Help bring education to every child in the Amazons.
The education crisis is enormous. But together, we can solve it. Whether you choose to join us by giving once, or on a monthly basis, know that your generosity will help children transform their world.
Build & Reform Teacher Housing
The Amazons is unlike anywhere in the United States. Many of these schools only have one teacher, and most often they do everything for the schools in which they serve. They teach the young children in the morning, the older children in the afternoon, and the adults in the evening. The teachers provide food and also clean the school. All of this for little more than $300 per month. Unfortunately, you cannot move to the middle of the Amazons and find an apartment or a house to rent. If they have somewhere to live it is usually more like a small wooden box than somewhere you can rest and recover before the next day's labor of love. With your help, we can build suitable housing for these teachers who are already sacrificing so much to help the children of the Amazons.
In the floodplains of the Amazon, there are children that need an education. But what can be done when the most vital person to the growth of a child’s intellect is unable to find housing? Teachers in this area are often pushed away from teaching there due to an inability to find the resources necessary for living. Brazil has an intense housing crisis. The housing deficit in the country is at a whopping 5.8 million homes. One in four Brazilians is either homeless or subject to inadequate housing. The floodplains are a perfect example of these statistics.
In the United States, when a teacher graduates from school and finds a job in any of the 16,800 school districts they can somewhat easily source an apartment. Though there may be financial variables to factor in for US teachers, there are no issues in finding physical places to buy or rent. Unfortunately, in the middle of the Amazon, housing prospects are few and far between. Not to mention, the salaries in the floodplains are on the lower side in Brazil, meaning teachers typically get paid a little over $300 per month in a place where the total cost of living is typically $550 for one person. In addition, they only get paid when school is in session so if the floods close the schools for 4-6 months, they do not receive compensation.
When an apartment is found by a teacher here it is not what an American would envision. It is not a multi-room place to relax, it is more akin to a hot box that is without air conditioning in one of the most humid places on earth. This makes it difficult to come home from a hard day’s work educating children and unwind. In turn, preparing yourself a meal and recovering for the next day of teaching your students proves immensely difficult. Most housing, if there is any, is only a small wooden box with a door. Typically, there are no restrooms or even a kitchen in these apartments! That means they may have to use the school’s inadequate facilities to cook for themselves. As far as going to the bathroom, people are usually provided with an outhouse and are lucky if they can find a place to take a cold shower. As you can see, moving to these areas is not enticing for teachers.
In addition to inadequate housing, teachers in these areas are working in some of the most underfunded schools in the world. The Brazilian government uses half of what the United States government does to fund its public schools. What is worse is that the Brazilian Federal Government decided not to fund schools with less than 30 students. That means approximately 15% of schools in the Amazon River communities do not receive federal funding. Teachers are required to do almost everything for the children and the institution. Their day might be broken up like this:
Morning classes for the younger students aged 3-10
Prepare and serve lunch
Teach another class of students aged 11-16 in the scorching afternoon heat and humidity
Clean the school and prepare for the following day
If the community is lucky, the teachers will also provide evening classes for adults.
Teachers here are required to do all of this, plus pick up the food given for lunch and transport it with no extra compensation. This travel can take hours depending on the location of their community in relation to the warehouse where food is stored.
But we can help the teachers of the floodplains provide better education to their students by supporting them. Sunshine Life wants to make an impact not only on the schools but on the lives of those who dedicate their time to educating young people. By joining us, you can help build respectable housing for teachers and create schools that stay in session. Housing is provided so the teachers can focus on their most important task: teaching children.