Brazil
Multimedia centre
Building a computer lab and library in Brazil so children can gain literacy and computer skills
Education & Training
The Need
Getting an education is key to breaking free from poverty. But many children growing up in Brazil face significant barriers to education that put them at risk of dropping out, only to repeat the cycle of poverty of their parents. Most schools in Brazil are poorly resourced, and many children are far behind where they should be in basic skills like reading and writing. In fact, by the 5th grade, 34 per cent of students have not yet learned how to read. An estimated 28 per cent of all Brazilians are deemed to be functionally illiterate. Across the nation, a lack of education is a major contributor to persistent, systemic poverty.
At the Filhos Do Rei Compassion centre in Bom Jardim, Brazil, many students were struggling academically. After assessing more closely, staff determined that eight in 10 of their youth ages 12 to 20 were significantly behind in reading and writing skills—and at risk of dropping out of school permanently. Recognizing how critical education is in gaining lasting freedom from poverty, the church in Bom Jardin wanted to intervene. By building a computer lab and library, they wanted to provide children and youth with the vital resources and support they will need to catch up academically, develop their God-given gifts and reach their potential.
Our Response
The dedicated staff at the Filhos Do Rei Compassion centre were overjoyed and excited to receive the news of your commitment to help fund the multimedia room. They knew this would be an incredible blessing for their children and quickly mobilized local resources to begin construction on the room, which took place between September and November 2021. During this time, they also purchased the learning materials and furnishings for the room and started the process of hiring a professional educator who could diagnose and support any children with learning difficulties.
Despite ongoing pandemic restrictions, local authorities permitted children and youth to gather in small groups. The church was careful to observe all required health protocols to ensure that children could continue learning. The professional educator tailored the learning to each group based on their age and cognitive development, with the goal of meeting each student’s individual needs so they can become fluent in reading and writing. Children look forward to coming to the centre each week to engage in collective reading, text interpretation and fun educational games. With the patient and caring support of their instructor, children have even been able to participate in small plays and performances.
In February 2022, once gathering limits were relaxed, the church held an inauguration ceremony to celebrate the opening of the multimedia room and publicly thank and praise God for this incredible blessing. During the service, a special moment of prayer was observed to thank the Lord for the donors who supported this initiative.
Activities
Literacy and learning: Children love coming to the centre to enjoy story time, computer classes, educational toys and games, musical instruments and other fun learning activities facilitated by the professional instructor.
Inauguration ceremony: After gathering restrictions were lifted, the church was able to host a special inauguration service to celebrate the opening of the new multimedia room.
Conversation circles: Youth gather in circles to discuss what they have read and to answer questions by the teacher.
Your Gift Provides...
Your support helped build and furnish a computer lab and library, at a Compassion centre in Brazil, including:
• Room renovations, including labour costs
• Air conditioner
• Educational games
• 2 musical toys
• 1 projector
• 5 computers
• Supplementary educational materials
• Furniture and seating
• Library books
• Professional educator
ReportA message from a pastor
Our community is very deprived in several areas that end up negatively influencing the social and intellectual development of our participants, as well as their families. The multimedia room has helped us to strengthen ties with our participants and provide them with knowledge that will help them in their good social and cognitive development. This will serve as an impetus for them to invest in their educational and professional lives, changing the history of the family and, consequently, of the community.
This intervention encouraged us to invest more in our structure to improve services to our community. We combined our local resources with funding from the intervention and built a room that exceeded expectations.
We can see gratitude in the life of each participant. We have shown them how God cares about them, and that He gives them a better future. In my contact with the participants, I was able to show them how God’s actions can influence the achievement of our goals. I was also able to show them that this intervention came as a gift to all of them.
Our hearts are full of gratitude. Your support moved us to mobilize the entire church to complement the resources and do the best for the participants. I ask God that each donor may be blessed abundantly.
ReportA message from those your gift helped
Before, I didn’t really like to read and had difficulty understanding and concentrating. I felt that something was missing. The multimedia room came to facilitate many things such as research on computers, printing schoolwork, activities that help us to think and develop our minds, guided games, reading and conversation circles.
The classroom has helped me to get along better with my classmates. I am very shy, but in the classroom, I have the chance to do several things. The teacher is very nice and manages to make everyone participate in everything. I really like the reading wheel and the guided games.
I noticed that I have improved at school. I am understanding better the texts in class, and I have enjoyed reading more. My understanding is developing, and my mind is more open to the interpretation of texts.
I have learned that reading is not a monster like I thought it was, and that through it I can better understand things and make healthy decisions. Reading is part of life, and it gets better when done in a pleasant way. The centre showed me this through this space.
I’m happy to know that there are people willing to help. This room has brought us a lot of learning and it’s one of the best rooms in our centre. It is beautiful and very colourful. May God bless the donors so richly. Thank you very much!
ReportThank you for your generosity
Thanks to you, 80 boys and girls in Bom Jardim, Brazil, have a safe and welcoming place to learn, make friends and develop the vital practical and life skills they will need to become successful adults. The new multimedia room is a blessing to these children, their parents and the community and has been an incredible encouragement to our hardworking partners who have committed their lives to seeing these children thrive.
Even though the new program is still in its early stages, children are already showing encouraging signs of progress. Already, 90 per cent of the students have now successfully read an entire book—a monumental achievement for these boys and girls, who, just a few months ago, could barely read or write. Half the students have shown especially significant progress in their reading skills.
Children love coming to play and learn each week and are even showing improvements in their social skills and ability to resolve conflicts through dialogue. Our church partner is continuing to monitor and evaluate each student’s progress and will soon be reviewing their school evaluations to assess improvements in their academic performance. In the months and years to come, it will be exciting to see just how much more they will learn and what incredible goals they will achieve. Thank you for investing in these precious lives, and the many boys and girls who will come after them!