LaValla200> Community of Tabatinga promotes educational activities

In communion with St. Marcellin Champagnat’s dream of forming good Christians and citizens, the LaValla200> community of Tabatinga, Brazil, promotes the “Redes” (networks) project, which seeks to be a significant presence among children and young people in vulnerable situations in the triple border between Brazil, Colombia and Peru, through the promotion and accompaniment of school education, their protagonism and the defense of their rights.

The project aims to be a space for education, leisure, coexistence and school reinforcement. It also relies on volunteer collaborators. As a support structure for the project, the “Marist Center” has been created, a physical space that allows for educational activities. This is a fundamental initiative, given the social context of the city of Tabatinga, which lacks safe spaces and educational activities for children and adolescents. “The Marist Center plays an important role in offering moments of leisure, intended not only for fun, but also for the human formation of each person,” says Sthefany de Sousa, one of the project’s volunteers.

The “Redes” project operates on the basis of two approaches. With regard to children, adolescents and young people, the approach includes educational activities, with the support of lay people and volunteers in the realization of school reinforcement activities, English and Spanish classes and recreational moments. From the point of view of neighborhood leadership, ecclesial communities and teachers, it offers training and listening spaces focused on integral development. This perspective also encompasses guidelines related to guaranteeing the rights of the region’s indigenous and riverine communities, with the guiding principle of caring for the Common House in light of the concept of integral ecology.

For Jaelen Vale, mother of two children helped by the Marist Center, “Projeto Redes makes dreams come true through the opportunities it offers and the commitment with which the volunteers work. They teach very well, they have patience to explain every detail when a student can’t understand, it’s very gratifying, it’s a huge joy!”. Inspired by her daughters’ involvement in the project, Jaelen also began to participate in the activities promoted by the initiative: “I will never waste my time on anything other than my studies!” she comments.

The Lavalla200> community in Tabatinga is currently made up of Mayra Gutierrez (México Occidental) and Br. Luke Fong (Pacific District, Fiji). At the end of April, a Brazilian couple is expected to arrive as volunteers.