Feb 15, 2011
In a few days it will be time for small children to resume classes in the public nursery of the Santa Bernadete, a poor area of Nova Friburgo city. But there will be no chairs, no tables, no cradles, no beds, no toys. Everything was destroyed last month during the floods and landslides - the worst natural disaster in Brazilian history.
On the morning of January 11, the area where Iolanda da Silva nursery sits was hit by heavy storms, as were dozens of other areas in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state. A total of 900 people died. More than 400 bodies are still missing under the mud and 35,000 people were forced out of their homes. In the midst of such a tragedy, the situation of the nursery portrays the challenges faced by the local population for a long time to come: how to move on with their lives when everything was taken by the water.
Mother of four Graziele Thedin lives a few metres from the nursery. She used to work at home sewing clothes for factories in an informal arrangement, not covered by an employment contract. Her sewing machine - her only form of income - plus 2000 pieces of cloth were ruined when the flood completely consumed her small house. The material loss can be recovered with some effort but the lack of the support offered to the nursery is one of her main concerns right now.
"Our community needs the nursery school to be open. That's where I can leave my baby while I work. If the nursery school doesn't re-open, I will have to look after my daughter the whole day and I won't be able to earn any money. She is one and a half years old and needs special care."
As well as Thedin, 60 other families counted on the day care centre. And from now on, a few others will also depend it. Municipal authorities are planning to enroll at least 20 more children who used to be in nurseries that were completely wiped out by the water and landslides.
Sandra Fagundes and her husband Marcelo - the parents of five children - lost everything but their lives during the flood. Their shack stood a few metres from a little stream which rose three to four metres, dragging away everything in its path. While elder children can go to a nearby school, Sandra hopes the nursery school will reopen in March. "I will leave my little boy, who is three years old, there. This way I will be able to find a job and try to rebuild our home," she says.
A month after the flood, workers are finishing the task of clearing out the mud that invaded the nursery building. As well, they are cleaning, restoring doors and windows and painting the walls. But when the kids start arriving, there will be almost nothing inside. And there is little money to buy even the basic equipment, like cradles, pans, chairs and toys.
The local Lutheran parish, which works with ACT Alliance, plans to support the nursery and families of the children mid and long-term by raising funds to re-equip the building and improve the quality of care. Church volunteers are also gathering information about the poor families, in order to offer counselling, provisions and protein supplements to the families trying to rebuild their homes and lives.
