The strength of the community can be a path to education.

By Carola Matarazzo – Executive Director of the Bem Maior Movement

The already fragile structures of our education system became even more vulnerable during the prolonged months of the pandemic, with distance learning in a precarious environment lacking the technology to promote access for all students, reinforcing social, economic, and educational inequalities.

In a ranking conducted by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation analyzing public distance education during the pandemic, Bahia came in last place – the report indicates that the state did not present any programs during the analyzed period, from March to October 2020. On the other hand, Salvador appears in first place among Brazilian capitals.

Data from the Iede School Retention Indicator – Interdisciplinarity and Evidence in the Educational Debate, released at the end of May, shows that the percentage of 16 and 17-year-olds who were not studying in 2019 in Bahia (20%) is higher than the national average of 18%. The health crisis is only likely to worsen the situation.

“To educate is to grow. And to grow is to live. Education is, therefore, life in the most authentic sense of the word,” noted the educator from Bahia, Anísio Teixeira. Using his comparison, we need to create a network of life and education that is resilient and expandable to strengthen Brazilian education, reaching beyond the capital cities and encompassing medium and small towns, and rural communities. Education for all.

This objective can only be achieved when we provide support to leverage the strength of the community, empower those who work directly with the population, understanding their main needs and urgent demands. When we combine the expertise of the third sector with the practical knowledge of local organizations, we create solutions that can expand and multiply, even serving as a basis for transformative public policies and government actions.

“Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all” states Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN), which should be our guiding principle. With this conviction that education is the engine of transformation for Brazil, envisioning short, medium, and long-term work for structural changes, the Bem Maior Movement supports various organizations across the country that promote educational initiatives.

In Bahia, we partner with two organizations. In the municipality of Santa Bárbara, we partner with the Tomba Digital project, run by the Tomba and Adjacencies Rural Community Association, with the goal of equipping a learning room with technology to offer online courses, seminars, lectures, and other educational activities. The municipality's population in 2019 was 20,791 inhabitants, and more than half (53.3%) have a monthly per capita income of half the minimum wage. The project has a direct impact on 300 people and indirectly involves up to 1,200 residents.

In Salvador, through the Social Project "Crianças da Vila Pro-Vila" (Children of the Village Pro-Village), we support the "Capacitarando para Amanhã" (Empowering for Tomorrow) initiative, which promotes futsal, capoeira, ballet, and other activities for children and young people living in areas of high social vulnerability. The initiative directly benefits 90 children, young people, and adults with incomes of up to one minimum wage, reaching 360 indirect beneficiaries.

Our daily challenge is to expand and strengthen this network. Returning to the reflection on educators and education in the state of Bahia, we want to reach communities to bring education to all in a pluralistic and inclusive way, thus promoting greater quality of life and opportunities.

This article was originally published on the Correio 24 Horas website. 

Image Credit: Press Release/MBM