Indigenous Youth Achieving Dreams in Brazil

Hello Global Giving donors! Today we have a powerful and inspiring story to share with you about the impact of your donations.

Monaliza, Naira, and Nágila are sisters who recently lost their grandmother, who was their caregiver. Just a week later, they also lost their mother. All of a sudden, these sisters were orphans. At the day of the mother’s funeral, Monaliza turned to MSMC’s founder, Father Rino, and asked him, “Father please help me. My dream is to become somebody. I want to study and become somebody in life, along with my sisters.” With the funding provided to MSMC through its Global Giving campaign, MSMC was able to help them.

The sisters’ grandmother, Maria, was a volunteer with MSMC for 10 years. She taught arts and crafts, took care of the garden and participated in the theatrical group. In honor of all of her work, MSMC offered the three sisters spots in the Empowering Indigenous Youth project.

As a result, the girls have gone back to school. With the deaths in the family and the confusion and sorrow that followed, the girls hadn’t re-enrolled in school (the school year begins in February in Brazil). But with the help of MSMC, the girls were enrolled in a good private school and given school supplies, snacks, and anything else they needed to ensure their success.

With the help of MSMC, Monaliza, Naira and Nágila have reason to smile again, to hope again. They are achieving their dreams of “becoming somebody” – and YOU made it possible!

In addition to these girls, the Indigenous Youth project continues to support the following youth, who have been highlighted in prior reports:

• Ruth – a member of the Anacé de Matões tribe. She is in college, studying social sciences.
• Benicio – a member of the Pitaguary tribe. He is in college, studying geography.
• Neto – a member of the Pitaguary tribe. He is in college, studying nursing.
• Judimar – a member of the Dessana da Amazônia tribe. He is at a post-secondary technical institute, studying information technology.

If that weren’t enough, MSMC stays busy hosting a variety of events to engage its indigenous youth and build strong community ties:

• MSMC hosted a high school graduation party for Pitaguary indigenous youth.
• Pitaguary indigenous youth participated in a workshop on the Systemic Community Approach designed by MSMC at the State University of Ceará in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
• Pitaguary indigenous youth participated in a key MSMC event called “Taking Care of the Caregiver.”
• MSMC staff made house calls to Pitaguary families, providing medical and psychiatric help when needed.
• MSMC staff visited the indigenous communities of the Anacé people of São Gonçalo and Retomada de Japuara.

As a new school year commences in Brazil, MSMC wants to give special thanks to its donors for helping keep youth on the path to success – and making sure that even devastating events like the death of a parent or caregiver won’t prevent a youth from “becoming somebody.”

Links:

• MSMC's website
• MSMC's Facebook