Annual report 2008 for Casa Crianca Querida
What does a carpet weaver do when he reaches the middle of the carpet, have chosen all the colours and has a pattern completed, when the carpet is almost finished but he has not yet reached the bottom end of the carpet. What does an actor do when in the middle of a tour he know his role by heart, performs the same act every night, has already conquered the audience but the acting year is not at an end yet.
The story of Casa Crianca Querida is getting longer, it is no longer “pioneering” work, and the novelty has worn off. One year follows another and actually it is always the same, if it were not for the most diverse strings in the carpet, the colours that always bring the pattern more and more to the fore. In a conversation I stumbled upon the question if AIDS and HIV is still a contemporary issue? This disease in spite of all its social political explosiveness is threatening to loose the interest of many and this “disinterest” is to be seen in the increasing number of new infections. A good reason to ask what has happened. Is this subject not of interest any more or is it only been brushed under the carpet? If yes, why?
The work of Casa Crianca Querida
Casa Crianca Querida does social work for HIV positive families on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. The work started in an orphanage of 12 AIDS children, who could be integrated back into their own - or adopted families. We then founded a day care centre that cared for kindergarden children who have HIV positive families.
This work has continually grown and today we are caring for 45 HIV positive children the spectrum being toddlers, babies, kindergarden children, and pre school children and youths, as well as social and therapeutic assistance for parents, siblings and families of the children we care for.
The children are collected from and brought back home every day, they are bathed and cared for, they have two main meals and two snacks during the day made from whole food and participate in age related educational activities. School children and youths are integrated into a social environment, go to school, receive help with their homework, and receive extra tutoring in foreign languages, sport, art, handwork, and music.
All the children and their relatives participate in our annual festivals, nature outings, and at the end of the year we offer a journey for the children and youths during the school holidays.
A wonderful chance for 10 pupils
In the summer holidays in January we had contact with a private school, who got to know our work through a personal visit and who were particular impressed with our work. The director of the Colégio Concórdia wanted to know how they could support our institution. We then requested if we could use the property for our unicycle rides as well as for outings with the children. We also very politely implied how intelligent and attentive our pupils can be if they only had the opportunity to show it. In other words we asked for donations without really believing that we would receive any.
After a while – at the end of January almost at the beginning of the new school year the director requested from a us a list of those pupil from the middle and the upper classes, whom we thought, had the intellect, social behaviour to fit into a private school and a mark average that would take them directly into the next class level without any difficulties.
We worked on a list of 10 pupils and to our amazement and joy, after an interview with them and with the promise that we as an institution would accompany their social integration into the school as well as seeing to it that they meet the demands set on them, all 10 pupils were accepted into the school. This is a chance that most pupils from public schools could impossibly attain because of the difficult entrance examinations, tests and recommendations needed in order to get in. We can only say that angels and good forces accompany our school and work.
After the first joy and shock of such a responsibility there was off course much work to be done. The families of these pupils had to be informed and prepared for the special situation their children were going to be in. The self confidence of our pupils had to be worked on, for they were suddenly as children from poverty stricken families going to an elite school. We also have to build intimate relations with the school in order to deal with even the smallest of social conflicts, incidents, home work, tests etc. To be in the picture at all times that we may assist them and help where needed and if needs be talk to them.
We were amazed and proud at the end of the first school year to have such positive feed back which were reflected in good report card as well as reports on the exemplary behaviour of our pupils. They were seen by all teachers in the school as being open, enthused, and in many cases as true role models in their respective classes. This was for us a feed back on the value of our work in the youth groups, because all the work we do with the circus, sport and different disciplines are aimed at making our pupils social and happy in their togetherness with others whether it be in their families, the school or their communities as well as the ability to learn, to be independent and responsible in daily chores, toward others and themselves and in their future.
In connection with our work in the school two special cases became clear to us. Among our pupils there is the case of a dyslexic, and a girl who has suffered many epileptic attacks in the year. Both pupils were taken on in the school with much understanding for their situation and they could keep their place and their bursaries with some special regulations attached to it. At the same time the two pupils receives support from doctors and therapists at the private clinic Tobias who treats them free of charge.
Living with 11 children under a bridge...
We experienced a special story with our family of 12. The mother was sent to us last year. At the beginning of this year we could take in six of the children in our day care centre. This family has been living on the run living under bridges for a long time and have only now had the courage to go for help to an institution. Last year we were able to give the family a worthy Christmas festival as well as provide each child with second hand clothing. In this year it was important that the children are all place in a school which was very difficult as none of the children are registered, rather has no birth certificates. We spoke to the very mistrustful mother, who still had fears that we wanted to take her children from her. One day the mother come to us smilingly announcing that she has a surprise for us, which we never would have guessed. She revealed from a plastic bag a birth certificate for each child. After the conversation with her she went to the authorities and had each child registered. In the meantime the six smallest children (2 – 12 years) are in our school.
…and another difficult destiny
At the end of the year Tanya came back to our kindergarden. Since school started she did not return as her grandmother who is rearing her wanted to do it by herself. Tanya’s mother was during her pregnancy with her heavily drug addicted and it lasted a many years before this child could get rid of these toxins. Thus Tanya is suffering from the side effects and “withdrawal symptoms”, thus having severe nervous - as well as behavioural disorders.
Tanya is now 10 years old and refuses to go to school and is has very aggressive behaviour. At the same time she refuses to take medication and has numerously been admitted to hospital with severe abdominal infections. The grandmother was completely overburdened and gave the girl to a home. In this institution Tanya because of her aggressive behaviour was placed in the aged group of 15 to 18 year olds and now suffered here the whole range of experiences that was still lacking, from violence, drug addiction and delinquency. She herself begged the grandmother to take her back home from this place for fear of being raped by the bigger boys. The grandmother brought her back to us.
On the very same day Tanya remained with us. We have mediated psychological assistance for Tanya and her grandmother. In our daily being together we have noticed that Tanya is able to wind down in little meaningful activities and so she helps in the children groups with distributing drawing paper, tidying up the doll house, backing bread in the kitchen and helping with shopping. She has a very mistrusting look and her painful experiences were so great that any word of praise or any kind gesture seems to inflict her with more pain than pleasure. It will certainly take many years before she realises that friendliness and love can also be honestly meant.
The task - always anew
Lets once again look at the have woven carpet and the forgotten question on AIDS. What happened? There was a dramatic start, suffering which could have affected every one, where there is no medication, a death sentence. Everyone felt affected by it. Then medication is found, infection with HIV as a chronic disease does not mean that family members have to die and the infection rate seemingly went down. It is almost as if the biggest pain had died down although the wound has not healed and the infected continues to chronically live.
It is however interesting infection could to almost 100% be prevented if the relative information was available to all, if medication was freely available in all countries in the world, and if prevention and protection were seriously and responsibly applied. Responsibility is not easy to carry. Is that why we have forgotten the AIDS issue? It is particularly difficult when one has to hang in there. The carpet is not yet knotted, are we now letting the threads fall, so that all that has been worked on before is to break down and the beautiful pattern is lost. We do not need to infect each other, and those who are ill can survive with medication, but social inequalities, that allow a disease like AIDS and which worsen the situation of those who are ill still remain.
It is always about being together and meeting others. True love is commitment, is the efforts of renewing interest for old questions that has been around me, and in the world, for so long. Commitment means never losing the warmth even if the healing takes time and setbacks happen. Sometimes it means have to dig into old wounds to remember the question, and sometimes is only about continuing to finish the weaving of the carpet in all humility, not to let the threads hand, not to loose the quality of our work and relationships.
Tanya is a cry for help, to work on the social questions and disadvantages anew. And our children are the colourful threads of an unfinished carpet, we were successful in building bridges, there were watchful eyes, which saw the possibility, the hope and chances for the future. And our family of 12 … the eldest of the boys received a euro from Europe. Proudly he showed it at home and his facial expression of what he could purchase in food with the money. On the question of what he would buy with the money if he exchanged it he answered convincingly “nothing” this is my “lucky” coin, I will never exchange it! Within the first week of the family arriving to us we found an adoptive family for them, who offered to help give this family a new home, to give them the possibility of a worthy everyday life. The boy still has no clue of this “luck”.
There only remain the thanks to all of you who have helped us to continue to weave our carpet for another year.
Regina Klein
To top Update: 02/2009