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"AEC-TEA was a discovery for me. I was bored and now I feel useful for the first time. I've made friends for a lifetime and I've discovered I know things I didn't even realize I had learned." - Livia Oliveira, Capim Grosso Community ServiceAEC-TEA serves as a link between volunteers and organizations that need their help. This work may be long-term or for a one-time event. In addition to the difference that local and international volunteers make for these programs, we see that encouraging local youth to volunteer helps them gain self-esteem, confidence, essential skills, and a sense of civic responsibility. Placements have included:
"Sometimes I get stressed out with my studies, but I always come to volunteer with the children in the creche. I become like a child there and it relieves my stress. I see how they can cry and then laugh--why can't I?" - Uiliane dos Santos, Capim Grosso Projeto ValoresProjeto Valores is a project carried out in elementary schools throughout the area. Local and international volunteers work together with teachers to create a positive atmosphere of trust and spontaneity during this unique, week-long experience. The project utilizes story-telling, puppetry, art, music, conversation and dynamic activities to encourage preservation of public space and respect for neighbors, teachers, family members, and oneself."Projeto Valores was wonderful! We went there to teach values, but we were the ones who learned." - Lis Daiane, Salvador Through the project, we hope to shift classroom dynamics and uncover some of the issues which play a part in students´ behavior, allowing teachers and students to see each other in new ways. Problems such as alcoholism, unemployment, prostitution, and domestic violence are brought to light, helping to highlight the responsibility of schools, as part of the community, to help children through these difficulties. "It was a wonderful experience because I got to know my own reality; it had always been there and I hadn't wanted to see it." - Jailma Oliveira, Capim Grosso AEC-TEA LibraryThanks to many small donations, AEC-TEA hosts a library of books and magazines in several languages, as well as CDs and DVDs which can be checked out free of charge, giving Capim Grosso access to music and film not normally available in the interior of Bahia - from Vinicius de Moraes to Stanley Kubrick. Children's Literature ProjectThe goal of this project is to bring the AEC-TEA Library closer to the community and address the need, in Capim Grosso, for initiatives that encourage reading at a young age. Volunteers take books to the child care center next door and carry out activities such as storytelling, performing puppet shows and plays, singing, dancing, having children retell or draw about stories read to them, and allowing the children to flip through the books and tell each other stories based on illustrations. Although most children at the creche are still too young to read, volunteers have been able to use the generous donations of children's books from around the world in an effort to inspire children's love for books! "I really like the work with the children, especially with the most needy. It makes them see the future in a more positive way and that they can always find people helping that don't want anything in exchange, just to make the world a better place." - Bruno Porcini, Capim Grosso Talks in the CommunityHow can we ensure that more people benefit from the activities carried out by AEC-TEA? It was in response to this question that volunteers decided to take the association to the people, leaving our center and meeting them where they are. Because Capim Grosso is a town with many youth, we primarily aim to reach this audience through talks about topics of interest to them as a means to directly promote citzenship in the community. Each month a topic relevant to youth will be presented at local schools by specialists or those knowledgeable on the subject with the goal of encouraging them to reflect on and discuss the topics. The talks provide youth with information so that they can analyze and independently arrive at their own conclusions. Suggestions for these talks are always welcome! Curriculum and Professional DevelopmentPerceiving a lack of culturally relevant and stimulating English teaching materials in public schools, AEC-TEA collaborated with local teachers and students to develop an English textbook based on life in Capim Grosso. Thick Grass: Capim Grosso in English includes stories and dialogues written by AEC-TEA English students, photos of familiar faces and places in town, tips for increasing student participation, and lesson ideas contributed by local teachers. In addition to adopting the text for the town's middle schools, the Department of Education asked AEC-TEA to develop the district's English curriculum standards and offer professional development to local English teachers.Community Radio ProgramIn 2005, the community radio station invited AEC-TEA to offer English and Spanish audio courses on Sunday mornings. When the course finished, the focus of the program shifted to social issues, such as volunteerism, racism and community relations. Local and international volunteers worked together to record this 30-minute program each week in our computer lab. The program was a great success in publicizing the AEC-TEA and offering variety to community radio programming, but is currently stopped. "I hadn't ever thought of doing a radio program. It was [international volunteer] Rachel's idea. But I discovered that it was a medium to express my thoughts instead of just going up to people and complaining." - Uiliane dos Santos, Capim Grosso
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