CultusThe world is still full of young people who are out of school. If and when they continue to do so, they will add to the uneducated and the unemployed. There are many reasons why they are not going to educational institutions. Among these, the huge factors which are intertwined among one another are poverty, discrimination and violence.
Cause of the problem
Many out of school children and youth do not go to school and earn their education because they do not have the self-confidence or self-discipline due to their poverty, their societal conditions and the violence surrounding them. Solutions to these problems have been tried. Some succeed, but most of them do so temporarily. But solving these problems which are identified as causes of school dropout may not be enough. They are in themselves effects of the true causes of the ultimate effect.
Cause of the cause
According to Yvonne Bezerra de Mello, the problem of child and youth school dropout can be solved if the trauma they have acquired and continue to do in their lives will be addressed. She asserts that the children who do not go to school are afraid to do so because they fear for their lives outside their homes, are not confident of themselves and do not have any level of self-discipline to be able to do so. All these negative attitudes are being developed because of the negative surroundings they are in and the lack of correct upbringing which the civil society and the government can and should give.
A philanthropist
Yvonne Bezerra de Mello is a philanthropist who come from an affluent family. She had followed in the footsteps of her mother who helped orphans on top of raising her own children on her salary as civil servant because their father left them. Ms. Bezerra de Mello started her charity work as early as age 13 by reading to the blind. She started teaching children and youth in the Candelaria district in the middle of Rio de Janiero reading, reasoning, logic and mathematics in 1989. She started advocating about the plight of these young citizens but the public and social organisations did not respond.
The trigger event
It was the 1993 “Massacre of Candelaria” that put the efforts Ms. Bezerra de Mello had been doing for years into the sight of the world. A youth delinquent from the area held up a bus and the incident turned into a hostage taking and then a massacre that was committed by police. The minority age criminal was reportedly attempting to surrender, but an alleged gunfight ensued thereby killing other youths in the vicinity. Animosity between the police and the youth in the slum area have been reported to have occurred for a long time already before the incident happened.
Cause exposed
Ms. Bezerra de Mello points out that these violence and discrimination are causes of children and youth dropping out of school. They have these traumatic experiences that cause them react in ways that lead to withdraw from society or be a problem to it. Most critical part of this withdrawal and negative perception is the refusal to go to school and be educated.
An educator
The philanthropist and educator, Ms. Bezerra de Mello asserts that the society should provide the disadvantaged children and youth with more and better opportunities that will help them develop positive attitude towards going to school. More than the financial help, these children and young people need to feel the care and importance that they truly deserve. The victims of the massacre were part of the young population that Ms. Bezerra de Mello was serving. She took in them in for debriefing and continued child care.
A fresh approach for the disadvantaged
The tragedy led to the founding of the Projeto Uere which is a unique school with unique pedagogy for the unique needs of unique students which is common in many parts of the world. Just like the legal profession has adapted the non-legalese language and writing in Law Essay Writing – Legal Writing Style to better educate laymen about the law, Ms. Bezerra de Mello have lobbied for better and appropriate teaching style for the needs of the disadvantaged children. The charity and school founded by the educator now has a bigger school campus and worldwide financial support which give the disadvantaged children and youth better help and opportunities due them. Hundreds of schools worldwide have followed in the trail blazed by Ms. Bezerra de Mello.