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December 2000

Dear CCDIA International Friends

After much expectation about the year 2000 it has gone by very quickly. Speaking of 2000, we all recognise the trends that point to the computer, the English language and the emotional capital as having a central role in the future. So in order to help children and teenagers more effectively, our priorities for the new millenium will be Information Technology, English and Psychology.

We can only say that it has been another busy year for us and we are glad to share some of the highlights with you that have followed our work from far-off countries such as Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the UK, Norway, Singapore and the States.

The after-school classes that we run in 5 centers have had hundreds of children enrolled this year. Our staff plan many indoor and outdoor activities to maintain the children's interest in learning, helping them with their homework and most of the time actually teaching what has been poorly explained at their local schools. Through singing, activities at the beach, sports, handicrafts, English and computer learning, as well as a series of celebrations throughout the year, the children have been kept out of the streets and improved at school, meeting our dual goal for them.

Three of our centers have run computer classes. Hundreds have completed the 3-month courses, 160 students in Niterói alone. Also in Niterói, 13 teenagers with learning difficulties attended the project called the special class.

Jorginho (professional footballer and CCDIA's vice-president) inaugurated his soccer centre. A long awaited initiative, it has raised CCDIA's level in terms of sports. The facilities offer the best in soccer to the poor children that live in the same area where the world-class soccer player was born. The beach soccer activities in Niterói were transferred to the new center as Jorginho and his staff took over the sports work of CCDIA.

Sixteen beach soccer athletes took part in the OSLO 2000 Exchange, a CCDIA-YMCA project that, following 10 months preparation and fund raising, took them to Norway for 2-weeks of cultural and sports interaction. The teenagers from favela families learned about new cultures, how to send e-mails, some basic English, and had group therapy with a psychologist as part of their preparation. They were given the air-ticket, passport and uniforms for the trip by their Norwegian partners and in Oslo were presented with money and many gifts in addition to lodging and food from YMCA. During the two-week stay they took part in the world's largest soccer tournament and visited most of the city's cultural attractions. Our goal was to strengthen the girls' self-image and prove to them that if we work hard and trust God we will see our dreams come true. The exchange was a success offering them a huge input totally free of charge and we can be sure that it will be a point of reference for their lives in the future.

International volunteers have run the English classes and 6 Brazilian volunteers made it possible for us to offer Information Technology. Young people from England, Germany, Norway and Austria have joined us during the year, living at the CCDIA headquarters.

At present we are right in the middle of the Christmas effort, collecting toys for every child enrolled in our projects. In the Brazilian culture this is a very touching point as the children really expect to receive a gift. One of the city's Choirs has decided that a toy will be the price for admission to their Christmas concert on Dec.10 at the University Theatre. The toys will be donated to the CCDIA children.

For us Christmas means warmth as summer begins. We hope that this short report will add some warmth to your heart as most of you go through a long winter following the celebrations. Thank you for keeping the CCDIA children in your mind. Join us for the International Year of the Volunteer.

Happy 2001!

Maysa Monte Assis,

Director of Communications

Email: ccdia@ccdia.org