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South America
in Action
• July 2014 •
Brazil Pedras de Fogo, isn’t a world cup host city
Colombia A thirsty country beyond the statistics
Peru Economic improvement doesn’t climb the Andes Mountains
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Brasil 3
Brazil
Pedras de Fogo isn’t a World Cup host city
by Ana Santos – BR FCS
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n 2011 Wylma, a project director, visited the Santo Antonio neighborhood of Pedras de Fogo, in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. She went there to tell the families about the social project that had just been opened in the local Baptist church. While visiting one small house, located on a dirt street, it didn´t take long for Wylma to realize that there was a communication gap between the mother and her little daughter, Andriele. While Wylma explained the project, she observed the way the mother referred to her daughter and noted certain impatience in her tone every time she needed to talk to the child. Andriele has a speech impediment, and she usually repeats what she has heard several times. Communication with Andriele demands attention, and very soon Wylma realized the mother wasn´t very good at this. That moment, Wylma, felt certain
this was a family who would feel an immensely positive impact through Compassion. Only the front of Andriele´s house is made of bricks. The remainder is constructed with mud. Besides this, there is no indoor plumbing— and this is true of 80 percent of the community. Alcoholism, drugs, unemployment, poor education, laziness, ineffective public health care, and inferior housing are also problems faced by the 26 thousand inhabitants of the community. These factors, combined with families’ negligence within their own homes, contribute negatively to the holistic development of any child. During the few minutes she was at the home, Wylma talked to Patricia, the mother, explaining that Andriele would make friends at the project and receive attention and academic tutoring from the teachers while learning about the Bible. It would be an ideal place for the little girl to
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develop comprehensively instead of staying at home or being on the street, exposed to all manner of bad influences. Besides all that, Andriele could be sponsored, and through that sponsorship she would have a friend and supporter from another country. At first, Patricia was suspicious— food, education, tutoring, and sponsorship without having to pay anything for all this? However, she agreed. After all, it was a social project in the church. Thus, Andrielle was one of the first children to be registered in the newly opened Project Resgate (Project Rescue - BR 513)—and she was the first child to be sponsored. A new partnership starts The partnership registration form clearly showed that the church met all of Compassion’s requirements. However, a visit from
the Compassion facilitators was still necessary for conversations and visits in the community. These visits provided the church with in-depth details about the operation of the Compassion Program. The church leadership was greatly interested in investing in this children´s ministry – and the needs of the community and children were apparent. The contract was finalized and partnership between the church and Compassion was established quickly— it was greatly celebrated. “It was a beautiful day. I read the terms of Compassion’s contract with the church, and the project staff was very excited, full of plans and full of dreams”, says Paula Soares, the Compassion employee who is responsible for the Project Rescue partnership. Before actually having children in the classroom, Compassion Brazil’s
Brasil 5 training team trained the project staff on defending children. During the training, the staff learned about laws for children and adolescents as well as how to identify cases of abuse and what to do in such cases. To Wylma, this training was extremely important. She explains, “Now I am totally conscious of the fact that I am a defender of our children. I know that we should always seek to defend the weak and needy”. Prior to the project’s opening, the team made home visits in the community, telling parents exactly what the project is and inviting them to register their children. It was on such a visit that Wylma met Andriele. At the project, in addition to the other benefits, Andriele has academic tutoring, handcrafts, a balanced meal, music, and drama for special presentations like Mother’s Day and learning personal hygiene, among other helpful things. When the girl started at the project, Wylma said that she was quite shy, but nowadays, she interacts very well with other children. The greatest impact of the project has had, however, was on the family; the attention and love Andriele’s teacher have lavished on her has driven Patricia, little by little, to change the way she treats
her daughter. A major milestone for this change came about when Andriele’s first letter arrived from her sponsor. “When Patrícia read the sponsor’s letter, she could no longer contain herself and she began to cry”, reports Wylma. “She realized how much love was contained within those lines, and it was coming from a person who didn’t know Andriele personally. She realized that Andriele is loved”. Today, when Patricia talks to Andriele, she gives her the necessary attention and always refers to her daughter with affection. Patricia understands that the project is a life-changing factor for her daughter’s future, saying, “In this day and age, children only think of stealing, but at the project they are learning respect for others. It is good to grow up in church, isn’t it? At church Andriele learns good things…. this is my dream for her and for my other children: grow and respect others.” Andriele’s story illustrates how a project can impact families and bring positive change. Because of Compassion, this family—and others—have a new story. “We have seen lives transformed”, says Wylma. “Andriele’s story motivates us to continue on”.
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COLOMBIA
A thirsty country beyond the statistics by Lina Marcela Alarcón – CO FCS
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tatistics usually are the official voice of a company, an organization, a country; its reality is expressed in numbers and percentages. But when we talk about a country’s statistics, can they show the reality that the families and communities live, and in many times suffer? In the exactness and coldness of a statistic you can be optimistic or pessimistic about the circumstances; but when you stop seeing them from the numbers and see them from the reality of the daily life, you understand that the problem is not how much the rates increase or decrease, but how many families
face difficult situations because of the percentage that is not covered yet. In Colombia the access to better sources of drinkable water and better services of basic drainage has been improving the last couple of years. Since 1993 the aqueduct service in the rural area shows an increase of 30.58 percentage points, going from 41.1% to 71.98% in 2008. At the regional level, the Atlantic region stands out in the increase of better sources of drinkable water going from 81.52% in 2003 to 84.62% in 2008. Also, the access to appropriate services of drainage has had a considerable increase in the
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Atlantic region where it went from 62.1% in 2003 to 70.4% in 2008, then comes the Pacific and Oriental Regions with an increase of 3.4 percentages in the same period.
the aqueduct system. Then they keep it in tanks and store it to be used. Others on their side receive Although the increase is statistically water through hoses their neighbors noticeably, when you look at the install to provide them of it. This is missing percentage, it is worthwhile because the aqueduct only reaches to stop to think a little bit about some homes, and they are in charge the faces that live the reality of of providing the others with the these numbers. Many children and vital liquid; but this water is not families in Colombia “Thousands of families drinkable and has to be who live in poverty boiled to be used. don´t have access do not understand to drinking water in This is the way of life percentages; they regions where average many families have had only face their temperatures are 100°F” to adopt, learning to live reality day after with the parasites that day, the one of not having a bath, these practices cause, and with the a sink, a dish sink, a shower, or different sicknesses that the use of at least drinkable water. Many of non-drinkable water can lead to. them get water out of handmade wells, which are more than 30 meters deep, and through a manual extraction system they take out the daily water supply for their homes. Others receive water every certain time, 12 hours, two or three days, through
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Peru
Economic improvement doesn´t climb the Andes Mountains by Adele Berg – PE FCS
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p on the Andes Mountains there are many towns that are not easy to reach due to unpaved roads. When the rainy season comes, the roads become soaked producing landslides and making it difficult to travel to many small towns whose inhabitants live in poverty and have been forgotten by the government authorities.
One of those towns is Panao, in the Huanuco Region, located in the middle of the country. The place can be reached by a 12-hour bus trip that will transport the traveler into the Region’s main city and then, after some hours of waiting again at another bus depot, there is a second trip that lasts two and a half hours in order to arrive at Panao Town. This town is located on a slope
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and has a mild temperature during most of the year. This is one of the many towns in the Andes that lack many basic facilities, such as treated water, sewage systems, good schools and job opportunities. This is a town where the inhabitants struggle day by day to continue living and some fight just to survive. These are the ones with whom Compassion International in association with the Alliance Church, is working hard to help them overcome material and spiritual poverty. The Poma family, just one example The Poma’s are one of those families battling to survive. The family´s two oldest daughters are already married and live elsewhere; the third child, a 14-year-old girl, has mental problems and hides from visitors and turns aggressive if a stranger approaches her; then there are six more children, the youngest a two-and-a-half-years-old boy. The father is not a qualified worker, therefore he performs any task that comes along, generally farm chores, which could last one day or one entire month, with a day’s salary of around US$9.00 or less, and no social benefits. The mother is a house-wife, but also washes clothes in town to get some income.
“In order to register children, we decided to visit each home in the poor section of town, but were shocked to witness the Poma family’s extreme poverty”, comments Mrs. Juana Bardalez, Director of PE-550, Child Development Sponsorship Program (CDSP). They noticed that there were no beds, table, or chairs, just some plastic bags filled with clothes hanging on the walls and some folded plastics, pieces of cardboard, sheep skins and old blankets piled in one corner of the adobe house with dirt floors; no power, water, or toilet facilities. The entire family was living crowded in a tiny oneroom space and had a firewood stove outside their house. “They felt somewhat uncomfortable with our surprise visit, but I could notice some light of hope in Mrs. Poma’s eyes when I told her about Compassion”, recalls Mrs. Bardalez. This family has been living in
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different places, mainly in the field of the Poma children have been where they would care for the crops registered in the Compassion and work the land for a landlord. program to help them overcome Some time ago, they moved into the difficult situation they are going the town´s poor section so that the through. They are Roy Poma, children could attend school, but PE-550-0139 (6 years old); Lenin the room was quite small; now they Poma, PE-550-0140 (8 years old) are in a place that is and Beatriz Poma, PE“Treated water, somewhat larger. They 550-0141 (5 years old). sewage systems, are staying there for free good schools and job “We decided to help after an agreement to opportunities, don´t this family through the care for the owners land. program called Highly reach highlands.” Vulnerable Children The little money the (HVC) and bought the things father earns is just enough to cover the day’s main needs. The Poma they urgently needed most”, tells children wear used clothes or Mrs. Bardalez. In fact, the project clothes given as a donation from a staff had to go to the region’s main charity institution that is common city to buy bunk beds, mattresses, to all the poor families in the area. pillows, blankets, a small gas stove, Whenever it was time to sleep, the a table and benches, plus some family would place the plastics on kitchenware. “My husband and the dirt floor, then the cardboard I are thankful to the Compassion and then the sheep skins to give project and the church members warmth and finally each one would for helping us to have hope for the wrap in their old blanket. future of our children”, says Mrs. Poma. The good news is that now three
Perú 11 “The children were the happiest ones with the toy gifts and the furniture. Now the family can enjoy a better quality life style and live with dignity”, comments the former Facilitator in charge, Mr. Samuel Vega. “The Poma children never miss to attend the project, they are very enthusiastic and enjoy their time each day they attend”, says Mrs. Bardalez. At the project they receive a well-balanced meal, get help with their homework, and learn new things such as health care, the Word of God, how to socialize, etc . Now they have more opportunities to overcome poverty. “Most children drop out after finishing grade school, especially the girls. Few go into high school and finish it”, comments Mrs. Bardalez. Also there is a technical school where young people study technical nursing, cattle raising and land farming techniques. Most
girls stay at home helping their mother with the house chores; they only study grade school because the majority of the fathers think that it is waste of money to educate a girl because a man will take away their daughter. However, they demand their sons finish high school. It is quite common for teenage girls to become pregnant and marry the father of their baby. Many times these girls end up having large families and living in extreme poverty, continuing the cycle of illiteracy and poverty that often go together. “Compassion is a light that shines in this town that lives away from reality and modernity as in the capital city”, says Mrs. Bardalez. “We look forward with hope because with the help of the Lord and Compassion, our children will never live again in poverty”, says Mrs. Poma, with a grateful heart.
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