Day 4 - Thursday (Quinta-feira)

This morning we had planned to work on a number of the tasks we had identified the day before but when Carin came to collect us at the hotel she said she had arranged another car and driver so we could do some more visits to the Centres.  The other driver was the manager/administrator of the first centre we were to visit and she was waiting at the office for us when we arrived.  So off we went, heading out and passing the airport and into the outskirts of Uberlândia.   Our translator Mariana explained that the nearer you are to the centre the higher the prices so the less well-off live on the city fringes. Much as is the case in many cities.

This Centre was another converted house and we were made very welcome.  It was "Shrek" time on the TV for a group of the children (Shrek seems to be very popular, it was playing at one of the other centres we visited earlier in the week) who were all engrossed in it until we rolled up and distracted them.  Uberlândia is not yet a major tourist destination so "gringos/gringas" (anyone not a Brazilian, not an offensive term) are unusual, particularly in the outlying areas. Once again the children were happy and well looked-after.

Shrek Watching

Lunch preparation - sausages - smelled great

As a treat the cook had prepared a coconut cake for us which we all enjoyed.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that this particular third sector non-government organisation (NGO) (or charity as we would think of it in NZ) was set up in 1984 be Wender Marques, whom we met on Tuesday. Here's the team around a poster of him that was at this centre.

If you are interested in learning more about ONG CASA and its history follow this link http://www.ongcasa.org.br/conheca-a-casa/nossa-historia. Google Translate is a good feature for non-Portuguese speakers!  Finally a picture of the main centre workers, teacher to your left, and administrator in the centre, with Carin, our guide and very helpful ONG CASA support person.

After this visit it was on to the next Centre where the children were slightly older and when we arrived most of them were engaged in exercises.

Two of our team participating - I declined the offer!

One group was at work in the craft department and showed Chi how the objects were assembled with intricately folded pieces of recycled paper. Some of the things they made were great pieces of work and we were all delighted that they gave us a gift of their craft work to take away.

Chi being shown how to fold the paper

With the craft group and our gifts

A selection of the things they've made

Finally we had a photo with all the children just before they had lunch, and we went to ours.

For lunch we went to a "kilo restaurant" (more about them later) near where Laerte works, where we met him and some of the key people who have set up the organisation we are working for, SEDE (pronounced sedgy). Again more of that later as this seems to be turning into a mammoth blog!  It was good to meet them all and we expect to talk to them individually as well over the next week or so and have further meetings with them as a group to let them know where we are with our work and discuss matters of interest.

Finally we returned to the office to be met by Vanessa and Larissa, two of the people who organised the projects and have provided huge support to us in getting familiar with everything here.  They wanted to meet with us and Laerte to check that all was going well and if there were any problems try and help fix them.  It was a good meeting and we were able to show that most things are heading in the right direction.  Our day ended shortly after that so we never really got much of what we had intended to do, done - but that's Brazilian flow...

In the evening it was our farewell dinner to Vanessa, who had to return to Sao Paulo.  Vanessa has done much of the work in selecting the projects, matching up the participants, preparing for our arrival and then spending the first few days settling us in to Uberlândia. We are all agreed she has done a great job and we hope she will be able to return for the final presentations.  So far that is not in the plan - maybe that can be changed?

We had an excellent meal of two dishes - beef rib roast, and fillet steak in a Gorgonzola sauce - absolutely delicious! Washed down with draught Brahma, which so far is the best beer I have found (but good as it is, in the interests of a full study the search is continuing). We also had our first shower of rain since arriving - we were under cover but had to move a couple of feet towards the restaurant to stop our backs getting wet. It was over as quickly as it came.

It was as enjoyable an evening as a farewell can be. Back at the hotel we posed for a picture, hopefully not the final one, of ourselves with Vanessa (in the luggage trolley!).

And thus came the end of another very long day!

#ibmcsc brazil