THE MORELANDER
A ROTARY JOURNEY IN BRAZIL
Alex Henrique Silva talks about Brazil and his journey from Rotaract to Rotary
Pages 4 -7
Award of Excellence for Club Bulletin 2018-2019
Emergency support for victims of the catastrophic earthquake in Turkiye and Syria - page 3Moreland Rotary acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the eastern Kulin Nations on whose unceded lands we conduct our business. Moreland Rotary respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past, present and emerging. Moreland Rotary also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.
Turkish and Syrian Earthquake - a catastrophic humanitarian crisis which needs our generosity
A series of powerful earthquakes have devastated southern Türkiye (formerly Turkey) and northern Syria. Thousands of buildings have collapsed leaving people homeless in the middle of a bitter winter.
At the time of publication the death toll was over 46,000. The many who survived are desperate being forced into homelessness in appalling winter conditions. The crisis is compounded with parts of the region already afflicted by war with the destruction of infrastructure and a massive movement of refugees. By any measure this is a catastrophic humanitarian crisis which warrants a generous response from the world community.
ShelterBox is a Rotary initiative which provides emergency aid to people needing a roof over their heads and basic survival items.
These sturdy green ShelterBoxes contain family-sized tents specially designed to withstand the elements and provide people with temporary shelter until they are able to start the process of rebuilding a home.and ShelterKits contain all of the essential tools people need to start repairing and rebuilding homes straight away.
A home is much more than bricks and mortar or tarpaulin and tent pegs. These kits and boxes contain the items that help transform shelter into a home, like cooking sets, solar lights and activity sets for children.
Our club will be sending five ShelterBoxes to the region and we urge our readers to lend their support via a donation to ShelterBox however large or small. You can do so by going to: https://www.shelterboxaustralia.org.au/turkey-earthquake/
Alex Henrique Silva - a virtual tour of Brazil
Alex Henrique Silva has a wonderful tale to tell
Alex, a regular visitor to our club while studying here in Australia, took us on a virtual journey to his native Brazil with its colour, its complexities, and its zest for living. He spoke of his dedication to his community starting with Rotaract as a very young man leading to greater responsibilities there and eventually joining his father in Rotary via the Suzano club close to Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil
A few facts about Brazil geography, history and government:
Brazil is the largest country in South America both in area and population with 215 million people.
The Sao Paulo is in the southeast region, right above the south region of Brazil and is the most populous part of Brazil with the metro area of Sao Paulo having 22.5 million people. Suzano is a municipality in Sao Paulo state and this is where Alex and his family lives.
Rio de Janeiro is another famous city known for the Christ the Redeemer statue which overlooks the city and its popular Copacabana Beach
Brazil is also a country of rich natural beauty with waterfalls, lakes, rivers, forests, mountains and beaches. Alex and his family certainly make the most of this enjoying outdoor activities such as canoeing. Alex says that Brazilian beaches have a different “vibe” to ours in that going to the beach is largely seem as the favourite holiday activities, especially for those who live in large cities far away from the coast, like Sao Paulo Families and groups of friends usually spend the whole day at the beach contemplating the beautiful view of the sea while far away from the busy environment of the cities. While children have fun building castles in the sand, swimming or playing soccer, adults and young people tend to have a cold beer, listen to music that makes you dance and eating a variety of food bought by one of many individual food vendors that may be found over the beach During the weekends the beaches tend to be very busy and sometimes they are so crowded that you can't even see the sea, but everyone there is enjoying that moment. If you don't like this environment you can find some more isolated beaches that are very beautiful and make us feel more close to the nature.
Historically a predominantly Catholic country, Brazil boasts many magnificent and ornate Baroque style churches and cathedrals deriving from its Portuguese heritage
Brazil started out as a monarchy after gaining independence from its coloniser Portugal in the 19th Century but is now a republic. Its Emperors were originally from the Portuguese Royal Family which had gone into exile during the Napoleonic Wars but a branch of the family remained after independence forming the basis of the monarchy Dom Pedro II was the last Emperor of Brazil and was quite popular but was overthrown in a military coup and died in exile in Paris.
Brazil adopted a new flag for the Republic superseding the royal one and it is still current to this day.
There have been 43 Presidents (including the incumbent) with its previous President being Jair Bolsonaro who is from the right and the current one being Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from the left. Brazil is a very politically polarised country with no evident unifying figure currently in sight. The attack on the Brazilian Congress in January was a manifestation of the passions surrounding this division.
A few other facts:
Alex Henrique Silva - a virtual tour of Brazil
The Brazilian currency is the Real (3.6 to our $) and the minimum wage is 1.302 reals per month.
Sport is a huge passion especially football which has thrown up superstars like the late Pele and frequent success at the World Cup. Soccer is also very popular at street level and Alex used to play there along with other young people in his neighbourhood.
Brazilian food is the result of a mixture of European, indigenous and African ingredients. A Brazilian traditional meal consists in rice, beans, beef or chicken and a variety of salads In Brazil you may find food from different places of the world, but we always create our own way Brazil has its own type of pizzas, its own type of hot dogs and its own type of sushi for example. One of the most traditional food is called feijoada, basically a black bean stew, prepared with rice, black beans, a variety of pork meat, braised cabbage, farofa and orange. Feijoada is usually served with caipirinha, a drink made with chachaça (a distilled Brazilian spirit), lemon, ice and sugar
Most cars are manual drive in Brazil
Alcohol is consumed everywhere but there are age and driving restrictions. There's a zero tolerance rule towards drinking and driving. To buy alcohol you must be over 18. Other than that, there are no restrictions like quantity or where it is allowed to drink
Water is abundant, Brazil being a tropical country
Education in Brazil: School is free and compulsory for students at the primary (ages 7–14) and secondary (ages 15–17) levels. Parents can choose public or private schools. Public schools are free. Home schooling is not common but there are specific rules regulating this practice As it is compulsory very few children and teenagers don't attend to the education system
Churrasco, the Brazilian barbecue, consists in slow-cooked large pieces of meat usually seasoned with salt and prepared using a charcoal barbecue grill. Usually families and friends come together for the preparation of the food. Mayonnaise salad and garlic bread usually accompany the meal. Brazilian barbecue usually takes the whole day and it's an opportunity for people to have a long chat, drink cold beer, listen to music and dance
Personal:
Alex is one of three brothers and his is a very close knit family celebrating Christmas with his extended family. Alex’s girlfriend is Daniela Dias who will be joining him here mid year
The Silvas are a family of musicians His mother and brother are pianists and Alex is a guitarist His father loves singing and appeared singing on a local TV during a live concert that he provided as a fundraising for the Rotary projects. He also participated of national contest on the internet with a video of one of his own songs and won 2nd place. He donated the prize to the Rotary Foundation.
Alex works in advertising and marketing
Rotaract/Rotary:
He joined Rotaract as a young man. At Rotaract Alex was a president of his club and was also elected to be a District Rotaract Representative for the old district 4430, that became 4563. He was involved in volunteer activities such as tree planting, organising speech contests, organising events for training young Rotaract leaders and collecting donations and giving support to families in need
Alex went to Taipei in Taiwan as part of Rotaract and even spoke to RI president as a President of Rotaract. While in Taiwan he took part in activities such as pottery and cycling and was also a guest of the Rotary Club of Taipei-West
After his Rotaract journey came to an end due to reach the maximum age, he joined Suzano Rotary, his father’s club, and he was thrilled to have his whole family attend his induction.
Alex came to Australian in November 2022 for a course in Project Management and is now a regular and most valued visitor to our club.
On asking Alex how many times he had done a presentation in English we were both honoured and amazed to hear that the presentation to Moreland was his first. He has, of course, presented myriad times in his native Portuguese, but this was a first and he did brilliantly.Clearly, he is a young man of many talents and one to watch.
Members of Rotary are part of a diverse group of community and professional leaders working to address community and international service needs and to promote peace and understanding throughout the world.
Rotary clubs receive a charter from the worldwide organisationRotary International
A Rotarian belongs to a particular Rotary Club often near his/her home or work or sometimes because of the club meeting time.
