Monday 19 February
Today we really enjoyed meeting up with two of our partners in Recife. There is nothing like the face to face contact and the opportunity to build important relationships with the teams we work with all the year round. They were eager to share with us and we really valued reflecting on the work they deliver with such dedication and commitment.
Tuesday 20 February
This morning we visited the families of 2 young people who our partner projects have helped. The first visit was to Dona Sonia’s house in the low income community of Sapo Nu. She is the Grandmother of 16 year old Tiago who completed the Mentoring and Skills Training Project in December 2023. She is so proud that thanks to the project’s support Tiago recently secured a year long apprenticeship with the Caixa Economica Federal, one of Brazil’s largest state banks. This means that Tiago is now earning and will be able to make a contribution to the household expenses. She told us that Tiago is the 3rd Grandson to have secured an apprenticeship with the help of the Mentoring and Training Skills project.
We also visited 17 your old Giselle’s home in Sapo Nu. We first met Giselle in February 2023 and just after her daughter Jasmine was born. They were both receiving help from Project Gathering which focuses on supporting young pregnant Mums from low income communities. Giselle told us that she has been able to resume her school studies but it’s a struggle with a young baby. She said that Project Gathering had made a big difference to her in terms of encouragement and motivating her to overcome her challenges.
Wednesday 21 February
This morning we visited Tiago in his new workplace. He is doing his apprenticeship with the Caixa Econômica Federal Bank, in central Recife. He will be working there for two years and earning a salary. He said that the Mentoring and Skills Training project had really helped him overcome his fears about starting work and built his personal confidence. His line Managers said he arrived at the workplace well prepared and with a good attitude. The Project Coordinator Paulo felt immensely encouraged to receive this feedback from Tiago’s Managers.
Thursday 22 February
Today we visited the Mentoring and Skills Training. Project. This year there are 45 young people from low income families who passed through the selection process. They will spend a year with the project preparing for the work place. Some will study administration and others industrial mechanics. Happy Child’s Chairman John Doddrell has really enjoyed teaching the young people English this month. In turn they have had great fun learning.
Thursday 22 February
Happy Child International continues to support Project Gathering which is focused on helping vulnerable young Mum’s from low income communities. We were very pleased to catch up with some of the young Mums again this week and a year on from when we last met them in February 2023. On this occasion they were attending a workshop about the importance of family planning and birth control. The Mum’s we spoke to said that the project had given them enormous support and encouragement
Friday 23 February
Today we visited 2 amazing projects in the Agreste region of Pernambuco State. Our Brazilian partner delivers both these projects to vulnerable communities in this rural area. The projects are teaching young people aged between 18 and 24 organic farming techniques so that they can grow and produce their own food. This will help the young people generate income and support themselves and their families. We met some of the students the project is working with.
Saturday 24 February
Today we were so pleased to visit a brand new project that Happy Child International has been instrumental in helping to get started. This project is in a coastel resort called Tamandare where work and income generation is often very seasonal. The project focuses on teaching children and young people IT skills, particularly in the area of programming. 40 young people from the age of 14 upwards have been selected to join the course this year which runs on Saturday mornings. All of the children attending are from low income communities in the area and are highly motivated to attend.
Written by Caroline Taylor