Emergency Support to the Escola Agricola Rainha dos Apostolos

Project location: Brazil, Manaus
Project start date: December 2006 - Project end date: December 2007
Project number: 2006-48
Beneficiary: Centro de Solidariedade Sao José

The school is managed by the Centro de Solidariedade Sao Josè from Manaus and has been working for over 20 years providing education free of charge to young Brazilian Amazon natives (called Indians). Beyond the academic content, the school prepare its pupils to the modern society challenges, and to the harmful effects that the life in big cities represents for their vulnerable culture. The school plays a very important role in the development of the local population. 
There are 350 students in a boarding school scheme. The school is not financed by any local government and non-governmental institution. Nowadays, the financial resources available are from:
a) The revenues from the sales of agricultural goods, which production is part of the school activities. It covers part of the running costs;
b) Donation from Italian families, in a "distance adoption" scheme
Such resources, unfortunately, do not cover all the costs of running the school, which must be constantly searching for other sources in order to pay its bills.

The Nando Peretti Foundation is one of the sponsors of this school.

 The Escola Agrícola Rainha dos Apóstolos (EARA), is located at the national road BR 174, kilometre  23 Manaus - AM. The total area of the school is 200 hectare 105 of which are planted and 95 hectare of forest reserve. It is registered in the State Education Council (Conselho Estadual de Educação) by the resolution number 061 in 26/10/1979 as a non-profit organization. Its activities have been initiated in 1974 and it is recognized by the Federal Government.

The school develops social work offering free of charge educational services to the local population, which cannot afford paying for it. Due to the lack of public schools in the region, the importance of the school for the community is straightforward. As the school is not supported by any local (government and non-governmental) institution, it is always in shortage of financial resources.
The work developed by the school provides important support for the sustainable development of local native population of some communities of the Brazilian Amazon. It prevents them from the need to leave the rainforest and migrate to big cities in search for a better life. As result the natives no longer enroll the contingent of the slam habitants of the big cities' periphery. Besides the notorious humanitarian achievements, the work developed also helps to preserve the environment. Keeping people in the forest working on sustainable activities is the best way to prevent the rainforest from being destroyed.