News From Task Brasil - September 2006
Dear Gary
We are very pleased to bring you the most recent news
and update of Task Brasil[base ']s projects and events.
Fat Boyz v Task Brasil Polo
Match/Carnival
Don[base ']t miss the forthcoming Polo Match/Carnival,
in aid of Task Brasil, organised by our great supporters Silvia Costa and Roy
Moëd.
This day was conceived initially to thank the Liphook
equine staff for the magnificent care of Fat Boy during 2 major surgeries and
several months of intensive care, finally being fed with a 200ml syringe with
blended food every 2 hours, 24 hours a day.
Date: Sunday, 24th September
Place: Royal Berkshire Polo Club in
Windsor
Start: Gates open 12 pm
To include:
a
Brazilian Samba
School (25 drummers and dancers)
a BBQ
a Plenty of drinks
a Polo match
Price: Adult ticket £100
Children under 12 £25 and under 18 £50
You can buy a polo lesson and a go for a beautiful hack
in the morning before the event (Coolhooves, the
Polo School
is donating all monies received from the lessons to the charity usually, £100
for adults and £40 for children).
a £75 for adults
a £25 for children
For bookings, please contact us on 020 7735 5545 or
email us on info (at) taskbrasil.org.uk
Exciting news from new projects[sigma]
Casa Roger Turner
Casa Roger Turner (CRT), a day centre and overnight
shelter for street teenage boys in Santa Teresa was inaugurated on the 4th
April. The opening day was a huge success, hosted by the British Royal Defence
Attaché Col. Ralph Ashenhurst and attended by Jonathan Munro from EMBL,
representatives from Wilson Sons, Rio[base ']s governor, the British Consulate
and also Rio [base ']s juvenile judge. Two
members of Task Brasil[base ']s advisory committee in
Brazil were also present along with
children, staff and volunteers from TBT[base ']s other projects. Col. Ashenhurst
also represented Capt. Roger Turner who was unable to attend because he is now
living in Australia
with his family after his retirement from the British Royal Navy.
The house is already a home to 9 teenage boys. CRT
welcomes 12-17 year olds who commit to adhere to a structured timetable
throughout the day. They join the programme in the early evening (between 6
[^] 6:30pm) and then stay overnight to begin activities the following day.
The workshops are run by trained professionals who engage the children in a
range of educational, music, sport and income generating activities to include:
IT, jewellery and flip flop making, arts and crafts and cultural days outs.
They also attend [OE]business[base '] classes as well as a Drugs Detox
programme, once a week, through a partnership Task Brasil has established with
Rio[base ']s Federal University. They also have [OE]art therapy[base ']
sessions once a week at CRT run by two Psychotherapists (one of which is Yona
Guimaraes, a famous TV actress) in a partnership we have established with
[OE]Pomar Clinic[base '] which is also a NGO aimed at assisting drug-users.
The aim is that while living in the house the boys
will: be reintegrated with their own families; abstain from substance abuse;
increase their self esteem; attend school and learn social and practical
skills, away from the dangers of the streets of Rio .
Casa Roger Turner works in conjunction with the local
authorities including the juvenile authorities in
Rio de Janeiro . Running costs of CRT have
been funded by EMBL [^] Emerging Markets Benefit Limited.
Since its inauguration Casa Roger Turner has welcomed
teenage boys from the Street Approach.
They attend Casa Roger Turner of their own free will. The boys are an essential
part in the establishment of rules and procedures. The system does not suit
everyone as some boys find it too hard to live by rules because on the streets
they are not tied to any. The boys have a very good sense of what is right and
wrong and know how to apply this to any given situation in the house.
Thanks to funds from Beanfeast Trust complemented by
funds from ABC Trust building work is in its final stages. The number of boys
is increasing gradually as we are creating an environment where existing boys are
able to act as positive role models to the newcomers.
Epsom
College Farm
We were pleased to celebrate the 1st year anniversary
of Forest House (March 10th) at Epsom College Farm 90km North-East of
Rio de Janeiro city.
Forest House is a home for boys aged 10-14. The boys go to school as well as
enjoying the peaceful, forest surroundings, going for swims in the nearby river
or learning income generating skills. They help out by spending on average a
couple of hours each day in the vegetable gardens or with other
responsibilities such feeding the chickens, planting, weeding and maintaining
the land. The boys also continue to work hard at school.
Thanks to EMBL[base ']s funds, Task Brasil has been able
to increase the number of staff so as to enable Forest House to operate to its
full capacity, caring for up to 10 boys. The project is also partially financed
by ABC Trust (UK).
Casa Jimmy
On 13th October, it will be the 8th Anniversary of Casa
Jimmy. We are very pleased to say that more than 330 children and teenagers
have lived at Casa Jimmy and benefited from the care of Task Brasil over the
years. More than 80% of the children are either living at the house or have
been reintegrated with family members or adopted successfully. Since January
2006 the Prefeitura ( Rio [base ']s Local
Authority[base ']s) has reinstated its funding to Casa Jimmy through the SMAS
(Secretaria Muncipal de Assistencia Social). However, the funds amount to half
of what we used to receive from the Prefeitura in 2004 when funds were
suspended, making the need for further funds a quite urgent matter for Task
Brasil.
Casa Jimena
Casa Jimena is a hostel for young mothers (and their
babies) aged 18 to 22, who have previously lived at Casa Jimmy (as part of the
Shining Light Programme). It is aimed at those who are in the process of
gaining their financial independence to develop into responsible and productive
members of society. Casa Jimena became a home for its first teenager on 1st
June 2006. Daiana is one of first children Task Brasil met in 1994, whilst she
was still living on the streets. Daiana lived at Casa Jimmy for 3 years before
moving to temporary accommodation, living in a favela with a half sister who is
a drug addict. Daiana, now 18 years old, is living at Casa Jimena and doing
well with her studies. She is also learning English and working part-time in a
trainee position at The National Institute of Meteorology.
Casa Jimena will be run at very minimum cost . The
supervision and guidance to the young women will be given by the project leader
of the existing project Casa Charlotte and our technical team.
Task Brasil, through Casa Jimena, is able to offer
teenagers and young women like Daiana the support they need to stand on their
own two feet and prepare for adult life. Other teenagers are expected to join
Daiana to live at Casa Jimena soon.
Other News
a Accenture in the
UK
pledged £25,000 to complement an existing donation of £30,000 towards the
purchase of Casa Charlotte - a
home for teenage pregnant girls and young mothers and theirs babies. Teenage
mothers currently living at Casa Jimmy will transfer to Casa Charlotte, thereby
making Casa Jimmy a home specifically for young children and increasing its
capacity as such. Prefeitura is very keen that we care for more teenage girls
and it might be the case that they will increase their funding towards Casa
Charlotte as per recent discussions - let's hope so.
a On 18th March, Duncan Innes,
trustee of Task Brasil visited TBT projects, and stayed until 22nd March.
Duncan is a solicitor and partner for Marriott and
Harrisson Solicitors firm in the
UK and has been supporting TBT for
over 10 years and has been a trustee since 2002.
a On 20th March Paul Sutcliffe
(trustee) visited TBT projects in Rio . Paul is
a partner for Ernst & Young and has been working in
Sao Paulo since Oct. 2005.
a Jimmy Page further contributed
to the work of Task Brasil, funding the cost of maintenance and repair work
required at Casa Jimmy and operational costs.
a Jones Radio in the
US is
once again running their September month celebration, and agreed to promote a
PSA recorded by Jimmy Page in support of child sponsorship for Casa Jimmy.
a British Airways agreed to
donate £250 as a result of a Community Award in which a BA volunteer nominated
Task Brasil as their chosen charity.
a Chris Hart has donated
US$12,000 towards Epsom College Farm for road improvement work, repair of
drains at Forest House, refurbishment of office, staff accommodation and
Philippe[base ']s office, fencing for the introduction of live stock at the
farm, etc.
a Umbrella magazine, in
Brazil ,
published an article on TBT, including a listing on their website.
a Wilson and Sons donated
R$50,000 towards Casa Jimmy's running costs in December 2005 and also 80
lighting systems for Casa Roger Turner earlier this year
a Earlier in the year Task Brasil
Inc in the US transferred
US$ 4,500 to projects in Brazil .
a Volunteers have moved to a
larger flat which has been partially renovated in order to better accommodate
them. Some of the work that took place was damp treatment, painting and
replacement of furnishing items.
a Gouvea Vieira Solicitors in
Brazil
continue with their invaluable support in providing legal advice to Task
Brasil.
a Partnership with Ballymore
through its foundation Homeless Child is under progress for the building and
running costs of a shelter next door to Casa Jimmy for children aged 7 to 12.
Ballymore will also complement funds towards the Casa Charlotte new building.
All this will allow Casa Jimmy to be a home for just children up to 6 years old
a A FREE AD CAMPAIGN has been
kindly organised for Task Brasil by Simon Cox, Steve Hickman. and David Newley
giving us coverage in the main national press: The Daily Express, The Daily
Star, the Daily on Sunday and the Guardian. The ads started running in mid
August.
a Both Audley Travel and Journey
Latin America are sending out SPC leaflets with their documents to clients
travelling through Brazil .
a Lonely Planet International
Volunteering Handbook will feature Task Brasil in their next edition and quotes
from our Ex-placements will be found in the first chapter! We would like to
thank you for your time in reading our recent news and great support all these
years. We welcome your further support in order to help us raise £100,000 until
the end of 2006 and hope you will be able to contribute with what you can!!!
Any donation, even a very small one, will bring us closer to our goal!!! Task Brasil - http://www.taskbrasil.org.uk
6:30:56 PM 
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