Education project in the Amazon serves more than 600 children and adolescents

FAS

In four years of project in the region, 660 children and adolescents and 956 families were served in 40 riverside communities

Manaus (AM) — Located almost 600 kilometers from Manaus, the Punã community enjoyed a graduation day last Thursday, March 14th. Graduates and their families filled the historic townhouse for the ceremony to award diplomas for the Integral Development of Children and Adolescents on the River in the Amazon (Dicara) project.

Organized by the Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS), the initiative offers socio-educational actions to complement formal education and with a focus on valuing regional cultures and knowledge and training young people.

“We concluded the project in Uarini with the graduation of young people from various courses that were part of our programming, from environmental education to entrepreneurship, and had as a guideline the training of young leaders, who are informed and aware of their rights and duties and prepared to demand for improvements in their communities”,

says Avana Franco, social educator at FAS and responsible for the project in Uarini.

In four years of the project in the region, 660 children and adolescents and 956 families were served in 40 riverside communities, located in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve, and a peripheral neighborhood in the headquarters of the Amazonian municipality. Among the 44 activities carried out, highlights include social assistance services, such as collective efforts to provide basic health care and issuance of documents, training of young leaders, holding major events to encourage sports and workshops on environmental education, IT, keyboard and guitar.

“The project offered a way for young people to express themselves, as was my case, through music”, says Maria Lúcia da Costa, 13 years old, resident of the Verde neighborhood, in Uarini. The young woman participated in one of the guitar workshops. “It was a very good opportunity for people to meet and learn more, based on what they like. I will take this learning into my life”,

he said.

For Alcione Rodrigues, community leader and father of one of the participants, the benefits of the project go beyond teaching education and citizenship themes and extend to the involvement and interest of youth in integrating into the organization of riverside communities.

“This initiative brought us opportunities, not only for my family, but for the Reserve (Mamirauá) as a whole, with these strengthening and empowering courses for children and adolescents. This leaves an important legacy for us, I see as leadership that, through Dicara, young people are becoming more involved in community activities.”

The project was funded by Unilever and supported by the Government of the State of Amazonas, State Secretariat for the Environment, Municipality of Uarini, Municipal Secretariats of Education, Health and Culture, Guardianship Council, Civil Guard, Municipal Council for Children and Adolescents (CMDCA) and Association of Residents and Users of the Mamirauá Antônio Martins Sustainable Development Reserve (AMURMAM).

About the project

Created by FAS in 2014, the Integral Development of Riverine Children and Adolescents in the Amazon (Dicara) project carries out socio-educational actions, family support and teacher training with a focus on strengthening the protection network for children and adolescents. The project methodology follows the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN).

In 9 years of operation, Dicara has already covered 9 municipalities and 12 Conservation Units in the Amazon. In 2022 alone, more than 1,600 people benefited from the activities.

About FAS

The Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS) is a non-profit civil society organization that works for the sustainable development of the Amazon through programs and projects in the areas of education and citizenship, health, empowerment, research and innovation, environmental conservation, community infrastructure, entrepreneurship and income generation.

FAS’s mission is to contribute to the conservation of the biome by valuing the standing forest and its biodiversity and improving the quality of life of the populations of the Amazon. In 2023, the institution completes 15 years of operation with outstanding numbers, such as the 202% increase in the average income of thousands of benefited families and the 40% drop in deforestation in areas served between 2008 and 2021.

*With information from consultancy

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