Gonzalhino Project, the Street Children Care Program in Cáceres, Brazil
Gonzalinho Project
4 ,000 Euros from Rotary Munich International in 2008/09 to the children project in Cáceres
T he Gonzalhino Project was started in 1999 in Cáceres, a city in the south western Brazilian state of Mato Grosso with 85,000 inhabitants. Although being a university city with a nice centre there are still many clay and gravel streets and everywhere you can find the red dust that sticks to your clothes. Many women here give birth to their first child with less than 20 years. As almost 50% of the population in Cáceres only gets a minimal payment of 415 Reais (= around 166 Euro) per month, many women start working again only 4 weeks after having their baby. Hence many children are left unattended during the day whilst their parents go to work.
In 1999 Luiza Gomez de Morais started the project to prevent that children spend their day on the streets while their parents are working. She and her husband Aurelio welcomed 30 children from the neighbourhood to their home and paid a nanny to take care of them, feed them and help them with their homework. The Project was financed by the community and partly by the church.
After 2 years Maria Luiza Rodriguez Neves, Angela Maria dos Santos and Ana Antonia de Souza Neves took over the Project with the help of the Catholic Church Sao Gonzalo in their neighbourhood who provided them with a room and created the name: Gonzalinho Project.
A German pupil gets engaged and organizes tremendous help
In 2001 Katja Polnikgot engaged, started to raise donations in her home town Metzingen and founded a group of students at the Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium Metzingen called "Brasilien-AG", organizing charity events. Every year since 2002 the members of this group travelled to Brazil to help with the Project. With the help of donations and the German government, Katja also enabled 10 Brazilian students, who were involved in charity activities, to come to Germany every year since 2004. Since 2005 already 5 of the 20 German pupils who participated at this programme have returned to Caceres to do voluntary work.
Basic Protection through Movimento Nacional Meninos e Meninas de Rua
In 2007 they joined the "Movimento Nacional Meninos e Meninas de Rua - MNMMR" (National Movement of girls and boys of the street) which gives some basic protection to the street children. With the help of the organisation, the Project could be moved to a classroom of the local Preschool after the church could no longer provide them with a room. But this room could only be used one hour per day.
Therefore Katja and Laura, a German exchange student, raised roughly EUR 6,000 to buy a little piece of land and started to build a 100 square meter house with a kitchenette, two bathrooms for girls and boys and a big classroom for the Project. The construction is now almost finished. Despite lots of work provided by local and German pupils the ground and the house altogether roughly costs EUR 15,000.
Help for 60 children
At the moment 4 women are working at and for the Project, currently hosting 60 children: (see photo, from right to left) Maria Luiza Rodriguez Neves (53), Suellen Cristiane Sueca Neves (25), Evelyn Sueca Neves (22) and Valeria Almeida Gonzales (22). The first session with the children starts at 7:30 am and finishes at 10:30 am. The children receive lunch as well as help with their homework. In the afternoon the session goes from 1:30 pm until 4:30 pm.
After finishing the construction of the house (see first photo above) children 7 years and younger will be integrated into the Project, started by Cosima. Recently 3 children have already died due to being unattended during the day as their parents work.
For this taking place, the project needs to be registered as an independent organisation and has to pass certain conditions:
1) A special teacher has to work with the children during the day and hence has to receive a payment for his or her work (800 Reais per month)
2) Children furniture (around 8000 Reais)
3) Pay 2,000 Reais to be registered when a counsel has approved of the project.
Rotarian Help
Rotary Club de Cáceres will provide for administrative help, taking over legal and administrative cost and furtheron help to continuously keep up the new house.
Rotary Club Munich International will donate EUR 4,000 for completion of the house as well as for the school furniture.
Rotary Club de Cáceres and Rotary Club Reutlingen-Tübingen Süd praised the project. Rotarians from Metzingen as well as from Cáceres believe that it is fit to apply for matching grants.
Further information, provided by Katja Polnik, you will find on the website of the Brasilien-Projekt. Please read also the article, published in Südwest-Presse, Reutlinger Nachrichten:
January 2009
You would like to support the Gonzalhino Project? Please contact Peter Schulz von Siemens at Rotary Munich International.