NOT IN BRAZIL AND ITS STRUGGLING SCHOOL SYSTEMS. 

IN BRAZIL, WHERE THE MINIMUM WAGE IS ABOUT $75 A MONTH AND HUNGER IS PERVASIVE, MANY CHILDREN OFTEN CUT CLASSES, DROP OUT, OR WORK AFTER SCHOOL DOING ODD JOBS TO SUPPLEMENT THEIR FAMILIES’ INCOME. 

DALMIRA (DAL-MY-RAH) FINGER, A SHOE FACTORY WORKER WHO STARTED WORKING WHEN SHE WAS 12, SAYS IT’S NORMAL FOR KIDS TO WORK. 

Finger:  It’s common here for children to work to help their families earn money.  Most of the parents work in factories, which pay very little money, so their children have to work at home or work outside to help the family earn money.

FOR THIS REASON, FINGER SAYS SHE LEFT SCHOOL AFTER FIFTH GRADE.

Finger:  I am working so I can pay for my daughters to have a good education.  I didn’t study when I was little because I had to work.  I am working in the factory because I want to send my kids to school so they have a better opportunity in the future. 

IN BRAZIL, LIKE MOST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, EDUCATION IS A NECESSARY WEAPON IN FIGHTING POVERTY AND IS SEEN AS A CHANNEL TO ECONOMIC GROWTH. 

A NEW SOCIAL PROGRAM THERE IS ADDRESSING THE COUNTRY’S HUNGER AND CHILD LABOR PROBLEMS BY EXTENDING THE HOURS CHILDREN SPEND IN SCHOOL.  OFFICIALS HOPE THE PROGRAM WILL PRODUCE BETTER EDUCATED INDIVIDUALS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY INTEGRATE THEMSELVES IN THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMY.

IN NOVO HAMBURGO, A CITY OF ALMOST 240 THOUSAND PEOPLE, LOCAL SCHOOLS LIKE RODRIGUES ALVES, FILL EMPTY STOMACHS AND OFFER COMPUTER, CROCHET, AND DANCE CLASSES TO LURE KIDS AFTER SCHOOL.

ALTHOUGH NOVO HAMBURGO ENJOYS A HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING AND LITERACY RATES THAN NORTHERN BRAZIL, IT IS NOT WITHOUT ITS PROBLEMS. 

MOST RESIDENTS NEAR RODRIGUES ALVES SCHOOL LIVE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY, RUNNING WATER, AND A SEWAGE SYSTEM. 

NOVO HAMBURGO’S MUNICIPAL SECRETARY OF EDUCATION KURT JOAQUIM (JO-AH-KWIM) LUFT SAYS EDUCATION BOOSTS A COMMUNITY’S STANDARD OF LIVING.  

Luft:  Education is a consequence of the social well-being of a community.  People who have an education have a better living.  A population with education, health and housing is a happier population.    

SCHOOL DIRECTOR NUIMAR (NEW-EE-MAR) COIMBRA (KO-EM-BRA) SAYS BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN AN IMPOVERISHED COMMUNITY, MANY STUDENTS MUST WORK TO BRING IN ADDITIONAL INCOME. SO THE SCHOOL OFFERS EXTRA CLASSES TO KEEP THEM IN SCHOOL.

Coimbra:  We have a philosophy at Rodrigues Alves.  That philosophy is to take kids out of the neighborhood and put them in school.  To do this, we started an afterschool project that teaches skills such as crocheting, cooking, dancing, and sewing.  These classes are designed to give kids something to do after school so they don’t have to work.  These classes are voluntarily taught by the parents.

COIMBRA SAYS ALTHOUGH THE MISSION OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO KEEP KIDS IN SCHOOL, IT ALSO PREPARES STUDENTS FOR THE WORKFORCE. 

Coimbra:  Competition for work makes it difficult for many to find a job. Teaching students computer skills puts them in a better position to find a job. 

CINARA BITENCOURT TOBES, A PARENT AND FORMER STUDENT, SAYS SHE WISHES THERE WERE PROGRAMS LIKE THESE WHEN SHE ATTENDED THE SCHOOL MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO. 

Tobes:  I have also studied here.  Everything I learned here my son is learning right now, even better than me.  When kids are at school they don’t have time to learn bad things.

HOWEVER, THE PROGRAM IS NOT WITHOUT ITS CRITICS. 

FORMER CHILD WORKER, DALMIRA FINGER, SAYS THOUGH ATTENDING SCHOOL IS IMPORTANT SHE UNDERSTANDS WHY SOME FAMILIES ALLOW THEIR KIDS TO WORK. 

Finger:  The laws that say kids can’t work are wrong.  There are a lot of 16 and 17-year-olds that need to work because they don’t have anything to eat.  But the factories tell them they can’t work because they aren’t old enough.     

 USAID CRITICIZES PROGRAMS LIKE THIS AS INSUFFICIENT.    IT SAYS THE EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION AS AN ALTERNATIVE, ALTHOUGH HELPFUL, FAILS TO TACKLE THE COMPLEX ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS THAT REQUIRE CHILDREN TO WORK.   AND IT SAYS AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, ALTHOUGH HELPFUL, ARE AVAILABLE TO ONLY A FEW AND ARE NOT CLOSELY LINKED TO THE FORMAL SCHOOL SYSTEM.

BRAZIL’S EDUCATION MINISTER AGREES AND HAS BEEN QUOTED AS SAYING IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO DISCUSS EDUCATION WITHOUT ADDRESSING HUNGER, A BIG REASON WHY MOST CHILDREN WORK. 

TO RELIEVE THIS HUNGER CRISIS WHICH AFFECTS THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS, THE STAFF AT RODRIGUES ALVES PREPARE HOT MEALS FOR THE STUDENTS IN THE AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM.

(Fade in sounds of children singing)

SECOND GRADERS IN MS. ALINE’S CLASS SING BEFORE THEY EAT LUNCH IN THE SCHOOL CAFETERIA.  UNABLE TO AFFORD THREE MEALS A DAY, THE STUDENTS’ FAMILIES DEPEND ON THIS DAILY MEAL AND CHARITY HANDOUTS FROM THE COMMUNITY. 

NUIMAR COIMBRA SAYS BEING ABLE TO FEED THE CHILDREN THREE TIMES PER WEEK IS THE SCHOOL’S PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT. 

Coimbra:  This is for kids that really need a lunch.  These kids don’t have any food.  It’s buffet-style and the kids are taught proper eating habits.  This project is mainly for students that attend Rodrigues Alves.  However, their siblings that are not yet old enough to attend school are able to eat lunch also.    

COIMBRA SAYS THE PROGRAM HAS PREVENTED MORE THAN 22 HUNDRED CHILDREN FROM WORKING AND SERVED MORE THAN 36 THOUSAND HOT MEALS IN THE LAST TWO-AND-A-HALF YEARS.  ALTHOUGH SHE REALIZES MORE SHOULD BE DONE, SHE SAYS THE SCHOOL CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH WITH LIMITED RESOURCES.

LVING IN A COUNTRY WHERE MORE THAN 17 MILLION PEOPLE ARE STARVING, COIMBRA SAYS SHE FEELS GOOD KNOWING HER STUDENTS EAT AT LEAST ONE MEAL PER DAY AND LEARN SOMETHING.

FOR FLORIDA FLYINS, I’M NATASHA PATTERSON."