffic is crazy

dogs don't go 'woof woof'; they go 'ow, ow' 

caterpillars are dangerous 

There are so many other things I would love to share but until next time, tchau.

What we could be doing?

YWAM in Recife 

Soccer Show Project: Currently 200 children and teenagers between 9 to 18 years old attend with social and educational activities provided through the soccer school.The children need to be up-to-date in their studies at school to be allowed to attend. Besides developing soccer skills, the participants and their families learn about the dangers of drugs, violence, about making good choices of friends and the influences of negative peer pressure.

Show de Bola

Other sports activities include karate and floorball (it seems to be a cross between ice hockey and hockey)

floorball

Karate Kick

Love Project: This project works with families, women, girls and teens to help them discover their potential and personal value. Families are reached by home visits, counseling, workshops, and crafts. This allows them to be capable and productive, and in turn creates a good family structure. Empowering them to be self-supporting and free from addictions is also one of the goals.

I know that my wife is intending to participate in this project as she is taking lots of loom bands with her to share. In fact, my 10 year old niece has been teaching her!

Heritage School: There is also a school on the site where we will be staying which is under construction. At present, it educates children between the ages of 2-6 offering education, food, recreation and personal care. I'm not yet sure how much the school has been developed but I'll update you when I know.

Street team: Many of the volunteers spend time on the streets developing friendships with street children. Through this, they can identify which children are willing to leave the streets and return home to their families. Often members of the street team will play games with the children. We are taking Uno with us as this is a popular game in Brazil. I hope the children understand my attempts at saying numbers and colours in Brazilian Portuguese!

Hope House (at the base); This is a restoration house for former street boys between the ages of 10-14.. After leaving the streets, the boys live full time in the home with qualified staff. The boys go through various phases of the program until they are ready for a full reintegration into society. At Hope House, the boys are part of a program which has areas which includes social, physical, family, spiritual and education.

Hope House

DAILY SCHEDULE

My wife and I are going to be busy! We will be working on the projects for 6 days a week and breakfast is at 6:15am!

It is going to be hard work and perhaps a little scary at times, but we are excited to be able to go there and looking forward to sharing more of it with you.

Vamos ao Brazil

On the 22^nd September 2014, we will be saying goodbye to the UK and jetting off to Brazil (via Lisbon Airport). We are very excited for what God has in store for us and the journey he is taking us on. We will be spending three months with YWAM (Youth with a Mission)  in Recife, north east Brazil, and returning to the UK on the 17^th December,  in time to spend Christmas with our friends and family.

During our time there, we will get involved in various projects that the base run.  For more information please visit: www.jocumrecife.com/en/ Once we are in Brazil, we will more about the work we will be doing but are excited to be able to help children whose lives not as privileged as our own. We look forward to sharing more about these projects and the stories we experience during the coming months on this blog.