last presentation in Brazil - and thoughts for going home

Yesterday we did our last presentation in Brazil for the Rotarians and colleagues in the city of Divinopolis.  The three Rotarian clubs of the city share the one casa where they meet on different days of the week.

As at previous presentations, the response was warm and welcoming and they seemed to appreciate our attempts at Portuguese which the team now use.  Hopefully we did not slaughter the language too much!

I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks to the team for all the hard work they have put into the programme.

The whole team is now seeing the finish line just around the corner and we are all now looking forward to going home, but also not wishing to leave Brazil and the new friends we have made here!

Thanks to all the host families in all the different places we have visited for making us so welcome and showing us just how fantastic this country really is.  I know we have only visited a very small part of the country however what we have seen has been so wonderful.

I know we may still have a few more posts for the blog, I feel that this is the right time to thank you all

Muito obrigarda pelo hospitaladade. 

Minha Casa, Minha Vida Project in Divinópolis

Today I visited Divinópolis' third social housing development under the partnership scheme with the City and Federal Government. Here the city have provided the land to build on and the Federal Government have provided the funds to build these properties.

The Mayor of the city took time out of his schedule to meet me on site and explain the development of the project since he has been in office.

During his first term in office he put in place plans to build three social housing developments in different locations surrounding the city. The plans were implemented and for over a year people have been living in these properties.

Development 1 has 463 homes
Development 2 has 211 homes
Development 3 has 498 homes

In this city the cost of the homes is around R$ 60,000 which is paid back to the government over 15 years. Depending on the family income there may be welfare assistance to top up the repayments of around R$ 333.00 a month. The welfare is capped so that the family has to pay from their own pocket a minimum of R$ 50.00 a month.

On this particular estate there are around 2000 residents.

Priority for the properties lie with the homeless, the poor, the vunerable and those with children. (Not given in any particular order.)

As with all of the properties built within this scheme across the country the properties are of equal size and design with a kitchen, bathroom, 2 bedrooms and a living room.

Bedroom allowance as mentioned in previous blogs does not exsist here. I was given examples of household types for the estate I visited. They consist of single people, couples with or without children and single mothers with up to 6 or 7 children.

From my visit I could see there was a bus route, this is vital as the estate is easily six miles from town. There is a football pitch for the young people living there. I noticed some children on the street, a couple of burnt out cars and the distant sound of loud music from a few streets away.

The security measures placed around the houses are the responsibility of the homeowner. Please see the pictures for an understanding of how the estate looks and the types of security measures used by different households.

Across the estate some homeowners have built small extensions the quality of the workmanship varies.

The mayor, who is now serving his second time in office, explained that there is planning for two future social housing projects which will see a further 1060 homes built in this City. He is clearly a popular man with the towns people and during our meeting every passerby greeted him like an old friend.

The social development plans also include additional transport, health and childcare provisions however these will be regional rather than local to the estates.

The mayor advised me that there are around 4500 families in receipt of Bolsa Familia (family support) in the city and the level of assistance varies from R$ 50.00 to R$ 300.00 depending on circumstances such as number of children and other income. It costs the city R$ 23000000.00 annually. This money is given wherever possible to the Mother, who is classed as the base of the household. 

Ministerio de Comunicacoes

We visited a centre in Lavras that provides various courses and classes. Courses available include hair dressing, cooking, ICT training and sewing. The centre is situated in a less affluent area of Lavras and gives people within the community the opportunity to gain skills in order to apply for better jobs. Approximately 700 students use this facility a year.

The centre was built 12 years ago and in the library are photographs of the building process. You could see from the photographs that lots of people within the community all helped to build and decorate the centre. 

Various businesses and organisations donate to the centre, including The Rotary Club of Lavras-Sul, to keep it running. 

The recourses used for the courses are also donated. There is a computer room to support ICT skills teaching. These computers were donated by the government and the Internet is provided by The University of Lavras. 

There is a well equipped industrial kitchen that was donated by individuals, Rotary Club of Lavras-Sul and Rotary International. We were shown these rooms by Rotarians who were involved with the project. One of the Rotarians told us how she had volunteered to teach a cooking course. She explained that it was a 2 week course teaching students how to make different foods, all with milk. 

Sewing machines have also been donated to teach textiles and clothes making. Some of the items made within the textiles classes are displayed for sale within the centre. The money gained from any items sold is given back to the centre. 

 This visit was really interesting to see and from our experiences here in Brazil it is clear that the country is doing a lot to support the poorer communities. Organisations such as Rotary have a key involvement in many of these projects and it has shown me how Rotary can really make a difference. 

    Donations come from these      organisations.

ICT room

Kitchen and cookery classroom.

This display reads: 'you are important to us. Here you shine bright like a star.'

Centro Educativo e Social de Guaranesia - CESG

This was a really interesting project set up to keep kids of 6-16 off the streets. The project is funded by businesses and the director of the project regularly holds dinners to raise money. Business give up to 20% of their profits tax free to the project. The project in question is the same set up as a school, students can attend either in the morning or the afternoon when they are not attending their actual school.

This school is set up to offer more fun things for students to do so that they want to attend. When we where looking around there was a class which where doing embroidery onto tea towels, one class where watching a film and another class which was much bigger where dancing- they danced for us which was really good they danced the funk which is really popular in Brazil. I took lots of photos but can't take them off my camera yet- (will add when I can).

Projects like this are very popular in Brazil as the school day is split into 2. Depending on the school younger student's may attend in the morning then older student's in the afternoon or vice versa this means often students are playing in the streets or getting involved in drugs or gangs which is why it is so important that these projects continue to be supported so that children have somewhere to go when the school day is over. Most students who attend these projects are from poorer families.

Cristais Sao Marcos

I was very lucky to be given the opportunity to visit the Cristais Sao Marcos glassware factory in Pocos de Caldos. Here in the factory they make all different kinds of glassware ranging from vases to big ornate bowls and jugs. I was able to see how to they made some of their glassware, however unfortunately I wasn't permitted to take any pictures due to copyright of designs.

It was very interesting to see the process of how  glassware is manufactured. The process starts with a powder that comes as fine as sand but can also be as fine as salt. The powder comes from Brazil. They also use minerals to make the colours in the glass. They mix different kinds of minerals to make the colours. Most of the minerals are imported from France as it is quicker, if the factory order minerals from Brazil it can take up to 14 days where France is just one day.

Manufacturing the glassware is a very skilled job and apprentices are regularly taken on by the factory most last just 14 days as the job is tough and it can get very hot and be a very arduous job which can be dangerous however it is good to know that the factory haven't had an accident for four years as health and safety is very stringent. They have a rule that you can only walk in one direction so workers won't crash into each other.

Each worker making either a vase or a bowl has glass that is up to 400 degrees celsius on the end of a metal rod that is about a metre long. The glass is moulded and shaped by hand either using tools not dissimilar to a large pair of tweezers or newspaper which helps to give the rounded shape. Each piece of glassware is made up of a number of layers depending on the colour or size of the piece. Once the piece is complete it is placed in an oven so it can set, the oven is a large conveyor belt that varies in temperature the glassware passes through the oven through the varying temperatures. Once set the glassware is then finished using sandpaper and polished by hand. Each piece goes though rigourous quality control before it reaches the client/customer.

70% of the glassware is sold in Brazil and the other 30% is exported to America and Italy however most of the glassware exported to Italy is actually rebranded so people think its made in Italy when its actually made in Brazil!

I found looking at this process and watching how skilled the men where that were working enabled me to understand the process in much more depth than if I had read about it. It's such a shame I was unable to take photos as I feel that being able to share this process with my students through the use of imagery would have been extremely beneficial especially for GCSE students.

Japanese Garden and other Gardens is Minas Gerais

Whilst in Pocos de Caldas I was given the opportunity to visit a small Japanese Garden - that was situated at the edge of the city.

Immediately when entering the garden, there was a peaceful feeling about the place, and due to the surrounding trees it was a cool and pleasant temperature.

Although the garden was not extensive it had all you would expect to see in such a garden, including a tea house, several lanterns, rocks, gravel and water both running and still.  the plants used maybe slightly different to those that would grow in Japan, however the feeling of the garden was definitely oriental.  Here are a few photos to show you what I mean.

 

 

 

 

We have also been to see other gardens whilst here, mostly in private ownership.  One of the most unusual was whilst we had lunch at a Fazenda and milk farm.  The lady of the house had made a small garden and used bits and pieces from around the farm.  Some of the ideas I intend to use when back in England.

 

 

 

 

More recently whilst in Boa Esperanca I had the opportunity of visiting a property belonging to a couple.  I have no idea who they were, so apologies for that.  The hosts just stopped at the side of the road in this condominium we were driving in.   Thanks to those people however who showed us around their beautiful garden - you could tell they had put their hearts into it, and even though most neighbours paid for others to maintain their gardens, it was clear that this couple were enjoying looking after it themselves.  I know this as the lady had a pair of secateurs in one hand and was cutting back a rampant climber when we disturbed them.

 

Here are a few photos, however they don't really show how good the garden really was...

 

 

 

The colours and plant combinations together with the railway sleepers worked really well - I would have been proud of the garden if it were mine!  Another garden that gives many ideas that would work in the UK, although the plant choices would need to be different.

 



 

 

 

Roads and driving in Brazil!

This is just a short blog that is only supported by my experiences of the subject whilst travelling between and during the visits with our host families.

The road vary so much, from well marked smooth dual carriageways to dirt tracks which are very rutted and in poor condition.  Some of the roads are toll roads where a fee is paid at booths similar to those at both ends of the Humber Bridge for example.  These toll roads are often in very good condition. 

Now to the other part of this subject - the driving....

Well all I can say is that I can understand why Formula 1 is an important part of the Brazilian culture! 

Now I need to say at this point that this is not about every Brazilian driver who has been kind enough to take us places but I have been on more than one journey where the driving has been very fast, overtaking in locations where I would definitely not consider overtaking - like on corners, blind summits and the like where the double lines are present in the middle of the road and large signs are present saying do not overtake!.   The safe distances often talked about in the UK  between you and the vehicle in front does not appear to apply in Brazil.  On many occasions even when doing speeds in excess of 120kph easily - the lorry or bus in front is literally within touching distance, and by that I mean a matter of centimetres rather than metres!!

Safe to say on many occasions I have felt like I have been on a really scary fair ground ride - but one that can last several hours!  The best way to cope with this I have found is to listen to the iPod, close my eyes and pretend its not really a problem - even if I am frightened.