Space to fly for Brazilian kids

An education project in Brazil, which shares key values with children from low-income families, is growing thanks to an eco fund grant from BMS World Mission.

The ‘Space to Fly’ programme is integral to the social action work of the United Baptist Churches’ Convention, Ceará (CIBUC) in north east Brazil.

It teaches ethical, social, spiritual lessons to eight to ten year-olds, from eight churches in the area with a ‘caring for creation’ module, produced by CIBUC, incorporating material by BMS partner A Rocha, particularly focusing on environmental issues.

This is the third of four grassroot initiatives supported by a new BMS Eco Challenge Fund project, and comes directly as a result of BMS carbon offsetting staff travel worldwide.

 
Find out more about this on our FutureShape? pages and read about our other eco-projects project in Peru, Chad & Latin America.

Training
The grant from BMS has enabled the training of new 22 educators from eight different towns, and paid for revised teaching packs.

Within the group that met for two days in October were educators that were already running ‘Space to Fly’, PEPE pre-school facilitators as well as people interested in starting the project.

The event offered A Rocha workshops, which instructed how to use the material. Educators were encouraged to implement the activities, and even to rethink their own attitudes in relation to the environment.

Attitudes
Materials were then taught in the months that followed and Sara, one of the missionaries in Cascavel, commented, “I have noticed that it is much easier for children to understand and change attitudes.

“Some adults still look at this idea as a bit weird. Throwing rubbish on the floor is the natural thing to do for many of the adults in our town.”

At Christmas, special events were held with ecological themes, which enabled children and church members alike to have an awareness of the role of creation during the events surrounding Jesus’ birth.

The words on the wall says, 'God's friends care for the planet'

Conscience

Jailma Rodrigues, who is CIBUC’s Co-ordinator of Social Action, says ‘Space to Fly’ has a number of positive environmental impacts.

“Firstly, children are brought closer to nature. Our hope is that a generation will emerge with a new mentality of respect and care for nature.

“We want the children to take environmental conscience and learning into their homes, families and communities, through activities adapted to their own realities; to learn how to recycle, collect and sell household waste, and how to compost organic waste.”

01/02/2011