voice for change quick hit diaries

The men at Casa Branca were faced with a tree felling gang! A 15 metre tree was felled in one complete length the watching children screaming with excitement. They spent the rest of the day moving chopped up sections in the wheelbarrow into the childrens play area. Tidying up was necessary, but we still await top soil and turf.

The morning was spent with two of the children at Casa Dourado. As usual the children were excited to see Chan. They painted some beautiful pictures, we read the Pied Piper of Hamelin and then we played dolls house. The youngest child made a playmeal breakfast. One of them fell asleep in my arms. This precious time was spent praying for them.

Carol and Margaret spent the day at the Vila. Darla was teaching English to 2 sets of children they concentrated on: "My name is ..."; "My birthday is ..."; Months of the year; and then moved on to time. The second group were asked "How old are you? then concentrated on numbers to 20. Carol played volleyball until she was almost on her knees. As we helped to teach English the children tried to teach us Portuguese as we played with them.

Another glorious day in Brasil, sun, sun, sun.
John, Margaret and Carol spent the morning at Casa Branca. The boys designed and made a variety of models with K´nex, John showed his prowess in helping Samuel build a car from the project book.
Meanwhile the girls aided and abetted by Margaret and Carol created designer jewellry-the best in Brasil!! using ´ClixIt`. The girls loved their jewellry so much that they wore it what they had made to school.
Then it was down to earth for Margaret and Carol in the afternoon doing housework in the teams` flat.
The children of Casa Dourado had an enjoyable time making different patterns and shapes with coloured tissue paper. They were very excited when they saw the "fun shaped bugs". It was great to see them comparing their patterns. The children made unusual models and shapes with salt dough. Chan and the children had a wonderful time together.
Mark and John went to the Vila this afternoon to prepare for the World Cup by hanging flags from the participating countries.

Monday 29 May
Today at Casa Branca the onslaught on the garden has begun. First the enormous boulders(according to the men) were removed then the rest of the rockery stones in preparation for the turf tomorrow. They are in need of a soak in a hot tub.
The 5 children at Casa Branca made salt dough today. They were very excited and got a lot of enjoyment mixing it. The girls made a colourful pizza with real herbs. The boys made dessert chocolates in different shapes and made them very realistic by painting. We all had a super time.
Salt dough was also made at Casa Dourado. The children liked the feel of the flour and salt running through their hands and made plenty of mess even before they modelled with the dough.
We played some fun and games pretending to go shopping and cleaning the playhouse.
We only had Juliana, Haffa and Lucas so we gave Darcy a hand to hang out the washing. It has been another glorious day.

Sunday 28th May 2006

The weather is getting hotter at 32ºC !!

This morning we visited the Hippy Fair. Darla, Carol and Margaret went from craft stall to craft stall. Val, Chan, John and Mark proceeded at a snail´s pace: They made frequent stops for refreshments and food; and even had photographs taken by the Tourist Board - they are now famous!

Val´s party were most impressed by the mobile HSBC cash point. Darla´s party focussed on seeing all of the Hippy Fair. The variety of the Brasilian arts and crafts were tremendous. We had a snapshot of Brasilian customs and culture and were even serenaded by an impromptu ´Barber Shop Choir´.

The team is now looking forward to attending church at 5pm to end the day in praise and worship.

May 27
Mark arrived safely in the early hours of saturday morning, but his arrival brought beautiful sunshine.
We were delighted with the weather because today we had organised outings for the children of both houses.
This morning we went to Jardim Botanica with the children and house parents from Casa Dourado. There were two exhibitions one floral arrangements and the other an art display which all the children enjoyed. We walked around the lake and saw lots of fish, rare birds and turtles.
After lunch it was the turn of the children of Casa Branca, to Sao Lourenco where the children walked and played amongst the trees, we all enjoyed ice lollies. There was also a playground where the children climbed and had a great time.
We were invited to Maicons tenth birthday party, one of the children in Casa Branca. It was a priviledge to pray with friends and family for the youngster and celebrate his special day. The VFC team gave Maicon a birthday present and card which he clearly appreciated.

Friday 26th May 2006

Casa Branca: John and Carol were with the children whilst they played model building with a game called K-nex. The boys in particular built cars and raced the cars on the patio in the sunshine. The girls made spinning tops and altogether the children had fun and enjoyed themselves. After a hearty lunch, John and Carol got down to some weeding and tidying of a section of the garden in readiness of carrying out major garden works due later.

Casa Dourada: Chan and Margaret spent time with three children. The others were at school. Sponge printing, Duplo and the shopping game were the activities that the children were involved with. Chan spent time with the Ladybird book on counting. When the children went off to school, Chan did some ironing and Margaret finished varnishing the doors. It was a sunny day - hooray!!

May 25
Casa Dourado
John completed painting the wall of the verandah. Chan successfully taught english numbers using the story Ten Little Ladybirds, played with Lego and made cards using stickers. Chan also helped with some domestic chores. This afternoon John and Chan visited the Vila and enjoyed watching a dance class taught by a visiting ballet teacher.
Casa Branca Margaret and Carol spent an enjoyable morning with Val and the children, who used Hama beads to create a variety of colourful shapes, cars to stars, rings to butterfiles. We also enjoyed a great lunch with the family. After lunch we went to Casa Dourado to continue varnishing verandah doors.

Wednesday 24th May 2006

Margaret and John spent an eventful day at Casa Dourada. They painted the walls of the lounge and corridor. They also carried out some varnishing of the patio doors. Margaret spent quality time with three of the children who attended school in the afternoon. In between, lunch was enjoyed with the entire family.

Chan and Carol spent the day at Casa Branca. They started with four children playing lego which was very interesting because it gave an insight of the children´s different personalities. The other children joined them before lunch. They made some picture post cards. The children were all excited about the variety of colourful stickers. It was such a joy to see them so happy and creative. After that, they played football and Brazil won. The children also played other ball games.

Altogether it was a great day to be with the children!

Another team leaves on Monday 22 May 2006 for brasil! just as world cup fever is reaching a crescendo in europe, the team will be leaving for the home of the current world champions and favourites, arriving on tuesday 23 may at 10.30 am local time, 2.30pm uk time.

margaret green, john and chan-maria laukam, carol woodward, mark hall and keith colman will be working with the children in the voice for change brasil homes in curitiba, brasil and also in vila uniau, the favela in the city where voice for change has a centre for the children who live there...

the team will post a daily blog and you can follow their daily activity from tuesday evening by logging on to this blog.

if you want to know more about, or support voice for change, or to ask about going on a team yourself, sometime in 2006, 2007 or beyond, please log on to www.charitygiving.co.uk