By Natalia Martins | Project Coordinator
The Community Mental Health Movement (MSMCBJ) works to promote the value of the indigenous culture and the self-esteem of the Pitaguary people through its "Indigenous Youth Achieving Their Dreams" project, whose target population are community youth between te ages of 14 and 25.
Our project seeks to holitstically develop the youths' professional and academic skills through self-esteem groups, community therapy, artistic and cultural events, and reinforcement of traditional cultural values. Everything is conducted with a cultural dialogue symbolized by the expression "Mitakuye Oyasin," which means "We are all related," from the Lakota Sioux tribe. The same expression in Tupi (the native language of the Pitaguary people) is "Îandé memé maranongara." While our project is centered upon the youth of the Pitaguary community, it is our goal to strengthen the sense of identity and unity among the community as a whole.
In the period between January and September 2012, we served a mothly average of 100 indigenous youth. These participants were involved in the various activities at the Woopila Space, which is a place for refuge and support for the indigenous community as a whole. We observed that these activities resulted in growth for the majority of the participants. This growth included a greater sense of self-confidence and worth, the capacity to relate to Pitaguary culture more fully, a greater ecological awareness stemming from these indigenous values, a greater motivation to pursue higher education, a higher level of community involvement, a dn respect for their traditional elders.
As we have stressed, this project is being accomplished through holistic methods that are addressing the real needs of the youth. Our main goal is to provide the necessary tools to dream and make these dreams a reality. With your support we have been able to continue this important work of empowerment for the indigenous youth in Fortaleza. Thank you for your generous donation!
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