Why we should
care about what happens in Brazil
When
I'm asked why we should care about what happens in Brazil, I think about the
pupils I had when teaching at primary schools in Belem, North Brazil. I think
the United Nations example of a child that goes to school hungry is exactly
what I saw there.
It says:
Izabelle goes to school hungry.
"Izabelle belongs to the Ribeirinho, one of the people living on
the banks of the rivers in
the Amazon. Izabelle is 14 years old. She is having a lot of difficulty in
completing her final years of primary school. The first lessons start at 7 a.m.
She has to get up very early as she has to paddle over the river for 45 minutes
to get to school. She does not get much breakfast at home because there is not
enough food for all the children. In the classroom, she is sometimes too tired
and hungry to pay attention. She therefore thinks it’s a pity that they don’t
get any food at school. After school, she has to work. In this way she earns a
little money to buy food. Usually she picks fruit high up in the trees, which
is then sold."
(http://www.unicef.org/corporate_partners/files/Brazil_general_information.pdf)
It
is because of children like that who go to school hungry or do not go to school
because they have to work to survive poverty that we persevere with our dream
of helping them. How? Our charity group called Child of Brazil is set up and
receives donations of second hand clothes, toys, books, etc, to sell at car
boot sales or fairs. We send the money to community projects in Belem. We also
try our best to participate in any fundraising events.
The
Story of the Hummingbird
One
day a terrible fire broke out in a forest - a huge woodlands was suddenly
engulfed by a raging wild fire. Frightened, all the animals fled their homes
and ran out of the forest. As they came to the edge of a stream they stopped to
watch the fire and they were feeling very discouraged and powerless. They were
all bemoaning the destruction of their homes. Every one of them thought there
was nothing they could do about the fire, except for one little hummingbird.
This particular hummingbird decided it would do something. It swooped into the
stream and picked up a few drops of water and went into the forest and put them
on the fire. Then it went back to the stream and did it again, and it kept
going back, again and again and again. All the other animals watched in
disbelief; some tried to discourage the hummingbird with comments like,
"Don't bother, it is too much, you are too little, your wings will burn,
your beak is too tiny, it’s only a drop, you can't put out this fire."
And
as the animals stood around disparaging the little bird’s efforts, the bird noticed
how hopeless and forlorn they looked. Then one of the animals shouted out and
challenged the hummingbird in a mocking voice, "What do you think you are
doing?" And the hummingbird, without wasting time or losing a beat, looked
back and said, "I am doing what I can."
The
Story of the Hummingbird in Portuguese: O Beija-flor e o Incêndio
Havia um
grande incêndio na floresta.
As chamas se elevavam a uma enorme altura e as árvores começavam a ser pouco a
pouco destruídas pelo fogo.
Os animais, apavorados, corriam em busca de abrigo, fugindo desesperadamente da
catástrofe. Enquanto isso, um pequenino beija-flor voava velozmente até o rio,
pegava no minúsculo bico uma gota de água e trazia-a até a borda da floresta,
deixando-a cair sobre as chamas.
Observando o vai-e-vem da ave, uma coruja velha e ranzinza que ia passando por
ali interrogou-o:
- O que você está fazendo, beija-flor?
- Não está vendo? Estou trazendo água do rio para apagar o incêndio antes que
ele destrua toda a floresta – respondeu a avezinha.
- Você deve ser maluco – disse a coruja. – Não está vendo que é impossível
apagar esse incêndio enorme com essa gotinha de água?
- Sei disso – o beija-flor falou. – Estou apenas fazendo a minha parte.
