New classes at community centre

This week, the Julio Otoni community centre welcomed new volunteers from Mexico, England, Argentina and the USA. The volunteers are dividing their time between morning and afternoon groups, teaching Emotional Intelligence and Music, as well as organizing recreational activities for the children.

Marla González Ayala, Mexico, is leading the Emotional Intelligence class, which aims to help the children identify and understand their own and others’ emotions. “Emotional Intelligence is very important because we never actually learn to perceive our emotions and see what is really happening inside of us. We are affected by emotions during every moment of every day, yet sometimes we fail to notice how these can hold us back”, said Marla. Teaching the children to manage their emotions will develop their ability to respond to and solve problems they may face in daily life.

Music classes will be led by Facundo Mora, from Argentina, who hopes to build on the percussion skills already taught by the children’s current music teachers. “I’d like to introduce the children to Argentinean and Uruguayan rhythms, such as Candombe, Cumbia and Chacarera, which is from the north of Argentina. During classes, we aim to use not only percussion, but also our bodies and voices as instruments,” said Facundo.

The new classes will encourage the children’s awareness of their minds and bodies and focus on channelling their energy into creative outlets.

If you are interested in making a donation to the Julio Otoni Project, check out our site on Global Giving.

If you are interested in volunteering at Julio Otoni, click here for more information.

Meet the volunteers of Julio Otoni: Rachel Hayter

Rachel Hayter, 24, is from London and has been working at the Julio Otoni Project for the last three months. We caught up with Rachel at the end of her volunteer placement to find out about her experience with the project and how she has spent her time in Rio de Janeiro.

What were you doing before you joined the Julio Otoni Project?

I taught music in London and worked with Grand Union Orchestra and Haringey Shed Theatre company, both of which work with disadvantaged communities in the area. I also worked as a freelance flautist playing Brazilian and World music. Brazilian music was what brought me here in the first place!

What made you decide to join the Julio Otoni Project?

I had heard of the Julio Otoni Project when I came to Brazil a few years ago and wanted to try out the possibility of teaching English through theatre and music. I am also passionate about Brazilian music (particularly Choro) and wanted to return to Rio.

What is your specific role within the Julio Otoni Project?

I directed the Cinderella play, a pilot project which aimed to teach English through theatre.  I would eventually like to set up a company in England to teach foreign language through creative methods such as theatre, music and movement, so this project has been a great learning experience.

What have been the highlights of your volunteer experience?

Seeing the kids running around in fancy dress! Looking back on videos and photos of the classes is also great as you don’t appreciate it at the time, but being able to look back at all the footage makes you realise how far it’s come.

What have been your greatest challenges to overcome so far?

Discipline in the classroom has been the biggest issue, particularly when you’re dealing with kids with behavioural problems.  Teaching in Portuguese as a second language is also challenging as is dealing with the practicalities of staging a play with a range of differing ages, abilities and interests.

How has your overall experience been with the Julio Otoni Project?

It’s been good because everyone on the team is involved with the project and has an understanding of what we’re trying to achieve. Everyone works together and supports each other to bring ideas to life. Without everyone’s support it never would have come together!

What advice would you give to anyone interested in participating with the Julio Otoni Project?

Learn Portuguese! It’s essential to working with the kids. Also, think of strict plan of action for classroom discipline from the start. The main part of working at the community centre is to keep the children entertained, so everyone has something to offer and some way of helping out with the project.

If you are interested in making a donation to the Julio Otoni Project, check out our site on Global Giving.

If you are interested in volunteering at Julio Otoni, click here for more information.

Julio Otoni opens its doors to adults

The Julio Otoni community centre is now offering English classes to adults living in Julio Otoni. Though the activities organised by volunteers at the centre mainly cater to children and teenagers, adult learners can now participate in evening classes.

Many adults from the community require English in the workplace and have little opportunity to learn elsewhere. Matriculation is now open for the course, which starts next week and will focus on practical communication skills. Adult students will be charged a small monthly fee for the bi-weekly English classes and all proceeds will go directly towards funding the community centre.

If you are interested in making a donation to the Julio Otoni Project, check out our site on Global Giving.

If you are interested in volunteering at Julio Otoni, click here for more information.

Take a bow, Julio Otoni!

The word ‘Cinderella’ was on the lips of everyone in the Julio Otoni community last week, as the children and volunteers prepared for the first theatrical performance to ever take place at the centre. The show was a huge success, attended by the children’s parents and people from the local community. Many guests returned the following night to watch the second performance of Cinderella at Casa 579, where they were also treated to a surprise presentation of capoeira on the terrace.

The volunteers that launched the Cinderella Project also organised a jumble sale and offered haircuts to the children and guests after the performances in order to raise money for the community centre. Though the project has now come to an end, the children were still reciting lines and songs from Cinderella during this week’s classes and have each been presented with a certificate to celebrate their achievements. More photos and videos of the performances are coming soon, so watch this space…

If you are interested in making a donation to the Julio Otoni Project, check out our site on Global Giving.

If you are interested in volunteering at Julio Otoni, click here for more information.

Julio Otoni prepares for Cinderella

The Julio Otoni children have just one more week of rehearsals before their debut performance of Cinderella. They have been busy practising lines, choreography and songs, not to mention raiding wardrobes across the community for play props, in preparation for two performances next weekend.

The first performance will take place at 6pm on April 5th in the Julio Otoni community centre, followed by a jumble sale and cake sale to raise funds for the project. The second performance will take place at 6pm on April 6th in Casa 579, an ethical bed and breakfast in Santa Teresa that has been working with the Julio Otoni Project from the outset. Casa 579 has supported Julio Otoni since 2006 by  helping to coordinate international volunteers wishing to dedicate their time and skills to the project.

The Cinderella Project was launched by volunteers taking part in a work exchange at Casa 579, who aim to teach the Julio Otoni children English through theatre, music and movement. Their version of Cinderella is a traditional fairy tale with a Brazilian twist, featuring special appearances by the Brazilian popstar Thiaguinho as Prince Charming and Lady Gaga as the Fairy Godmother, culminating in a lively Baile Funk where Cinderella loses her Havaiana. The play is set in Julio Otoni and incorporates many of the children’s own ideas, as well as what they have been learning in classes at the community centre over the last five weeks.

To raise money for the project, volunteers are charging R$10 for the Saturday performance at Casa 579, where guests will also be able to buy recycled art made by local artists living in Julio Otoni. All proceeds will go to the Julio Otoni Project.

If you are interested in making a donation to the Julio Otoni Project, check out our site on Global Giving.

If you are interested in volunteering at Julio Otoni, click here for more information.

Meet the Children of Julio Otoni: Guilherme

Guilherme Thomas is ten years old and lives in Julio Otoni. He has been coming to the community centre for years to take part in the Julio Otoni project. We caught up with Guilherme after a Music class to ask him about his life in and outside of the community.

What is your favourite class at the Julio Otoni Centre?

I love the Dance and Music classes. The Dance class gives me the chance to learn different styles of dancing, like Breakdancing, and during the Music class I get to practice my percussion, which I have been learning for a long time.

What do you like about the Julio Otoni Centre?

It’s great to have the chance to go to different classes that I don’t have at school. Also, the Summer Camp was lots of fun.

What do you like to do outside of your time at school and the centre?

I like practising Capoeira and am also learning Judo.

What would you like to do when you’re older?

I want to be a vet, because I like helping animals.

Who do you consider a role model?

I’m not sure… but I really admire people who take care of animals when they are sick. I would like to be able to do the same one day.

The volunteers have been very impressed by Guilherme’s drumming during Music classes at the Julio Otoni Centre. Though he is only ten, Guilherme demonstrates a great sense of rhythm and the other children love rapping or singing over the beats he hammers out of the congo drum. His percussion skills will certainly be useful for the children’s performance that is set to take place next month.

If you are interested in making a donation to the Julio Otoni Project, check out our site on Global Giving.

If you are interested in volunteering at Julio Otoni, click here for more information.

Julio Otoni Takes To The Stage

Last week, the Julio Otoni children returned to a newly decorated community centre, which had been cleaned and painted by volunteers during the summer holidays. The volunteers have organised a new programme of activities to coincide with the start of the school term, including English, Music, Breakdancing and Sport, as well as extracurricular activities that help the children with reading and writing in Portuguese.

In their English classes, the children have started working on a theatre production that will be presented in April. The show is a bilingual (English-Portuguese) adaptation of Cinderella, related to life in the Julio Otoni community. Most of the children were already familiar with the fairy tale and were keen to share their ideas on how to retell the story using characters and places from Brazil. Though many have never acted before, the ideas and enthusiasm the children demonstrated during the first week of classes promise a great performance and some budding actors within the community.

This will be the first time English is taught through Drama at the Julio Otoni centre, and the volunteers are incorporating what the children are learning in their Music and Breakdancing classes into the final piece. The production is helping the children develop their English in a stimulating environment and will give them the opportunity to show their parents what they are learning at the centre.

If you are interested in making a donation to the Julio Otoni Project, check out our site on Global Giving.

If you are interested in volunteering at Julio Otoni, click here for more information.