Sponsor Environmental Education of Kids in Brazil

Thanks to the funds raised so far the school has got a full academic term under its belt and finished it in style with a celebration that included poetry readings and sketches on topics such as maintaining connection in these hi-tech times. The children all came in their best clothes to spend an afternoon playing and performing in front of their parents and finished the day by sharing party food together. The summer holidays officially started and the children were off for 2 months.

The holidays seem to go on for ever especially with the torrential rain (parts of Bahia have been in a state of emergency due to unprecedented rain)  but finally the school is preparing to open again for a new academic year. The teaching team has been back already for a week dealing with matriculations and planning.

More practical preparation work and maintenance is also underway and being a community school that means the whole community leanding a hand with the children to get things ready for opening next week. A 'multirao' involves a collective action when resources and labour are pooled voluntarily to get something done for the good of the community. That`s what`s happening this week at the school and people have been arriving all week to help out however they can.

Financially the school still hangs by a thread and the long term future is uncertain. The valley where we live is slowly opening but remains a shadow of its former self with the main industry - ecological tourism - at a massive low. This has had an enormous effect on the community across the board, from people who sell craft or food on the street to bed and breakfast proprietors. The school continues to need regular donations to make ends meet and thanks alll of you have signed up to the monthly plan from the bottom of our hearts.

If you haven`t already committed to a monthly donation I wonder if you could consider it? If everyone contributes a bit we can do powerful things. The secret of crowd funding isn`t in the funds, it`s in the crowd.

After a few false starts The Brilho opened its doors at the beginning of this month and the children are delighted to be back at school again. They'd been more than 18 months at home doing online lessons so it was nice for them to meet up with old school friends and see their teachers. Sadly the director of the school Elidiane lost a family member to COVID and the school continues to take precautions.

Thanks to the money we raised together it was possible to buy materials such as paint and give the playgrounds and buildings a bit of a face lift. There's been a lot of voluntary community activity as parents and staff painted walls and gates, tidied the gardens, fixed rooves, fixed plumbing etc The children are going back to a school depleted in numbers but looking rather nice!

The money from monthly donors has been instrumental in investing in new technology and in some training in online lessons. It has also helped to furnish some last bits and pieces for the 'kiosk' that will sell vegan fast food in front of the school and will be opening in the next month. A freezer finally arrived from Salvador this week so we are busy learning how to make vegan ice cream. We continue to be very grateful for any support you can offer in giving the kiosk a flying start.

Everyone at The Brilho would like to say a really big thank you for the generous support you have all offered which has made such a big difference. It's good to hear the sound of children playing in the playground again.

Links:

• Our school facebook

I'm very happy to report that during the accelerator campaign, together we raised enough money to secure the school's immediate future. The Brilho now has enough in its account to remain open until at least the end of the year. Not only does this mean that the children's education can continue uninterrupted but also the school director Elidiane and her team remain employed at this difficult time. The school is situated in a village which depends on tourism and a great deal of international tourism so the local economy has been hit very hard by Covid. The Brilho couldn't have remained open without your support so thank you so much.

Lessons however have looked very different during this time and the teachers have been working hard to learn new skills and provide online lessons. Provisions have been made so that all students have access to the internet and a device where they can do their lessons at home or at a neighbour or friend's house. Online lessons are better than nothing but they are nothing like the hands on learning by doing and environmental work outside the classroom that the children enjoy. I'm overjoyed to report that the school has plans to open again  physically in September.

Thanks to the money you have continued to raise through monthly donations the school has also been able to carry out much needed maintenance and repairs especially on the drains and the roof so the children should be returning to lovely safe buildings almost 2 years since the school closed its doors. Current plans include building up our network of monthly donors so that instead of just staying afloat, The Brilho can really invest in the teaching staff and in some creative ideas to produce our own income. 

The Brilho would like to say a special thank you to Crowcroft Park Primary school who recently had a Brazilian themed summer fair day in Manchester UK and donated part of the proceedings to our campaign. If anybody would like to organise a similar (or different) event please do get in touch, we'd love to hear about it and help with any resources.