Storys

The importance of friendship, empathy and caring for people are transmitted to the children indirectly every day. When they fight among themselves, I usually foster mutual help and affection. Nowadays, when a child cries because he or she has fallen, been hurt, or has been disturbed by another child, there are immediately several children running to help out, to hug and wipe away tears. One day Nediane was crying heavily inside the Kindergarten because she had stomach ache. After lying down for a while, I advised her to go for a walk and get some air. In the same second, Miriam (5 years old) took her hand and asked me, “Jassica, would you like me to go for a walk with her?” When they returned, Miriam was notoriously happy to tell me where she went for a walk with Nediane and what they did to stop her crying.

I shared my volunteer project with a homosexual volunteer. The situation in question is not yet well accepted in the City of Tarrafal, which means that they do not accept very well the differences in one’s sexual orientation. I witnessed various discriminatory attitudes towards my colleague from some children, young people and adults. In one particular situation, a child came to me and told me that the volunteer in question should leave Delta because Delta was not a gay place, he added that she didn’t like him just for that reason, stating that he danced like girls and that boys can’t dance the same way. Together with another volunteer we tried to explain that it is important not to judge someone for their feelings, since liking girls or boys does not change someone’s qualities, and this option does not define whether someone is a good person or a bad person. We also explained that this situation should be seen as a normal thing because we are all different and we don’t have to like all the same things. The child in question again insisted that being gay was being abnormal and ugly because there are things only girls do. Again, we try to explain that liking boys instead of girls or vice versa is not something we choose, but it can happen to anyone. We said it was something that could happen to her and that she should put herself in someone else’s shoes and think how she would feel if anyone makes these nasty comments about her. At the time, she was thoughtful and left. Days later, on the last day of the Delta volunteer, the child went to him and apologized for what she said about him, giving him a huge goodbye hug.

I was in the art room with a few children when I heard the following conversation between Mariolaine (9 years old) and Sara (10 years old): Mariolaine: “Pff, I have to go to School today.” Sara: “Oh I wish Delta was our School.” Mariolaine: “Oh yes! Imagine that! We could always do what we like. No one to punish us for anything. Sara: “Yeah that would be really nice.”

Marcilia (14 years old) came into the IT room and found all the computers occupied by boys … she had a look around for a short while and then asked a question that made everybody in the IT room look around: “So what about gender equality?”

I was sitting in the classroom with Solene (11 years old) and a few other boys and girls. They were just joking around, when Solene took the notebook of a boy sitting next to her. She had a look at it and started laughing and making fun of the boy:” ha ha this is a girls notebook … “ But then she suddenly stopped, put her hand in front of her mouth and looked shocked … “oh no”, she said very seriously, “Gender equality … “

I was in the art room with Nelly (6 years old) and other kids. Nelly was in the kindergarten the last two years and now goes to school. Nelly was just talking Portuguese instead of Creole like usually. When I started to talk Portuguese as well she asked me: “Hey, where did you learn Portuguese?” I told her that I learned just by talking to people. “And you Nelly? Why do you like speaking Portuguese so much?” “Me? Maybe YOU like speaking Portuguese, but I LOVE speaking Portuguese!”