Social distancing norms have impacted people globally and locally. Because of the pandemic, many have lost their jobs and are living with less; but in the midst of this crisis, we see humbling and inspiring stories—people coming together to help make our communities better.
With the support of our Moral Education and Global Citizenship Department, our high school students are carrying out service projects to help solve local issues. These projects are part of our Nations in Action Program, coordinated by Ms. Mary Aune. We would like to share with you some information about them:
Members of our Nations Girl Up project organized a fundraiser to buy feminine hygiene products for over three hundred families in Santa Luzia in the Cidade Estrutural—a community that emerged in the surroundings of the old city landfill. They partnered with the NGO Afropoder to include the items they purchased in the food baskets they distributed in early May to help ease the hardship brought on by the pandemic.
The Bringing a Dream project has changed its original focus from visiting hospitalized children to generating online resources to help bring joy to these little ones. Members of the project are also organizing a challenge among high school students in Brasilia to raise donations of hygiene kits for mothers who are in intensive care at Brasilia’s main public maternity hospital Hospital Materno-Infantil de Brasília.
Grade 5 parents have also become involved in service activities during these difficult times. One example is the financial support they are providing to the daycare center Monte Moriá in the neighboring city of São Sebastião. The School has been working with Monte Moriá for over a year on several fronts, such as capacity-building and helping improve its infrastructure. Through their donations, parents are helping the institution continue to provide lunch to around 100 families who have had their income drastically reduced by measures imposed during the pandemic.
Other members of our School community have also taken the initiative to support a group of local leaders from Vila do Boa, an underprivileged community on the outskirts of the city of São Sebastião. These leaders are collecting financial contributions to provide food baskets, masks, and alcohol gel to families. They have been helping over 300 families in the region to get through these difficult times by providing food, personal hygiene products, and advice on how to protect their health.
We believe initiatives such as these are contributing to bettering the lives of hundreds of people. We encourage all members of our School community to support students’ and parents’ service projects.
If you would like to make a financial contribution to one of our service projects, you may contact each of them directly. The contact information for each service project is below. If you would like to donate specific items to support a project, you may deliver them to the front gate of the main campus. Please identify your donation with the name of the project you are supporting.
If you would like more information about the service projects currently underway at our School, please contact us at moral.education@edn.org.br.