Daycare “Seed of Life”
The “Seed of Life” daycare center in Confins, a suburb of Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, is one of the facilities of our community in Brazil that supports low-income families. It was opened in 2003 to meet a need of the city which today has approx. 6,478 inhabitants and does not yet have another daycare center.
More and more families are settling in Confins seeking employment at Tancredo Neves International Airport. This also increases the search for a place for the children in a daycare center. It must be assumed that most of these families live below the subsistence level. Since many do not have the appropriate vocational training, they must be content with the simplest work that is usually remunerated with the minimum wage. Therefore, the parents can contribute nothing to the maintenance of the daycare.
At first, there were 25 children in a small house near the shrine. As the demand grew, we looked for a possibility in the city center. At the moment we look after 54 children from two to four years of age in a small, old and rented house. They come to us around 7 o’clock in the morning and are picked up again at 5 o’clock.
150 children are waiting for a place in the daycare
The house was prepared in a makeshift way and in many places the rainwater penetrates. There is no lawn in front of the house, and certainly the necessary spaces required by the City Education Office do not exist. Therefore, to our great regret it is impossible to accommodate more children. However, about 150 children from the age of six months to four years wait for a place in daycare!
Today the “Creche” exists for almost 15 years. The first generation of children belongs to the youth, which strives to lay the foundation for a solid society in the expanding city.
Our big dream
We have the great wish – the dream – to give many children a good start in life. For this we have to expand the daycare center and provide it with the appropriate furnishings. We also think of a playground for the children who are still waiting for a place.
So far, the costs have been covered by our community, with the help of donations and a contribution from the city administration. However, the help of the city is questioned again and again and probably it will fail in the near future completely.
We are grateful to all who help with their donation to realize our dream.
Password: Daycare Confins / Brazil
Mission headquarters of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary
Mountain Schoenstatt 6
56179 Vallendar
Tel .: (0261) 64 04-311
E-mail: missionszentrale@s-ms.org
Bank details: LIGA Bank eG
IBAN: DE10 7509 0300 0000 058920
BIC: GENODEF1M05All