GVI Phoenix Project

Facts and figures

On an annual basis we aim to provide:
First time education or educational reinforcement to almost 2000 children in primary school
Secondary education to over 200 children and adults
Employment to over 75 local people; more-so indirectly
100 energy saving wood-burning stoves and 15,000 trees planted
Around 100,000 teaching hours
Over 500,000 pieces of fruit
1,000’s of pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, colouring pencils, work-books and erasers
Over 300,000 whole or subsidized meals
Daily education in 16 communities across Latin America
Direct benefits to over 500 families

Friday, July 23, 2010

Second class opens in Mata Escura, Salvador, Brazil

GVI volunteers at the Phoenix project in Brasil opened the school’s second class. With new students arriving every day it was becoming a bit squashed in class 1, so last Monday the older children moved to a different room to form class 2.

Suggestions are currently being taken for more interesting names for the classes! Brazilian footballers?! (perhaps not Melo!) Setting up a separate class for the older children has proven a huge success and they are coming on in leaps and bounds, learning numbers, syllables (and playing Bingo!) – in just one week they have made huge progress.

Similarly positive effects have been seen in class 1, where moving the older children has allowed the younger ones their opportunity to shine. In a quieter and calmer classroom, the younger children are fast finding the confidence to shout out answers and work at the board.

All the new work going at the school has got the mums interested - many have started coming in each morning to meet the volunteers and look at the children’s’ exercise books. Reactions have been fantastic, with one mum becoming tearful she was so proud of the work her son showed her. Roll on class 3!