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The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed. The past few months have been filled with great encounters.
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| Manoel Andrade |
EDUCATOR MANOEL ANDRADE SPEAKS ABOUT SCHOOL REFORM IN BRAZIL
Manoel Andrade, a social entrepreneur in the Northeast of Brazil and grantee of BrazilFoundation, gave a talk on June 8th at the residence of founder Leona Forman. His first-hand account of the educational landscape of his hometown was gripping, “Cipó and its neighborhood was a very poor community without a high school, healthy water, or even electricity. We knew of no students who had ever gone to the university.” Due to a fortunate move that placed him in Fortaleza with his grandparents as a child, Manoel was able to attend the University of Ceará and earn first a bachelor’s and then a PHD in Natural Products Chemistry. It was then that he decided to take the first step in what would be a long journey of education reform.
“In 1994, the project was just my idea, and I didn’t know much about local development; I just wanted to help my community. I thought that it was a good idea, at least I could help the first students—the seven pioneers-- get a basic education by finishing elementary and high school.”
Manoel built an educational model in which rural students approach learning as a group activity. Former graduates work in groups or “cells” to mentor current students in a system he calls a “Cooperative Popular School” (PRECE). This strategy had tremendous results; most of the first students not only finished their basic educations but passed their entrance exams for the Federal University of Ceará.
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| Prece students |
Manoel’s programs currently have three main components:
- First, the “Education of Youths and Adults” program, an adult education course that awards a high school equivalency diploma to successful participants.
- Second, the “Cooperative Preparatory Course” is a project in which rural students study together and tutor their peers in the topics they know best. Former program graduates and university students also volunteer to teach, supported by a university extension scholarship.
- The third project component consists of a group of supplementary activities. For example, in “Organic Agriculture” former PRECE students, now studying agronomy at the Federal University of Ceará, train current students who live in the project’s house to produce fruit and vegetables without using conventional agricultural chemicals.
Today, Manoel reaches 2,000 students, half of whom are girls and young women. 150 have entered the Federal University of Ceará with housing and food scholarships. While his programs continue to flourish and expand in nearby communities, his larger goal is to mobilize citizens to demand better public education. BrazilFoundation's involvement in PRECE acted as a catalyst for the organization to achieve partnerships with other nonprofit organizations, such as ASHOKA and the JP Lemann Foundation.
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HSBC PARTNERS WITH BRAZILFOUNDATION TO ADDRESS EDUCATION DEFICIT IN NORTHEAST
Combining the mission of HSBC’s Solidarity Institute to improve education, and BrazilFoundation’s ability to identify and encourage effective social entrepreneurs, the First Call for Project Proposals in Rural Education was launched with a deadline of July 20th, 2007. The objective is to select nonprofit organizations working in Brazil’s Northeast that can strengthen rural education. Ten projects will be chosen and given grants of $75,000.00 reais over a three-year period. In addition to this support, the coordinators will receive capacity-building assistance from BrazilFoundation that focuses on strategic planning, communication, and financial management.
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| Entrance to NGO working in Education |
The importance of rural education was highlighted in recent figures released by the HDI (Human Development Index) and HDI-E (Human Development Index concerning Education) of the United Nations Development Program. Seven million Brazilian students study in rural schools, yet only 1.8 % of these schools have libraries. Ten percent of young adults between the ages of 12 and 17 living in rural areas are illiterate. In urban areas the percentage is only 2.7%. The UNDP considers the region to have the lowest educational indicators in Brazil.
Project proposals must focus on improving the structure and quality of teaching offered to the community. Among the suggested actions are:
- Further training for teachers and school staff
- Establishing or revitalizing libraries
- Improving access and training in the use of information technology (computers, internet access)
- Creating or refurbishing science labs
- Establishing safe spaces for extra-curricular activities
- Improving the space and equipment in classrooms
- Capacity-building and management development of school systems
- Promoting community involvement in the governance of schools
Greater detail on this new selection process can be found on BrazilFoundation’s website (www.brazilfoundation.org).
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| Rio staff meets for Project Selection |
2007 GRANTMAKING PROCESS IDENTIFIES 54 FINALISTS
Now available on the BrazilFoundation website is a list of the 54 projects that have been chosen as finalists for the 2007-2008 grantmaking. These projects were selected from a pool of 975 proposals received by the December 2006 deadline. Coming from every state in Brazil, the project proposals were focused in the areas of education, health, human rights, citizenship, and culture [see graph below for breadown of total proposals].. The BrazilFoundation team is now visiting the finalists. The selected 25-30 projects will be announced on July 20th, and each project will receive up to $25,000 reais, along with technical guidance and administrative assistance. To see the list of 54 project finalists, click here.
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| Program Analyst Gláucio Gomes |
TAM Airlines Supports Site Visits
Visits by BrazilFoundation analysts to all regions of the country are made possible by a partnership with TAM airlines. The locations are divided as follows: nine projects in the state of São Paulo, seven in Rio de Janeiro, seven in Minas Gerais, four in Bahia, four in Pernambuco, six projects distributed throughout the states of Amazonas, Amapá, Pará and Rondônia and four in the area of Goiás, Mato Grosso, and the Brasília District. Of all the finalists, 19 of the projects concern citizenship, 11 work in education, 11 confront human rights issues, seven deal with health, and six promote culture.
The $25,000 grants and additional capacity-building support from the Foundation have had an extraordinary impact on the development of small and medium-sized non-profits across Brazil. The number of proposals received every year is approximately 30 times larger than what the Foundation has funds to support. Thanks to the help of concerned individuals and corporations in the United States, more than 100 projects have been supported over the past five years. Yet the need exists to engage a larger donor base and assist more projects!
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| Pedro Toledo and Gláucio Gomes |
FOUNDATION STAFF FROM RIO VISIT NEW YORK FOR STRATEGIC RETREAT
With support from the Ford Foundation, four members from BrazilFoundation’s Rio office visited New York in May to meet with staff and exchange ideas about the entire fundraising-to-grantmaking process. The Rio staff also addressed the public, responding to questions and explaining the unique ways in which the Foundation helps small and medium nonprofits achieve success. “Our objective is to help organizations develop strong management skills and achieve long-term sustainability”, stated Program Manager Sheila Nogueira.
Two projects were highlighted as examples of what BrazilFoundation is trying to achieve: Ação Moradia from Uberlândia (MG) and PRECE from Pentecoste (CE). Ação Moradia teaches low-income citizens in the periphery of Uberlandia how to make bricks from ecologically-sound resources, which they then use to construct houses for the community. The program has developed such an efficient and effective business model that it now has contracts with the Caixa Economica Federal (national savings and loans bank) and other institutions. The PRECE program helps low-income students succeed in their goal of entering a university. It has been able to help reduce the drop-out rate in the city of Pentecoste from 45% in 1993 to 5% in 2006.
Sheila emphasized that the Foundation’s involvement with projects isn’t limited to financial support. One of the attributes that set BrazilFoundation apart is the ongoing technical and management workshops it provides. One of the principal objectives of the Foundation is to help nonprofits build the internal capacity necessary to achieve long-term sustainability.
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| Rio Office Director Susane Worcman |
The staff from Rio included Vice-President Susane Worcman, Finance Committee member Pedro Toledo, Program Manager Sheila Nogeira, and Program Officer Gláucio Gomes. They explained how the Foundation works in Brazil, how the criteria were developed for the selection process, how projects are monitored, how beneficiaries of the programs are consulted about the project's impact, and how resources are managed.
The public meeting, attended by volunteers, Foundation Directors, and guests was an opportunity to show the development of other 2007 programs launched by the Foundation, such as the new Friend of BrazilFoundation Campaign, and to review preparations for the V Annual Gala, scheduled for September 10th, 2007.
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MILESTONES
BrazilFoundation has become a significant place for members of this growing community of people who care to express their feelings, happy or sad, with gifts to BrazilFoundation which channels these resources to social projects in Brazil. You do good and feel good with the results! Let us explain: births, weddings or deaths are part of our life. On these occasions we want to honor the arrival of a new baby in our midst, celebrate a birthday or share our memories of a person we love with friends.
We thank all those who have chosen BrazilFoundation as a trusted partner for their celebrations of milestones.
Weddings
Donations were received in honor of the union of:
Gabriela Romitti and Eduardo Rossi; married in São Paulo on May 27th, 2007.
Maggy Candi and Alberto Safra; married in São Paulo on October, 2006.
Birthdays
Many friends celebrated the 80th Birthday of Mr. Angelo Stabile this March in Miami. His wife Odives Stabile asked that instead of gifts, contributions be made to BrazilFoundation--and many did it!
In Memory Of
A much cherished friend, Marlete Coelho, who worked for over 35 years at the Brazilian Consulate in New York, died on April 2nd, 2007. Her husband Miguel decided to honor her memory by requesting that gifts, in her honor, be made through the BrazilFoundation to the Instituto da Criança a non-profit organization that works with children in need in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
João Helio Fernandes, the six-year-old boy that died tragically when his mother’s car was high-jacked in Rio on the Seventh of February, 2007 had his memory honored by Monica Vieira.
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