Although it has begun to rain now, this year will be an especially dry one. The lack of rain over the last few months probably cannot be compensated by the remaining weeks of the rainy season, which normally ends at the end of July. This fact has great influence on the dry region and also on most of our projects.
In April we began to dig a well in the community Varelo de Baixo. This project is going to realize access to fresh and clean water for the ten families of the community. The people can use the water as potable water, for cooking and washing but also for their cattle. In the meantime the well is about four or five meters deep and soon it will be finished.
In the community Gonçalo we were able to finish the last tasks at the big water tank well-timed before the first rainfalls. From now on this tank will save rainwater for the surrounding population to drink, cook and wash. Therefore we are hoping that the rain will fill the tank soon so that it can serve the 20 families with clean and sufficient amounts of water. To celebrate the conclusion of the project we are looking forward to organizing a dedication of the tank with worship for the community and the participating workers. At this point, we would like to thank the donators of the Stefan-Rahl Schule Obereschach, who financed this tank with their donation.
We also have good news to tell about our projects in the state of Pernambuco. In the community Logradouro, where the inhabitants had to suffer from a lack of water and hunger, a well could be finished, too. The well provides not only as potable water for the inhabitants, but also water for the animals and cattle. Therefore we want to thank family Nömayr, who made us realize this project with their donation.
the finished water tank in Gonçalo
In March one of our newest projects was initiated. Together with the sponsorship for scholarships Passo Fundo e.V., Projects for poor people e.V. started a scholarship program for highly skilled students from disadvantaged homes. The grants enable the four students André, Fernanda, Jordão and Valdenia to have an academic education, which their parents could not have funded. In return the four young people join the projects of our organization and participate in the community work group or lead one of the children groups. We are looking forward to expanding this project due to appropriate results and so be able to help more students.
four scholarships helping in a community work (left to right): Valdênia, André, Fernanda, one of the bricklayers and Jordão
On Easter Sunday there was a great feast of the children's group in the project centre of Projects for Poor People e.V., celebrating Easter with more than 40 children aged four to thirteen. Valdenia, one of the scholarship holders, has been leading the group together with her sister for a long time. Every two weeks they meet in the centre to play, dance and pray - also on Easter. Apart from the educating part about the origin and the intention of Eastern and its symbols, the search for the Easter eggs was the highlight of the day.
the children group on Eastern
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Apart from the meeting of the children group a lot of other courses are offered in the educational centre of Projects for Poor People e.V. So a new women group has been founded at the end of May, which is going to meet on a weekly basis from now on. The twelve young women and mothers from the surrounding communities Alto Grande, Varelo de Baixo and Varelo de Cima learn together how to paint drapery in order to generate an additional income by selling them.
Furthermore since May we have been offering English courses again, managed by the voluntary workers. The interest in the courses is that great, so that we unfortunately cannot admit every applicant. In three successive and concerted courses with four hours per week each, we taught the participants a basic knowledge of the English language, to advance their professional perspectives.
Besides, there will be a course for illiterates in our educational centre in the next six months four times per week. The objective of the course managed by an professional teacher is to teach interested people how to read and write. Unfortunately the percentage of illiterates in the rural population of Brazil is still very high. So we are even more pleased about this course happening in our organization.
the women group painting drapery
At the beginning of May also a two-day course for apiarists was realized in our educational centre. Besides lectures and workshops about quality increase of the products honey, pollen and nectar, we visited the bee house, where the usually honey is centrifuged. Since our educational centre offers both the training classroom and accommodation possibilities, not only the apiarists of our project could participate, but also apiarists from other communities. In addition, the apiarists started to collect honey in the last quarter. For this, they meet in little groups to remove the honeycombs together and centrifuge them. Before, they made new combs out of the wax of the last year.
Finally 13 of our apiarists visited the yearly happening apiculture convention of the state ParaÃba in the beginning of June. At this event there met some hundreds of apiarists and interested people in the town Nova Floresta to exchange experiences.
the apiarists collecting honey
The renovation of the house of the visually impaired Marcio and his family of ten from the community Mata Velha - mentioned in the last quarter report - was finally finished. Additional to the toilet, which they had been longing for for so long, the family possesses now two more bedrooms - enough room, so that the children don´t have to sleep in the kitchen any more. Early enough before the first strong rainfalls the roof could be covered, too. To realize a project of this dimension, two Sundays with more than 24 voluntary workers were necessary. We heartily thank the donators, without them this great project would not have been possible.
Marcio with a part of his family in front of the renovated house
With the beginning of the rainy season, also the distribution of the nearly 20.000 seedlings of our reforestation project to the inhabitants of the surrounding communities should start. But because of the absence of rainfalls it was not possible to distribute that many seedlings as we would have liked to. Without sufficient rain the young seedlings probably would not survive. The farmers have to save the rare water supply for themselves and their cattle. So the seedlings will be kept and cultivated in the project centre of Projects for Poor People e.V. until the distribution can be reasonably realized.
To act fast with the starting rainfalls, two courses were held in the surrounding communities of Araruna in May. The main focus of the courses was on the one hand the relevance and the benefit of the reforestation project and on the other hand the practically planting of the seedlings. Well prepared we are hoping now for many and long rainy days.
the first seedlings on their way to the surrounding communities of Araruna
In the beginning of June we were pleased with the attendance of the bishop of Guarabira, Dom Francisco de Assis Dantas de Lucena, here in our project centre. Together with a group of the public pastoral care for children he visited our organization and showed great interest in the activities and different fields of Projects for Poor People e.V.the bishop showed great interest also in the products of the apiarists
For August we organized a four week language course in Portuguese in our educational centre. Besides the acquisition of a new language we are going to show the participants the amazing region and provide an insight in the Northeast Brazilian everyday life. The course appeals to everyone, who will spend a year or semester abroad in Brazil, like students, trainees or voluntary workers, but also to anyone who just wants to learn a new language and to get to know a new culture.Additionally we would like to invite you to our Open Days in Araruna, ParaÃba, Brazil from the 10th to the 15th of August. In these six days we are going to offer all interested people the possibility to visit our organization, some of our projects, the Brazilian culture and the amazing landscape of the Northeast of Brazil.
The preparations for these two events could be finished in the last weeks and so we are gladly looking forward to vivid participation and favourable success.
Finally we would like to thank you, dear donators, for your active support. It is a great feeling, that - with your support - we can improve the situation and the quality of life of so many people here in the Northeast of Brazil.
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