Brazil: Centro Diaconal

About the local hosting organization

Our partner created a philanthropic project born in 2000 and based on social and assistant work with about 100 children and adolescents from 6 to 16 years old. Our partner's mission is to contribute to the global development of the society, with a learning based on respect, love, autonomy with responsibility. The objective is to develop educational processes and actions which can transform the local culture in a no-violence culture and to strengthen the familiar and communitarian ties of children and families living in the area, all in social risk situations. Our partner provides a safe space in which the children are listened to and stimulated to reflect and interact. Children who study at school in the morning, stay in CEDEL in the afternoon and vice versa: they are attended through a program called Programa de Serviço de Apoio Sócio Educativo (SASE); there are other two programs turned to integrate the families and the local community: Núcleo de Apoio Sócio Familiar (which support more than 40 poor families) and Telecentro (informatic centre open to the community).

Presentation of the programme

Our partner offers alternative education through different activities, such as informatics, language lessons, sports and games, art workshops, dance… All these activities want to permit children to understand the importance of autonomy, of sense of responsibility and cooperation, to exercise their citizenship. Beside the normal activities, there are several projects in which the volunteer will be able to participate and help: Citizenship and computing school; Environmental Education; Biodance; bring the kids to a Tennis Project; Integration among schools; gardening; increase the self-confidence through sport (depending to the semester). He/she will also be asked to promote workshops in one of more areas: Sports and recreational areas (in particular tennis and soccer), music (singing, playing instruments, dance, theatre…), arts (drawing, painting, handcraft…), language and informatics lessons.

About the accomodation

The volunteers will stay with Brazilian host families.

About the food

In Porto Alegre, volunteers will have the opportunity to taste a variety of delicious dishes. Among the regional specialties not to be missed are churrasco, a barbecue of various meats, feijoada, a stew of black beans and meat, and barreado, a slowly cooked beef dish served with manioc flour and fried bananas. Volunteers can also enjoy traditional desserts such as cuca, as well as the famous local drink, chimarrão, made from yerba mate leaves.

About the location

The project is located in Porto Alegre, which is the capital of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, the southern state of Brazil. The city has a population of 1.500.000 inhabitants approximately, being very big and urbanized. The neighborhood is called Petrópolis, it has 35.069 inhabitants and is about 20 minutes away from the city center by bus.

About the leisure activities

In Porto Alegre, volunteers will have plenty of opportunities for exploration and discovery. They can visit historical sites such as Farroupilha Park and the Rio Grande do Sul Art Museum, as well as enjoy nature by strolling along the lakeside promenade of Lake Guaíba. The city also offers a vibrant cultural scene with theaters, art galleries, and musical events throughout the year. Volunteers can also indulge in local cuisine at the city's numerous restaurants and cafes.

Requirements

In social projects in Brazil, most people do not know a second language - such as English - and may not be able to help the volunteers so much at their arrival in the project… For this reason, a basic Portuguese knowledge (or Spanish) is required in order to get an ongoing communication: the more Portuguese you know, the easier work activities get and the more opportunities appear for you.