My Volunteer Programme in Salvador - Brazil

For my family, friends and for those who have kindly supported me in this worthwhile venture here is a weekly progress report of my placement and how I am able to help in community led projects


Week 1 - 6th Sept Week 2 - 13th Sept Week 3 - 20th Sept Week 4 - 27th Sept Week 5 - 4th Oct
Week 6 - 11th Oct Week 7 - 18th Oct Week 8 - 25th Oct Week 9 - 1st Nov Week 10 - 8th Nov

Week 7 - 18th October

What a week this has been?  My Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes have been merged into one session for 8.30 to 10.15 and a whole new batch of students arrived for the second session 10.30 to 12.00. These new students have no knowledge of English therefore I have to start them from the beginning. Pandemonium ensued as 22 arrived and we couldn’t fit them into the small classroom. The noise was horrendous. Fortunately Welma, the manageress, withdrew 8 and sanity and relative peace returned. They are another great bunch and very willing to learn – and doing well after 3 days. Sayni, another volunteer, will be taking over these classes when I leave in three weeks and she came with me on Friday for an induction session and was a great help.

I am having such a fun week as well. On Monday a board fell off the wall in my classroom and smashed my new glasses, at least the frames. I went to the large shopping mall and was able to get new frames and see again.

I returned by way of a very steep short
one way hill. As cars pour around the corner to ascend the hill I correctly looked right to check and stepped out into the road and WHAM. I though a bus had hit me.  I fell to the ground with blood pouring from my knee and arm and a severe pain in my chest. I could hardly draw a breath. It was a cyclist speeding down the hill the wrong way. He got back on and went on at
 ME when it was clearly his fault.  He just left me bleeding and stunned and cycled off. A guy from a nearby garage kindly hosed me down (literally) and I got a taxi back to home base. Guess what? My new glasses were again missing and probably at the scene of the accident. Vinny kindly administered first aid and then drove me back to the scene and we found them in the kerb.
My knee and arm have already healed nicely and the pain in my chest has gone.

That’s not all. Next day I was sitting on the beach minding my own business - hat on - glasses on and reading a book when WHAM,  I received a heavy blow to the head. Hat came off. Glasses came off. I just could not believe it. I thought someone had thrown a coconut at me. It was one of those hard balls from the beach game that is very fast and furious. It’s like a squash ball but bigger and harder.  No damage done and glasses OK. 

TGIF again and looking forward to a restful and hopefully an uneventful weekend – but you never know with me. Watch this space.