Amazon Adventure: Carnaval in Moura!
On day 4 of our Amazon expedition in Brazil we start our day in Moura, a community of 500 inhabitants along the Rio Negro, where we meet local folks and spend a leisurely morning with the kids and teachers at Escola Santa Rita.
Even though there are less than 200 families in this community, the number of churches is astonishing. There are five different churches (and counting), all within a few hundred meters from each other. Maybe the vestige of a past of colonialism and strong influence by the church.
Perhaps even more surprising is the local school, Escola Santa Rita. The institution is part of a project that brings videoconference lectures to more than 1,300 classrooms in the state of Amazonas in an effort to improve teaching and bring high quality education to rural communities.
This also means we can exchange e-mails with the teachers and plan our activities in advance (a luxury in this part of the world!).
Before engaging in a special activity with the local students, however, our hosts take us to the library next to the school for a storytime session.
Established by the Brazilian NGO Vaga Lume, which works to promote education and culture and preserve the Amazon’s environment, this library boasts a collection of roughly 300 new books, with an emphasis on early childhood. The kids had fun finding classics like “The Gruffalo” and so many other titles that are familiar to them. And we even stumbled upon “Witch, witch, come to my party”, one of my daughter’s favorite at the time!
After storytime, it was party time! It was Carnaval and to celebrate this important holiday in Brazil, we prepared a mask-making activity, followed by an authentic Carnaval party, confetti and all.
And, of course, we brought them the much sought after soccer balls!
* This post was also shared on Walking on Travels , where you can find more inspiring travel posts and tips.
