Capão’s Citizen Association

Background

Capão’s Citizen Association (Associação Capão Cidadão) is located in a region with little or no access to public facilities to serve its population. The local schools, many of them wrecked, are unable to effectively meet all their students’ demands.

The reinforcement activities offer to broaden the students’ horizons and possibilities. Besides school subjects, the students are instigated to think critically and to go further in the search for information; developing intellect and curiosity, which leads them to a greater personal and professional growth.

The work with jiu-jitsu aims to help the students to develop certain abilities like concentration and body conscience by using a non-violent culture so they can deal with their issues and difficulties. With this workshop, they will also work on self-esteem, self-control, discipline, confidence and values ​​that students will carry throughout their lives.

During all Capão’s Citizen Association time in the region, it has been observed that the students often did not have enough food at home for their development, some even attended the workshops without having fed before, creating a need for attention to feeding patterns of the attendants. As a vulnerable population, many families usually have low-cost, often high-calorie, low-protein food. Therefore, serving food in the association helps students and caregivers to learn about low-cost food options with high nutritional values, improving their life quality and health.

The need for psychosocial monitoring is related to the fact that the students live in a condition of social vulnerability and sometimes require individualized care, which is scarce in public facilities in the region. Therefore, the institution seeks to understand their needs and work their autonomy so they can effectively improve their living conditions.

How It Works

The reinforcement workshops in the humanities and sciences areas are held twice a week, on Mondays and Tuesdays, in two classes in the morning (from 9 A.M. to 10 A.M. and from 10 A.M. to 11A.M.) and two in the afternoon (from 2pm to 4pm). The reading workshop is offered on Fridays with a class in the morning (9 A.M. to 10A.M.) and one in the afternoon (2 P.M to 3P.M).

The martial arts classes take place once a week on Tuesdays, with one class in the morning (10 A.M. to 11 A.M.) and one in the afternoon (3 P.M to 4P.M).

Aiming to fight poor nutrition and childhood obesity, food is provided for all students on workshop days, at 11 A.M. for morning classes and at 4 P.M. for afternoon classe.

The follow-up meetings will involve the schools and reports from the educators.

Supervised trainees studying social services or psychology courses also provide psychosocial care. They observe students during the workshops on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, through activities and dynamics of groups and individuals. The goal is to understand the needs of those served. If necessary, the parent (or guardian) is invited to participate in individual sessions with the child, and, if there are complex cases, it can be referred to public institutions.