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A differentiated education for the Yanomami people
Build the future without denying the past
Brazil has both the characteristics of a
developed country as urbanization, industrialization, the tertiary sector - and also
those of a developing country as rural
poverty, undernourishment, illiteracy.
With its democracy politically stable since
1985, the country has managed to reduce
some of the extreme poverty however it
remains number one regarding social
inequalities.
«Discovered» in 1500, Brazil became a
Portuguese colony. To quickly exploit the
natural resources, especially brazilian
wood (redwood which gave its name to the
country), the Portuguese brought slaves
purchased on the African coast. This colonial era will remain imprinted in the history and the structure of the country :
where can be found a White supremacy
of landowners, racism/miscegenation, segregation/promiscuity between
masters and slaves. In modern Brazil,
these social inequalities are still found
unchanged between the rich and poor.
Thus were born the great diversities within
its population as 53% white, 38% mulatto,
6% black, and 3% «other», including indi-
genous people. The country still intensely lives from the exploitation of its raw
resources: gold, diamonds, coffee, rubber,
iron, bauxite, soybeans, meat, etc...
Brazil ranks 5th in the world due to its
large superficy as much as its population
(201 million).
Its population is young and since recently
urban at 85%. This rapid urbanization has
unbalanced its traditional social ties and
has led to a rise in poverty and violence.
Even if 8th in the world economy ranking,
Brazil still has significant challenges to
overcome, as the fight against corruption
and racial discrimination, the promotion
of agrarian reform, the access and improvement of the education and public health
and the protection of its minorities.
While some regions have a per capita
income higher than some in the European
economy, others are among the poorest in the world. This is where Terre des
Hommes Suisse is active, in the
Amazon, amongst the
Aboriginal such as
O Norte which
concentrates
one of the highest biodiversity on the planet and also the peasant communities in
the Nordeste (including sertão, region with
severe drought).
The Indigenous peoples of the Amazon
Since colonization, indigenous peoples
have not ceased to be a discriminated
minority, abused and expropriated from
their land. In Brazil only, more than 300
peoples survived, and got granted to a full
citizenship status only in 1988! The law
recognizes their rights to benefit from a differentiated school (with bilingual education,
content and specific teaching materials,
suitable timetable). Nevertheless theory is
still far from practice.
Many territories of the indigenous peoples
are not yet protected. Amazon is still today
a coveted land with not only an intensive
exploitation of the forest and its natural
resources, but also its farmland and livestock potential, as much as for its mining,
and its construction of giant dams. It also
creates a huge environmental impact
affecting its flora, fauna and peoples whose
physical and cultural survival is at risk.
The Yanomami (State of Amazonas - Rio
Marauiá basins and Demini)
The Yanomami area (twice Switzerland),
demarcated in 1992, is a mountainous
area with rivers as main access roads.
Today, the Yanomami live in villages of 50
to 200 people. Following their traditional
way of life: semi-nomadic, they make their
living from hunting, fishing, picking and
seasonal agriculture (bananas, tobacco,
cassava and several varieties of tubers).
Their houses built of wood and straw are
arranged in a circle around a large central
square where each family, builds its own
domestic space. Few Yanomami speak
Portuguese, and even less are aware of the
concepts and codes from the napë world
(not Yanomami, the outsider).
The contact with «White people» mainly
brought additional problems: diseases
(Influenza, measles, malaria, etc.), malnutrition (natural resources become scarcer
and processed products causes dental
problems, diabetes, etc..). Secoya, a local
partner of Terre des Hommes Suisse,
has been fighting for 20 years for the
Yanomami rights and develops programs in
education and health.
«School is important to us, as Yanomami,
because we need to learn how to speak,
to read and to write Portuguese to write
reports, letters and to prepare projects.
But the school is also important because it
teaches us how to reflect on our culture,
our way of life, how to organize our relationship with white people and prepare for
our future.» Says Carlito, Yanomami leader.
This project goes beyond the hundreds of
children, youth and adults in school, this
is a real tool for the dignity, survival of the
Yanomami people and the defense of its
rights.
(See also: www.secoya.org.br).
Differentiated education: a school in the
heart of the forest
The school as we know it is a new learning tool in the Yanomami world! The child
imitates his parents and those around her,
and contributes on her own level to all
daily activities of the village. For more than
10 years in 9 xapono is given an appropriate and bilingual teaching by Yanomami
teachers trained and supervised by a team
of Secoya.
Approximately 580 students (including
children from 7-year-old to adults) follow a
daily teaching of two hours, broken down
by level, and not by age. A school, opened to all, allows to keep their livelihoods.
Other programs in Brazil
In the state of Bahia in the Northeast, Terre
des Hommes Suisse also supports rural
communities and agricultural schools.
In addition to academic subjects, these
schools teach cultivation and livestock
techniques as well as methods adapted
to diversified family farming promoting
self-sufficiency.
In Norte, Terre des Hommes Suisse also
supports the ICR (Indigenous Council of
Roraima), a training center for sustainable
agriculture for youth coming from about
twenty Amerindian groups whose traditional ways of life were swept away by the
plundering of their land.
Brazil in numbers
Capital : Brasília (2.562.963 inhabitants)
Cities : 14 cities with more than 1 million inhabitants, São Paulo
and Rio have more than 10 million
Area : 8,514,876 km2
Population : 201 million (2013)
Population under 15 years : 29%
Urban population : 85%
Currency : Brazilian Real (1 CHF = 2.55 Brazilian Real)
Life expectancy : 74 years
Adult literacy rate : 90%
Net enrollment ratio in primary education : 95%
Main exports : Brazil is the first exporter in the world for aluminum, iron, oil, sugar, soy, poultry, beef, unroasted coffee, wood and
wood products, etc.
Sources : UNICEF, UNDP
AMAZONIA
Member of Terre des Hommes International Federation and the Geneva Foundation Cooperation
ch. Frank-Thomas 31, 1223 Cologny-Genève / T. 022 737 36 28 / F. 022 736 15 10
marchedelespoir@terredeshommessuisse.ch / www.marchedelespoir.ch