April 24, 2013
-
World Vision Trip
World Vision has 49 groups in Brazil, 3 of which are in Alagoas, the poorest state in Brazil (Pernambuco, my state, follows close behind). They sponsor/assist 85,000 children through 300 workers all over Brazil. At the group we visited in Alagoas, they have 27 workers for 3,500 children in 98 small rural communities.
(map of the 98 stations. Koral is pointing to the town we were in)They started in 2007, after assessing the great need. Along with World Vision, they partner with Vivo, a telephone company that wanted to support a good social project: this doubles their resources and children that they can support.
Alagoas is part of the Sertao, the dry, desert-y area filled with rocks and a very hard life. The main problem is a lack of water. In the past, the government would only invest in putting in wells and water for large land owners, which created a political dynamic where only the rich got water and the poor spent all day (the woman and children) carrying water home on their head. In the late 80s and 90s, over a million Northeastern Brazilians died of a lack of water, food, or diseases that accompany deep poverty.
Fifteen years ago, some developmental groups got together and used updated technology and understanding to create household cisterns, collecting the water that falls off the roof for drinking water. They also developed other systems for gather water in fields and filtering it enough to use for animals and plants.
(the white tee-pee like thing is the cistern)Unfortunately, the Sertao has not received the amount of rain needed to survive since 2006—continuing this year, it makes it the worst drought in 30-50 years (depending on the place). Cattle are literally dying in the middle of the field (we saw and smelled them), and no one will buy them because there is no food or water to give them.
World Vision is doing many things to help the community in integral ways. With the children, they have a wonderful literacy program, computer program, music and dance program, celebration parties, and Bible story/study time. With the women, they are teaching them some different trades working with sewing and art, such as decorating towels to sell at the farmers market.
They have a wonderful chicken program, where it costs less than $2000 to set up a family with enough chickens to provide a minimum wage income from the eggs—that they then pay back for the next family to receive. Same thing with goats (milk). They have organic farming tips and assistance, as well as a farmers market set up for all the families to come and sell their products. It is amazing to see the pride in the faces of these families that are now able to provide for their families!
Two especially interesting ideas I liked were the fruit cooperative and the seed bank. The women came together in a community and they bought things to make fruit juice and popsicles to sell. They bring their own fruit (which would have gone bad) to make products for themselves and the farmers market. The seed bank makes sure that the families will have enough corn and bean seed when planting time comes—and then they pay it back at harvest time.
When you support a child through World Vision, the money goes to provide these programs and support for them and their family. During times of emergency, like now, they also may come in with food baskets, until the people can plant and again be self-sufficient. It is so important to help the people be independent and find their own solutions.
(Ronivon is on the left)Our tour guide was Ronivon, who himself had grown up as a World Vision sponsored child. His family had been a part of the goat program, allowing him to go to school instead of work on the farm. At school, the educational programs assisted him enough to be able to pass the hard college entrance exams. After that, he became a field worker with World Vision, and is now one of the regional workers—a true success story.
Our trip began with a bus that dropped us off in the middle of nowhere at 3:30am. As Ronivon picked us up (I had only met him on the phone), I had the fleeting thought of “Oh dear, what if he isn’t really with World Vision?” But he was and we were dropped off at the local “pousada” (family style hotel) to rest and have breakfast. Four hours later, he picked us up and took us to the World Vision office to meet everyone. They had a special presentation and power point that ended in a snack the size of a buffet. They also invited Jane, a missionary from England who was doing an internship nearby, to help translate.
(Jane is in the green shirt next to Koral)Everyone was overwhelmingly kind. They took us to the town center, where they have a beautiful literacy program (that I can only dream of having one day with my kids), music program, and computer program. In the city, they offer the kids a class every week for 2 hours. Each day there are four classes, so about 300 children a week. In the more rural areas (they have a total of 98 “stations”) they go once a month to provide these services, with the field workers (hired locally) visiting more often to make sure the families are getting all they need.
We then visited two chicken farms, where they also explained to us different water systems and agricultural advancements they had brought in to help the community.
(the picture to the left is the cistern for the animals and plants–water collected from the large skating rink like cement put in a field. The picture on the right shows the water collected (for drinking) from the roof.After lunch and a siesta, we went to visit Koral’s two sponsored children. This young family lives in the middle of nowhere down roads our 4×4 truck could only slowly pass. They kindly invited us in and we talked and laughed for almost an hour with this couple and their children who work so hard to make the barest of living off of planting corn and beans.
(their field to plant/supply their livelihood)The day we arrived was the first good rain of the season, so while we were wet—everyone was rejoicing. Now, if the rain continues, they can begin planting. We then visited (and ate at) the juice and popsicle coop—delicious!
Our last stop was the organic farm of one of the families that brings their produce to the farmers market World Vision has set up. In a dry desert, this place was a beautiful oasis where Koral saw her first “sanguine” (spider monkey). We ate oranges off the tree and saw her many different plants, as well as her obvious joy and love of planting and being able to provide for her family.
(this cactus-like plant is used for cooking and animal food)The next morning, Ronivon picked us up and took us to the bus station for our nine hour trip home, but not before offering me a job with World Vision.
It was so encouraging to see so many programs working—solutions in progress. Many ideas I had heard about, but it is so much better to see in person. Many of the things they are doing I hope we can offer one day through Living Stones. If I had another life to live, I’d be very tempted to take Ronivon up on his job offer. But for now, I have my own 300 children to take care of.
