Kevin Tackles Salvador, Brazil!

Ola Meu Amigos!

It`s been a long time since I`ve posted to this blog, but being that this is my first international trip since South Africa, I thought it was appropriate.

A lot has happened since my last post. To those who haven`t been updated since my last blog posting, I will summarize. Shortly after my jobs at CARE International and World Hope International I moved to Boston for another job in music. I was there for 6 months to find once again that music industry was just not cut out for my future ambitions. I went back to Cross-Cultural Solutions to find they had an opening for a Program Manager. I intereviewed for the job in late July/early August and became a part of the Program Management staff on August, 23rd, 2010. It was a big accomplishment in my book with all of the efforts I had put towards my work in South Africa. It seemed to be perfect timing for this opportunity to come my way after I became so passionate about African culture. I`m proud to say that I have been working with Cross-Cultural Solutions for 7 months now and have really enjoyed every part of it.

As a Program Manager you are the direct liasion between your country programs and the enrolled volunteers. Before the volunteer departs on their journey, the program managers are the connection to the culure and life of each program. Currently I represent the South Africa and Brazil volunteer programs. As a part of our training you are required to travel to your site and experience the program inside and out, so you are able to communicate those expectations to future volunteers.

As I write this blog, I´m sitting in an internet cafe overlooking the sun set in Salvador, Brazil. I wish all of you could be here to see it, but hearing about it is just as good, right??? I´m set to stay in Brazil for 2 weeks to train on my site and I just wanted to give you all an insight to the beginning of my trip.

I began traveling to Brazil via TAM airlines, which itself was an interesting experience because it was the first time flying with an international airline carrier that was primarily in portuguese. Most of the time the announcements would come up without an English translation. It was just the way it was :) The flight was almost as long as my travel to South Africa, because I connected from JFK to Sao Paulo, then to Rio de Jaineiro and finally to Salvador, Brazil. I left at 7:40pm on Friday night and got in at 6pm on the following Saturday. What can I say, it was the cheapest flight I could find!

We were met at the airport by Ivan, an extremely friendly driver of CCS and another volunteer named Liz. The drive back to the homebase was gorgeous as we drove along the coastline to watch the sun set on Salvador. The narrow roads and archeitecture along these ocean views reminded me of some areas around Los Angeles. As we passed by one of the first beaches in Salvador, you could see a rambunctious crowd circulating. We came to the homebase to meet with the rest of the volunteer group and see that everyone was safe and sound and ready to experience everything Brazil had to offer. Vini, our Program officer informed us that we had a free day tomorrow until 7:30pm to explore before we had our program orientation. We all decided it was best to get to bed and hit the beach bright an early, being that´s the place everyone seemed to go.

The next morning we got the group together and were introduced to some of the other CCS staff including Lulu and Beto who were both very friendly. Five of us in the group went down to the beach around 10am and had a wonderful time experiencing what seemed to be the epi-center of social culture in Salvador. It was a great time seeing tons of people enjoying the sun, swimming, and playing beach volly ball (or at least a different version that had an object that was reminicent of a badminton birdie). There was also a lot of people who obiviously had experience in capoeira who were doing flips and cartwheels right on the coast line. We relaxed swam and enjoyed cheese on a stick which plenty of vendors brought around and toasted right in front of you like they were cooking smores. It was a great treat and really added to the experience of the beach life in Salvador. After the beach we explored the historic city of Pelourinho, which was a very colorful part of Salvador that had many restaurants, shops, and unique archeitecture. The whole day was wonderful and after our informative orientation with Vini, it seemed all of us were ready to begin volunteering the next day.

As a Program Manager, you are required to visit as many of the program sites as possible. This is essential when discussing placements with enrolled volunteers before they depart to their country site. The volunteer group was up early and ready to go. Since there were 6 volunteers total, Vini decided to have 2 at each placement so each volunteer would have some support. The 3 placements were Lar da Creance, Fruitos de Maes, and Madre Teresa.

We first visited Lar da Creance, which is an orphanage home to many children abandoned at a very early age. Some of the children that stay at this orphanage are here because their parents didn´t have the means to look after them while the others are there because their parents suffered from drug abuse or other issues. The placement definitely had a need and with 25 children to look after. The staff relies on volunteers to help look after the children and make the orphanage run more efficiently. I´m happy to say that the volunteers are really enjoying their placement and are already falling in love with the kids. They are planning a trip tomorrow to take them all to the park or the zoo.

The second placement, Madre Teresa, is a special place where nuns work with elderly and a children´s daycare center. One of the volunteers, Judy, was a 3rd time alum of this placement and was ecstatic when she walked through the door to see many of the same women she had cared for in the past. It was a heart warming feeling to see the elderly women embrace Judy as if she was a part of the family. Some of the elderly women at this placement have special needs that require a bit of extra attention from the staff. The volunteers really make this possible by aiding in chores, caregiving for the kids, and having occasional games of bingo which the elderly women love!

The third placement Fuitos de Maes is a really incredible facility. It was once an empty plot where mounds of trash were piled up, but then turned into a wonderful school for kids 1-5 years old. The school has 4 classrooms that are overwhelmed with children, providing a great challenge to a minimal teaching staff. In this way our volunteers really become great assistants by giving extra attention where it is needed. One volunteer Lee has a great background in teaching and has experience working with children affected by autism. The teachers had just received their first 2 children that were diagnosed with Autism. Since the teachers had never worked with autistic children before, it became very apparent that this was an area they needed help with. I sat down with Vini, Lee, and the teaching staff at Fruitos de Maes to have a discussion about techniques that would help the teachers in working with these children. Lee gave great insight to her work with autism and really enlightened the staff on ways to create a great learning environment for the children. Simple things like taking the child out of the classroom when the environment becomes too hectic for them, ignoring the child when they are obviously asking for attention, and rewarding the child with stickers and other things to give them incentives to continue focusing on their daily tasks. It was definitely a special occasion to see a volunteer really putting her life skills to work. Thanks Lee!

Vini has shown me around to many of the other placements and they have been incredible. One of the special experiences I had is when I visited CAASAH, which is a center for people of all ages affected by HIV/AIDS. As I was there, a little 7 year old girl took my hand and walked me around the entire center, showed me all of the rooms, and even sat with me to chat and draw. It was a special moment that really stands out in my mind when it comes to my experience in Salvador.

I will touch on this and much more in my next Kevin Tackles South Africa blog. Yes, I´m still calling it Kevin Tackles South Africa, because that´s how it started, so I´m sticking to it. Like it or not Jess Fraser!!! ha. Stay tuned folks....and thanks for reading :)

Kevin Gschwend
kevin.gschwend@gmail.com

p.s. feel free to email me anytime with your comments. I always love hearing from everyone and it´s definitely a part of the reason why I love writing it so much.