One of the ways Iracambi seeks to make a change is by encouraging education. In some of the rural areas surrounding Iracambi the children there are the first generation to receive schooling. Part of our mission here is the engage these young minds and teach them about the forest and the land they live on. Our Junior Scientists program organizes groups of students from the nearby communities to come and learn about the environment. Most of these groups of children come to Iracambi via bus, and now we have Valdinei’s dilemma. Valdinei is a fourteen year old boy who lives in a remote mountain area of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. Valdinei and his school mates had been regular attendees of our Jr Scientist program until budget cuts eliminated their mode of transportation. Without busing to and from Iracambi these children have lost the opportunity to come and continue their environmental education. Valdinei has been in constant contact trying to figure out ways to get the other kids, and especially himself, out to Iracambi to resume Jr Scientist activities. His dogged determination to see this through has inspired us to come up with a solution. Thus we have to decided to raise funds to purchase a van to shuttle Jr Scientists who are without transportation. Although Valdinei is the poster child for this project the outcome of this simple endeavour is much more far reaching. With our own private means of transporting people from the communities we will be able to engage not only our Jr Scientists but also their families. The impact and importance of the Jr Scientist program and the need for this van are best expressed by Valdinei himself.
“It’s been a great pleasure to be a Junior Scientist because we young people must evolve all the time and I learned lots of things that I never knew. My group did an excellent job, and got really good at researching so I don’t want this opportunity ever to end. Because we new generations need to learn about soils and water and how to plant forest trees and the biggest dream of my life is one day to be able to pass on what I learned to other researchers.”
Check out the link and feel free to help us get a van for Valdinei!
http://goto.gg/15015