Sponsor Environmental Education of Kids in Brazil

After a few false starts The Brilho opened its doors at the beginning of this month and the children are delighted to be back at school again. They'd been more than 18 months at home doing online lessons so it was nice for them to meet up with old school friends and see their teachers. Sadly the director of the school Elidiane lost a family member to COVID and the school continues to take precautions.

Thanks to the money we raised together it was possible to buy materials such as paint and give the playgrounds and buildings a bit of a face lift. There's been a lot of voluntary community activity as parents and staff painted walls and gates, tidied the gardens, fixed rooves, fixed plumbing etc The children are going back to a school depleted in numbers but looking rather nice!

The money from monthly donors has been instrumental in investing in new technology and in some training in online lessons. It has also helped to furnish some last bits and pieces for the 'kiosk' that will sell vegan fast food in front of the school and will be opening in the next month. A freezer finally arrived from Salvador this week so we are busy learning how to make vegan ice cream. We continue to be very grateful for any support you can offer in giving the kiosk a flying start.

Everyone at The Brilho would like to say a really big thank you for the generous support you have all offered which has made such a big difference. It's good to hear the sound of children playing in the playground again.

Links:

• Our school facebook

I'm very happy to report that during the accelerator campaign, together we raised enough money to secure the school's immediate future. The Brilho now has enough in its account to remain open until at least the end of the year. Not only does this mean that the children's education can continue uninterrupted but also the school director Elidiane and her team remain employed at this difficult time. The school is situated in a village which depends on tourism and a great deal of international tourism so the local economy has been hit very hard by Covid. The Brilho couldn't have remained open without your support so thank you so much.

Lessons however have looked very different during this time and the teachers have been working hard to learn new skills and provide online lessons. Provisions have been made so that all students have access to the internet and a device where they can do their lessons at home or at a neighbour or friend's house. Online lessons are better than nothing but they are nothing like the hands on learning by doing and environmental work outside the classroom that the children enjoy. I'm overjoyed to report that the school has plans to open again  physically in September.

Thanks to the money you have continued to raise through monthly donations the school has also been able to carry out much needed maintenance and repairs especially on the drains and the roof so the children should be returning to lovely safe buildings almost 2 years since the school closed its doors. Current plans include building up our network of monthly donors so that instead of just staying afloat, The Brilho can really invest in the teaching staff and in some creative ideas to produce our own income. 

The Brilho would like to say a special thank you to Crowcroft Park Primary school who recently had a Brazilian themed summer fair day in Manchester UK and donated part of the proceedings to our campaign. If anybody would like to organise a similar (or different) event please do get in touch, we'd love to hear about it and help with any resources.