The Women’s Group of Suruacá, Brazil
by Alicia Craven

In her 70 years of life, Dona Martinha, a matriarch in the small Brazilian village of Suruacá, has had time to come to her own conclusions about development strategies in her community.

“We are the guinea pigs,” she says in Portuguese with a weary, good-natured sigh. “In reality, everything that we have here is through projects—the kitchen, our house for women—all resulted from projects.”

CEN is working to change this entrenched dependent, paternalistic approach to development. Doña Martinha and her Suruacá Women’s Group are partners in shaping this change.

Suruacá is a small community of about 100 families on the banks of the Tapajós River in northeastern Brazil. It is accessible to the nearest city of Santarém by twice-weekly, six-hour boat journeys. Change comes slowly. Life requires patience.

Projecto Saude e Alegria (PSA), a Brazilian NGO and development organization, first began working with this isolated community in 1987. In addition to health programs and basic infrastructure projects such as installing clean drinking water systems, PSA also helped set up the Women’s Group.

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by Nicholas Tichy

Community development in areas such as the Brazilian Amazon does not happen overnight. There are many problems that restrict the economic growth of these communities, and they are not easily overcome. Instead, development and empowerment happens bit by bit and is measured by small victories. One such victory is the story of Magarete Lima’s bakery business.

The business began a number of years ago as a very small stand, and experienced a hiatus for a period of three years. However, it would return due to the most fundamental element for any business - demand. Residents of the community of Suruacá, a small community of 100 families, about 5 hours by boat from the nearest city, missed smelling the scent of fresh bread drift from the bakery.  Since bread from the nearest city is often stale by the time it makes its infrequent journey to Suruacá, many residents kept asking about the bakery and finally Magarete reopened it.

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New Business Off the Top of Their Heads
An Interview with Ronilson Valente Melo
Young Entrepreneur in Suruacá, Pará State, Brazil

By Nicholas Tichy

Development and empowerment in rural communities such as Suruacá requires a number of elements. One essential skill that needs to be promoted is entrepreneurship. Inroads have been made in helping the community develop business opportunities for themselves, but many obstacles still remain. However, one youth in Suruacá, Ronilson Valente Melo, is an excellent example of the spirit of empowerment and drive that CEN attempts to foster. Recently, CEN's founder and Director Bob Bortner had the opportunity to speak with this young man and find out a bit more about his experiences attempting to create his own business.

Ronilson, 23 years old, grew up in Suruacá with his five brothers and five sisters. Like so many other youths in Suruacá and elsewhere, there were few opportunities in the community. "I finished basic school, but they didn't have high school," says Ronilson. "I had to leave home to study in Santarém," the nearest large town. Though he spent three years living in Santarém, there was much about the place that made him long to return home. "Here [in Suruacá], we are able to walk around without fear. But in town, we had to be at home earlier, because if you don't it gets dangerous."

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Community Health Agent in Suruacá

By Leslie Stroud-Romero

On his last trip to Suruacá in the Brazilian Amazon, Bob Bortner sat down with Djalma Lima, one of the key members of that small community. Djalma truly understands and supports CEN's mission, and his response to the information CEN has brought to Suruacá exemplifies the culture-of-learning we are encouraging. As mentioned in the article "Information is Power in Suruacá," Djalma came away from one of the meetings held by CEN saying "We don't really need you, do we?" This "can do" attitude permeates his role in the community.

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by Elizabeth Thelen

Teachers in Suruacá face many challenges, yet Telma Bentes Farias believes that, with time and faith, she will find what she needs to build her career and life. Determined to help her community, Telma has devoted herself to teaching. During school breaks she is completing a mathematics degree at the university in Santarém, a city about five hours away. Telma is well aware of the challenges for teachers brought about by the differences between current teaching models and Suruacá's reality. For this reason, she is excited to partner with CEN and Teachers Without Borders to develop innovative solutions for Suruacá’s schools.

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