Today, I got to put the other half of my college studies to work! Instead of using the biology I have studied, I used my historical studies and participated in the Centro do Documentacao archiving project that Sister Jeany leads. It is a project which archives all historical documents relating to land and conflicts regarding land in Goiania. I really enjoyed seeing the documents as I did my job for the morning, which was to archive documents that had recently been processed in their correct folder in the document library. It was good to experience this side of historical record keeping that can play such an important role in conflict resolution and public relations. The goal of this archive, which serves both the people and the government, is to be a source of truth and data so that conflicts are resolved peacefully and correctly. It is both for prevention and correction, much like the health care system. If the history is preserved and readily available, land disputes may be prevented, while those conflicts already in existence may be resolved.
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| Forum on Racial Inequality in Health Care in the city of Goiania |
Later, I attended a Forum of Health regarding Racial Equality in Health in the city of Goiania that a Social Service group organized for the community. There were many people in attendance, including students, children, health care workers, social workers, retired government officials, and concerned citizens. Though a little chaotic and unexpected, the forum was interesting in the way it addressed the issue of inequality in health care for people who identified as white and those who identified as black. There were some interesting statistics presented as evidence and we had some small group discussion in which we were to propose solutions to the inequalities.
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| Pao de quiejo and cafe :) |
Once we were finished with the forum, Sister Joana and I went to one of her friend's homes to have a snack and watch the Brazil-Mexico soccer game in the Confederation Cup. We were greeted by the smell of coffee brewing and bread baking. It was wonderful! And, Brazil won!
The night ended with a big dinner and some cookies I made for Sister
Maria Jose since it was her Birthday! Happy Birthday to her! She is a
very special woman and I am very thankful for the way she has welcomed
me here. She is always smiling and has a great sense of humor and always
thinks of others. It was great to see how happy she was that I wrote in Portuguese in her birthday card (even though I needed a lot of help, especially with the spelling!).
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| Sister Maria Jose and her birthday cookies! |
