LifeSigns, July-Aug 2012 - Sisters of the Holy Cross

Branches: Holy Cross Around the World
Uniting for change,
continued from page 1
Based on prior preparation and study,
the fifth-grade students will critically analyze
the current socio-environmental problems of
the surrounding area, such as the irregular
occupation of land, water sources, pollution
and contamination of rivers and streams
(the Zavuvus River and the Blue Stream
cut through the community), and lack of
adequate sewage and waste removal services.
They will investigate the environmental and
human history of the parish community.
The group intends to work collaboratively to
promote actions that seek just resolutions and a
better quality of life for the people in the area.
Our students will share their ideas, findings
and experiences with the children from the
Saint Clare and Saint Francis communities. It
is hoped this association will promote dialogue,
reflection and an appreciation of the places where
we live and that we share with others. Thus, we
hope to avoid creating future citizens who are
merely users of the environment and have neither
commitment nor any sense of belonging to the
natural world that surrounds them.
Realization of the project’s goals will involve
the recognition of the interdependence between
our students and the students of the parish
community, the development of a collaborative
spirit, and the sharing of responsibilities in the
pursuit of social justice. The colégio students
and the parish children will meet monthly in the
parish social center (CCA). We propose to divide
the work into seven units. Each unit will be
prepared by one of the fifth-grade classes.
We will begin by having the colégio students
conduct interviews with the parish students to
find out where they study and play, what kind
of resources they have for leisure activities, what
they like about their community, where they go
to be cared for when they are sick, whether they
like where they live. The CCA students will
be given an opportunity to elaborate on their
Students present artwork reflecting care for the environment.
answers. Using drawing materials and scraps of
cloth, the group will create an image reflecting
care for the environment where they live.
Following this, we will research the
area’s environmental history, studying the
characteristics of the terrain, the formation of the
area’s water basins, the increase of favela or slum
dwellings, and the condition of its rivers and
streams. This information will help the students
construct a local map of the region using the
image they had produced as a commentary on the
various aspects of the constructed map. Using
this map, we will analyze with our students and
the CCA children the features related to health,
sanitation, habitation and waste removal services.
The Colégio Santa Maria students and the
CCA students will be invited to make proposals
to better the quality of life for both those living
in the area around the school and those in the
CCA community, thus developing the critical
thinking so necessary for bettering people’s
living conditions and reversing the processes of
degradation and exploitation of nature.
We hope the students involved in this project
will gain a perspective that enables them to
propose actions that bring about physical, social
and cultural aspects of change for a healthier
environment. We need to unite our efforts to
produce a more sustainable global society that
is founded on respect for nature, human rights,
economic justice and a culture of peace.¡
july / august 2012 ¡ LifeSigns
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