Indigenous Youth Achieving Dreams in Brazil

Hello supporters of MSMC! We have great news to share with you – great news that is only made possible through your financial support!

Several of the indigenous youth that this project supports passed the competitive college entrance exam – the vestibular – and are now ready for a new phase in their academic and professional development! This is an enormous accomplishment, as going to college is not common in their communities. What’s more, these youth will apply their college education to helping their communities, a pay-it-forward model that creates sustainable growth.

Here are these exemplar youth:

• Ruth: she is a member of the Anacé de Matões indigenous community, and she is in her third semester at the Social Sciences School of the Federal University of Recôncavo Baiano
• Benicio: he is a member of the Pitaguary de Monguba indigenous community and he will be studying Geography at the Federal University of Ceará
• Neto: he is a member of the Pitaguary de Santo Antônio and he will be studying Nursing at the Metropolitan College of Fortaleza
• Andreza: she is a member of the Pitaguary de Horto indigenous community and she will be studying Psychology at the Metropolitan College of Fortaleza

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Ruth, Benicio, Neto, and Andreza – the face of a new generation of indigenous youth achieiving their dreams!

If you would like to help more indigenous youth get to college, consider donating just $5 or $10 to our project. We are almost there and every dollar counts!

Sending indigenous youth to college is not the only form of higher education support made possible through donors like you. In the last few months, MSMC has also been able to enroll several students in technical certification programs at the Maracanaú Technical School. In terms of other projects, indigenous youth have been busy participating in various community events, including one focused on promoting the work of people who collect recyclable materials, a festival for the Day of the Child, and community leadership meetings. MSMC also made visits to the indigenous communities of Anacé de São Gonçalo and Retomada de Japuara. Ever concerned with the well-being of future indigenous generations, MSMC also continues to work to prevent drug and alcohol addiction among indigenous youth through its Yes to Life project.

Committed to its mission of promoting human rights for all, MSMC also supported the participation of Pitaguary youth in a Promotion of Peace event in partnership with the Federal University of Ceará.

Committed to its mission of serving the local community, MSMC members have also made house calls to the homes of Pitaguary families in Monguba and Santo Antônio, providing psychiatric, psychological, medical, and social work help as needed.

Last but not least, 2015 finished on a special note with a visit from Global Giving representative Natalie Russell. She stayed at MSMC headquarters and found it to be a very fulfilling experience. Everyone enjoyed this opportunity to better understand Global Giving’s work and to thank Global Giving for helping MSMC have a global reach!

So, congratulations again to our college goers, and thanks again to all of you for your donations - every dollar counts!

Mitakuye Oyasin

Îandé Memé Maranongara

Somos Todos Parentes

We are all Related

Links:

• Benicio going to college featured in a major Brazilian newspaper

My name is Neto and I participate in MSMC’s Indigenous Youth Achieving Their Dreams project. Today I’m going to tell you the story of how I received my first higher education degree, in nursing, on my way to becoming a doctor. It wouldn’t have been possible without MSMC, so thank you for your support of this amazing organization. Without it, my dreams wouldn’t come true!

MSMC has been working in my community since 2007 through a project called “Sim a Vida,” or Yes to Life. The focus of the project is not only helping youth stay away from bad influences like drugs, but also to help them connect to their indigenous roots, as we are Pitaguary. I not only participated in the project as a youth, but was also a volunteer. I helped youth learn about how to get engaged in their community, what the political structure of the Pitaguary is, how to celebrate indigenous culture, and more.

One day, in 2010, Father Rino asked the youth in my community what we wanted to be and what we would do to help our community. I knew my answer right away and said, “I want to be a doctor.” Father Rino got really excited and gave me a lot of support. He told me that becoming a doctor was about helping the community, about helping the most abandoned and excluded among us.

Soon after, the great indigenous leader Lakota Adam from the United States came to visit us. While he was here, we did the sacred sauna ritual. I realized that this ritual was part of my path to becoming a doctor because I want to work in my indigenous community and strengthening my connection to the Pitaguary culture will help me be a better doctor.

Over the years, I became more and more involved with MSMC. In 2011, I was one of 30 indigenous students who received scholarships to attend the private high school Pia Marta Montese. I graduated from high school and although I still wanted to go to college to become a doctor, the entrance exam (the vestibular) is really competitive, so I decided to first complete a technical degree in nursing at the technical school of Maracanaú. The Indigenous Youth Achieving Their Dreams project paid for my studies.

On October 30, 2015, I proudly received my diploma. It wasn’t easy and I still have a long way to go. But I will not give up! On November 22nd I will take the vestibular in hopes of getting into medical school. I know that MSMC will continue to be there with me every step of the way and I am forever grateful to have this organization in my life.

Thank you again for supporting my dreams!

Mitakuye Oyasin.

Îandé Memé Maranongara

Somos Todos Parentes

We are all related.

Links:

• MSMC's website