Why We Got Started
In Brazil, young people are four times more likely to be out of school as children and twice as likely as teenagers. The UN’s Education Development Index ranks Brazil behind other countries in Latin America. The lack of access to high quality educational opportunities correlates with the fact that the country has one of the biggest social and income inequalities in the world. These discrepancies are highly evident in “favelas,” where the majority of the population is low-income, the opportunities are scarce, and the unemployment rate is extremely high. The world is changing and schools need to prepare their students for the demanding job market and the new way of working. This is why we created Top International Project, with the goal of transforming lives by providing equal access to high-quality educational opportunities for children, teens and adults, promoting lifelong connections in a safe and culturally inclusive environment.
Top International Project's Goals:
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Provide high-quality educational opportunities (with a focus on English and Entrepreneurship) to community members in Morro do Cantagalo and the surrounding favelas.
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Teach students the valuable skills they will need to enter college/work.
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Teach entrepreneurship skills to students looking to start their own businesses
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Use the materials, lesson plans, and video recordings of the lessons in the future to train English teachers online.
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Allow for better interactions with foreigners who participate as volunteers in the project or visit the community. We plan to use social networks such as Instagram and YouTube to show the development of the project and the social and educational impacts that the project can bring to the community. Using
Timeline of activities:
Before the Pandemic- Gave classes to children, teens, and adults from October 2019 to November 2020. I was one of the first volunteers to get involved in the center. Before the reopening in October 2019, the center had been abandoned for over five years.
During the Pandemic: When the pandemic hit, the CRJ remained closed from November 2020 to October 2021.
October 2021: The CRJ center reopened.
October 22nd - 25th: Intensive Cleaning- We gathered some local workers and helped clean the Brizolão that had been abandoned.
November 2021: Worked on organizing the selective process for English classes.
December 2021 - January 2022: At this time, we held the selective process. The sign-up process was extended, and we did not advertise much as the idea was to start with a small group, so we thought it was best to advertise within the other projects first. In the end, we had over 50
people signed up.
January - May 10th 2022- First courses offered to young kids, teens, and adults.
May 10th - September 2022: The CRJ had undergone a complete renovation project, which finished in September 2022. During this time we worked on officializing the business following local and national guidelines. signing up for a CNPJ (Brazilian business number), protected the business name, created the logo and this website. We also prepared new marketing strategies and materials.
Post-CRJ Renovation project
We started the project by giving classes at the Youth Reference Center in Morro do Cantagalo, a location lent by the government. As one of the first volunteer projects we had used the same classroom from 2018 to May 2022, when the center started a complete renovation project. While the renovation project was in the process of finishing, I was approached by the superintendent in charge. She told me that I would be able to continue working on my English classes and stay in the same classroom. She presented me to the new coordinator of CRJ and told him that I would be staying in the classroom as I was always first on the list. I had already worked hard to finish my website, I had everything ready to go for the inauguration, and I was excited.
Unfortunately, with less than a week left to go before the inauguration, the new coordinator asked me to meet him at the center. However, when I arrived, he wasn’t there, and I saw “Hair Braiding Course” written on my classroom door.
A woman who I had never seen before was sitting in the hallway with her feet up on the chairs. The coordinator arrived shortly after and to my disappointment, he told me, “Your room is no longer your room. We have given it to a different cause, and there is no negotiating with that.” I was taken aback and hurt as they had lied to me. I simply had no words to describe my feelings.
The project is sponsored by the State Government and focuses on “developing women” by offering *hair braiding and beauty salon courses.* The project pays young women a monthly stipend to participate in it. It is sponsored by the Brazilian government, and they spent R$34 million reais to put it together.
To me, this came as a great shock. While I appreciate the effort to help, I was also surprised by the government’s approach. They had spent so much money on hair braiding and nail painting courses, but are these courses really going to help many women reach their full potential? Only so many women can become - or want to become - beauticians, after all.
When people hear about what happened with the classroom, they tell me, “That’s the way politics works in Brazil; they make promises and don’t fulfill them.” Others have told me to wait until the elections pass to see if there will be any structural changes then.
When I reached out to the superintendent and the coordinator about the possibility of sharing my old room, I didn’t receive a response from either of them.
I am now actively looking for other options in the community to continue the classes. However, I don’t want anyone to be left behind, so I have decided that if I do not find a new space in a few months, I will organize and offer the course online. I will use what happened as motivation to grow my business so that I will be able to afford my own space for the project, one day, where no one can take it away.
If you would like to connect with me and help out or get involved, please shoot me a message on LinkedIn or send me a message on the site. I can’t wait to hear from you, and I appreciate any and all help immensely!
Free English Course
Project Magazine Vol 1
English Course Pictures 2018-2022
CRJ Before the Renovation Project
CRJ After the Renovation Project
Our educational project had not received any funding from the government (or from any other source),. CRJ just provided us with the ability to use the space to implement our project. All money used for/invested in the project comes from the profit made from our paid services. If you would like to help out and get involved in our startup project, check out the positions on our Get Involved page and fill out the Volunteer Interest Form.