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Aracaju, Brazil -- Volunteer project in northeast Brazil

During the month of September, thirty-four university women who take part in the activities of the Itaporã and Varanda Cultural Centers in Rio de Janeiro, and Enseada in Niteroi, taught a multidisciplinary course in the poor neighborhoods of Piabeta and Grageru de Aracaju, the capital of Sergipe. The request for this social project came through a priest who was concerned about the professional development of his parishioners.

The young women, students in the final years of university courses in hostelry, management, law, and computer science, began by giving various classes for housewives on the running of a household, in which the value and dignity of domestic work as well as its professional character were stressed. The classes also dealt with workplace legislation and civic rights and duties.

Another group of volunteers was responsible for the course entitled “The First Job.” Among other things, they taught girls from the area how to prepare a curriculum vitae. Dr. Mannoun Chimelli, a doctor at the Antonio Pedro University Hospital of Niterói, gave talks to mothers and daughters on challenges in raising adolescents. Dentistry and physical therapy students provided free assistance for those needing it. Techniques of oral hygiene were also taught.

Romana, n. 47, July-December 2008, p. 335.

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