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Da una volontaria del VIDES Austria |
13/10/06
Reflection and impressions of my voluntary in Brazil1
8th of July – 6th of October
Impressions of Brazil
Before my voluntary in Brazil I had a different view of Brazil. For me Brazil consist of beach, sun and soccer, the typical opinion of a tourist. For my preparation I started to read about the country and its people. I learned a lot, but I had to come to Brazil to understand what Brazil really is, a state of contrasts. You can see many beautiful things, but you can also see the poorness of the country.
One of the first things I noticed in Rio de Janeiro at my first day in Brazil was that everything is guarded. On the one hand you have the favelas and on the other hand you have the persons who are rich, or who is in a better situation, and this people have to protect their property. I asked myself, if you get used to this situation so it is normal, or if the people live with fear to get robbed.
But at the first day in Brazil I also saw the friendliness of the people. The sisters in Rio de Janeiro were very nice even they did not know me. They integrated me in the community even if I stayed only for one day. And this friendliness you could see in many parts of Brazil. Everywhere you go you are welcome, everywhere you get a hug and kisses if the people are saying “hello”. I felt as a part of them, but sometimes it was too much. If I came in a room with lots of people I did not know and everybody was kissing me and hugging me, I did not feel very comfortable, because I was not used to it. In Austria it is not normal that you get this kind of welcome. The people are more reserved.
In Brazil the people have also a different view of their religion. In Austria the people do not go to church every Sunday and God is not so important for them. It was good to see that there is also another way of praying that the people are happy, sing and dance. In Austria the Church is stricter and you do not dance. There are also fewer people who help celebrate the mass.
Impressions of Ponte Nova
Belo Horizonte is a modern city and you can compare it with a city in Europe, maybe because I did not see the poor areas of the town. As I arrived in Ponte Nova it was different. If you drive through the town, you see the simple houses of the people and the children who are playing in the street. Also the adults are sitting in front of their houses and speaking with others or just watching. There is more life in the street; it is a place where you can meet friends, where you can play. I like this way of living. In Austria it is different. The life is faster. The people have no time to sit in front of the house. If you want to speak with persons, you ring up them or visit them in their houses. The life in Ponte Nova is simple, sometimes too simple. It was often unbelievable in which conditions the people must live. Houses with only three rooms – kitchen, bathroom, and one room to sleep for the whole family - and the sanitary conditions are really bad.
Also in Austria there are poor people but it is more hidden, so you can not see it. In Ponte Nova you can see the poorness every day, you can not close your eyes and say, oh the situation is good for every person in Ponte Nova, because the poorness is almost everywhere. As I saw this I started to ask myself, how the situation in Austria really is. What do I know about the poor people in Austria, what are the conditions in which they live and what do they need because in Austria you close the door of your house or flat and do not speak about your problems.
Rita told me stories about the people in Ponte Nova and also about the children of the Fundação Menino Jesus, sometimes it was like the story of a Hollywood-film. But the problems are often the same: Alcohol, drugs, prostitution and sexual abuse, and the result, prison. As Rita told about this person, I did not fell well because I did not know what to do because for a change of the people’s situation you must rearrange the structure of Brazil, more education, work for the people and a higher standard of living, like electricity, water and a better sanitary situation. But what can you do for the singular person or family?
Fundação Menino Jesus
Yes in Ponte Nova lots of families have problems but there are also lots of people and projects that try to help these families. One of these projects is the Fundação Menino Jesus.
I think the work is very important because the employees take care of children who do not have a family that take care. The fundação is a place where the children get love and can develop. I also think it is good that the children only stay during the week and go home to their families in the weekend, so they do not lose the contact to them because the fundação can not compensate a family. It has a total different structure. It is also a good solution that the children who can not go back to their family or do not have a family anymore can go to padrinhos and madrinhos. It is a new experience for me to see that so many persons help without getting something, except the love of the children. At the fundação it is also impressive to see how many persons are working as volunteers and help to make the project functioning. And even if they are not educators they have time to talk with the children, to listen to their problems and to play with them. It is important because the educators are all female and so the children have also masculine examples and contact persons.
In the Fundação education is also very important. The children have a lot of possibilities to take part at different activities and the children like to take part. So the education is very multifaceted with a main focus on art. The most of the children have problems with their family. With the different art lessons the children learn to express their feelings in different ways like in dancing, singing and painting or in making music. The children can find their own individual way to communicate.
In the fundação there is also time to play and the children are looked after by many educators who have a good cooperation. Even if the tasks are divided to different educators there is a functioning communication between them and the problems of the children are discussed.
Irma Zélia has also time for the problems of the children, even if she had to do a lot of other tasks. She is a very impressive person who does a lot for the children and for Ponte Nova, too. You can see that she loves the children. She is a great idol. If you want to make a project, you can also master difficult tasks if you believe in the project and you are not afraid of the problems. She has chosen a different way and has initiated a wonderful project which gives so many children a place to stay. Irma Zélia and Rita had also time for my problems and take care of me. They told me about the city, the families of the children and took me to different places and events so I could see more of the life in Ponte Nova. Sometimes I felt like a Part of the society of Ponte Nova not like a visitor.
Work with the children
Two months I was allowed to share this place with the children. It was a wonderful experience because I did not stay with so many children in a community before. Even if I did not understand them very well because they were speaking very fast, I spend much time with them and tried to help where I could. I played soccer and volley with them, run with them and laughed with them. I helped at dinner and lunch to serve the meals; I brushed their hair after the shower and was there to say good night in the evening. I also participate at their aulas like Ludo Danca, sports and coral. But I was also there when the children just needed a person to hug, to cuddle, to be calm. I loved this moments because then you could feel that the children like you and that they feel save in your arms. The second month I had more contact to the older girls. I think one of the reasons was that i have more in common with them then with the boys. The girls had also more time to explain things to me when I did not understand what they meant. I was also more connected with the girls because in the second month Roselaine and other girls slept also at the casarão. These were special moments because it was like they were my sisters. I think that we became good friends and I will miss them a lot.
There were also hard times and problems. One problem was that I could not remember the names very well. The most of them sound very different to the names in Austria. Another problem was that I did not be an authority for the little children. If I tried to stop them making bad things they often continued doing them. It was even harder for me because I could not speak Portuguese very well. So I could often just repeat the sentence I had already spoken. At these moments I did not feel well because I could not do anything, I felt helpless.
Vides International
I am also glad that I could see what Vides Brazil does. So it was a good experience to take part at the camp in July. I liked the work with the street children, to see how much fun they have with simple games. It was also nice that one girl give me a letter to say good bye and that I am her friend even if she knew me only three days. It was also good to participate at the cooperative games.
Unfortunately I was at this time homesick and so I was trying to get distance between me and the others of Vides but the work with the children in São Geraldo helped me to think about something different.
The persons who work for Vides are very friendly and help you if you need it. I also found many knew friends and hope to stay in contact with them, especial with Giulia. I spend a lot of time with her and we hat lots of fun. She is a great girl. She helped me to understand the children and translated for me. As she went to Argentina I was really sad, because we did everything together. I think that we become good friends and we stay in contact. I hope we can meet each other again soon.
Conclusion
I am glad that Vides enabled me to make this experience, to learn something about this wonderful country, to meet this happy and gentile people and to learn about their habits and culture. It was also an important experience to see the poorness of the country and the problems. But these are not only the problems of Brazil. Everybody should take responsibility to them, not only in Brazil but also for the others countries in Latin-American and Africa. We are one world so we con not close the eyes of the problems of this world. I think one of my tasks in Austria will be to sensitize the people in my country to these problems and to animate them helping to find a solution.
THANK YOU Vides and Fundação Menino Jesus for taking care of me, giving me a new view of the world and for all the questions in my head that need a solution. Thank you also to the whole people who accepted me friendly the last two month. In this time I fall in love with Brazil and I hope to come back to see more from the country. |
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