Helping Children who Live in a Difficult Social Environment

Project location: Brazil, Fortaleza
Project start date: July 2010 - Project end date: July 2011
Project number: 2010-34
Beneficiary: Associação Beneficente dos Agostinianos Recoletos de Fortaleza

With this project, the ABARF aimed to reach out and work with children in high situation of social risk and victims of abuse and sexual exploitation, in the attempt to take them out of the street.

ABARF believes that providing them with basic education, as well as with a joyful and fun environment where they can relate to each other, is fundamental to allow for an harmonic growth and a comfortable future for them all. Their parents did not have the opportunity to study and to have a proper job, nor a house to live in. As a result, they could not guarantee their children an elementary education.

Unfortunately in such socially disadvantaged situations, the Public Educational System is not sufficient; ABARF tries not to replace the public obligatory educational system, but to complement it and help these children fulfill their right to education.

The ABARF’s teaching approach also includes games, music activities, songs, films, power-points and painting to get their interest.

Moreover, ABARF has built two refuges where to host and protect these boys and girls: LAR SANTA MÓNICA´S and CARLITO PAMPLONA. This is a complex type of intervention, implying constant dialogue and coordination with the local Community, the Social Services, and the legitimate authorities.

In the LAR SANTA MÓNICA´S refuge, which was inaugurated in August 2009, ABARF has tried to provide the hosted children with all the support they needed: educational, medical, and psychological. In CARLITO PAMPLONA, the house located at the outskirt of Fortaleza, in a neighborhood  with plenty of necessities, ABARF has worked with a particular focus on pedagogical and educational support. In the morning, the children living nearby Carlito Pamplona, wait for the ABARF’s classes and activities to start. And at the same time, children who live in Lar Santa Monica’s house go to public schools. In the afternoon, all of them receive a proper support.

The  daily activities in the two ABARF Houses started in July 2010. From Monday to Saturday, all classes begin at  9.00 A.M. and finish at 11.00 A.M. In the afternoon, the children have classes from 2.00 P.M. till 4.00 P.M.

The week schedule is:

The children started the classes as complete beginners, knowing nothing about Portuguese, Spanish, or mathematics. They knew how to pronounce their names and the name of their streets, but not how to write them.  Therefore, ABARF has worked very hard to teach them how to write, read and speak.

Today, ABARF is able to assist its children with the help of both volunteers and professional operators. They all are paying special attention to every boy and girl in both refuges.  

The children receive help to complete the school tasks, workshops, etc. Artistic education and sports activities are also strongly encouraged.

The results of all this work are very good, and they are visible.  The children are happy to attend the classes, and at the end of the day they look forward to come back the next day. The support offered by ABARF is helping them learn discipline and gain personal esteem. As a result, more 50 children have start to conduct a different style of life, thanks to this ABARF work and effort.

Apart from the school books, ABARF also provides the children with other materials: pencils, pens, photocopies, games, bags, shoes, etc.