Community Service Day at the Nassau Social Centre in Goiana

On Monday 4th June the whole CSC team travelled by bus to Goiana about 60 miles from Recife . There we were introduced to another of the Casa Da Crianca Projects. The Nassau Social Centre is in a poor rural village , the houses are very small and basic and without bathrooms . No one from this village had ever gone to college . This project was put in place to bring some socio-economic and cultural development , integrated and sustainable to a village where fishing for crabs , oysters and other shellfish are the main sources of livelihood for about 7,000 residents of the locality and surroundings  .

The Social Centre has been built through the franchise of Casa Da Crianca and there are 200 students who go to the centre every day , In this village the schools are small so children go either in the morning or the afternoon , so when they are not at school they go this beautifully built centre which has been purpose built for the children. Bright buildings with white tiles , music rooms and rooms for them to develop their art of  making statues, boxes, baskets . All these are made from recycled materials or natural resources . Newspaper, recylced paper, banana fibres , and onion and garlic skins are some of the raw materials that they use.

What this project gives these teenagers is several fold . An opportunity to learn new skills in either craft or music and dance. This in turn provides them a way of making money to bring to their families, The crafts that they produce are sold in shops in Recife and are also exhibited and sold at trade fairs . The teenagers make their own business plan , organise their finances and share the profit  . This sounds like a project that might be done in a smaller scale during a gap year or transition year in Ireland , but this project actually changes their lives and that of their families. This is the only opportunity for them to make money . For those who take music , and dance they are also able to make money  performing in bands or dance troops .  

There is also a knock on effect in the family home where  the children are able to share their aspirations and help their families to see possibilities that they had never seen before.  

These children now have dreams of a future that could be better for them and  their families. In spite of the odds against it happening 3 of the students have now gone to university , a reality beyond their dreams .

We spent the day watching and being shown how to make the statues which are made from paper and water , no glue . Also we each made a box from natural fibres , with help from the experts ! What struck me during our visit there was the complete professionalism of the children in everything they did , they are so proud of their achievements .

Here are some more photos from the day .