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| Location: | Pernambuco, Brazil |
| Length: | 7 Weeks |
| Dates: | June 20, 2007 - August 8, 2007 |
| Project Type: | Healthy Households / Healthy Communities |
| Restrictions: | Basic conversational Portuguese skills needed |
Description of Project:
Volunteers will assist communities in the construction of 16,000 liter household rainwater collection cisterns and facilitate educational activities with children regarding health and/or environmental issues (including issues of water, nutrition, and cistern maintenance). Volunteers will also have the opportunity to collaborate with communities on community improvement initiatives which may involve working on community gardens, reparation of school buildings, or starting cooperatives.
Cáritas Brasileira, the organization with which AMIGOS is collaborating, is one of 750 organizations that are working towards the construction of one million family cisterns in the semi-arid northeast Brazil. The cisterns are essential to the health of families because the region is very dry and rainfall is scarce. Capturing clean water and purifying it for family consumption is important so that families do not depend on walking to distant water sources that are often contaminated and unsuitable for consumption.
Project Area:
Pernambuco is one of the nine states that make up the Northeast of Brazil, an area known for its dryness and beaches. Pernambuco is divided into three sections: the coast (litoral), midlands (serra) and backlands/brush (sertão). The sertão is the driest and least inhabited, followed by the midlands. The population of Pernambuco is varied, but does consist of a large number of caboclos, or people of native and Portuguese descent. The African influence is relatively rare in this region.
The heart and soul of the Northeast can be found in the music called forró (foe-HOE), which can be described as polka meets lambada meets country music. AMIGOS headquarter city, Caruaru, is the forró capital of Brazil and hosts one of the largest São João festivals in the entire country. This should be of particular interest since the festival begins in June, around the same time as Volunteers arrive!
Project History:
AMIGOS began work in Brazil in 1990 with the Fundação Nacional da Saúde (FNS). From 1990 to 2004, AMIGOS worked with several NGOs and government agencies to provide health-related projects in the region of Rio Grande do Norte. In 2005, AMIGOS decided to regroup and research other potential agencies with which we could establish a long-term partnership. This research resulted in the opening of a 2006 project in Pernambuco with ASA, or Articulação no Semi-Árido Brasileiro, to address the need for easier access to safe drinking water in the region.
Partner Agencies:
Articulação no Semi-Árido Brasileiro (ASA)
Cáritas Brasileira
Further Actions:
“AMIGOS increased my self-confidence, provided me with an opportunity to experience life outside of the United States, and taught me the invaluable lesson of how people can achieve challenging goals through cooperation.”
–Veteran Volunteer
