ADCAM Growth
Interview with Ana Alice Marinho de Carvalho, ADCAM Pre-Youth Director
Video Project Notes: Before the Interview
By: Ruhi Zandra
As I was walking across the ADCAM campus several pre-youth kids rushed past me -- they asked if we could take a picture together. Of course I said yes. They had just finished their mid-morning break and were heading back to class. A few families had also stopped by. I wanted to be able to catch one of the administrators before they went into the parent’s meeting so I picked up the pace a bit.
Ana Alice Marinho de Carvalho was moving from one classroom to another greeting the students, asking questions, offering encouragement.
Ana started to work at ADCAM in 1999 as a teacher's assistant in the pre-school. As time went on she was given more responsibility at the school and then served as a secretary to the Pre-youth program. In 2004, she began to attend 
Tahirih College – one example of how ADCAM emphasizes raising up their own human resources through ongoing opportunities for education – to improve her professional skills.
Then in 2006, she became the Director of the Pre-youth program. She completed her thesis paper on the effects of domestic violence on children's capacity to learn and the necessity for teachers to be aware of those effects. This was a direct result of her experience with young people in the Pre-youth program. Ana is also engaged in efforts on behalf of children's rights.
Crime, drugs, and family difficulties surround many of the pre-youth that come to ADCAM. Ana’s hope is that they learn how to be happy in their lives and find ways to overcome these challenges – to transform both the individual and society.
As we were shooting her interview some of the kids were listening in and kept trying to make her laugh. They succeeded. You can see this moment at the end of the video.
2007 Dr. Flor Geola Visits
Dr. Flor Geola, Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA and long-time Mona supporter, recently spent a week at ADCAM in Brazil. She was truly impressed by the depth and scope of the project, which now serves over 3000 students daily from kindergarten through college level. During her stay she gave presentations to 800 high school and college students on AIDS prevention, presented material on osteoporosis prevention to elderly attendees of the school (those over age 45), gave a talk to the 100 college students on gender issues, and held classes with healthcare providers in small nearby villages on diabetes prevention and treatment.
Impressed by Depth and Scope of ADCAM, Dr. Geola concluded that, in general, Brazilian doctors have adequate access to medical information but in the remote areas, where indigenous and poor people live, there is a tremendous need for education on prevention of various diseases and nutrition problems. There is also a great need to educate the certified health care providers. The health care providers seemed to have very little knowledge of medicine, at least in regard to diabetes or nutrition. Dr. Geola believes that informative programs provided by doctors or nurse practitioners would be very helpful to these health care providers so that they can be more effective.
top2007 Science Labs
Mona Foundation sponsored a fundraiser in Seattle to build and equip two science labs. These labs will serve all of ADCAM's educational programs including the middle school, high school, technical institute, teachers' college and rural development programs. Over $47,000 was raised and the science labs are scheduled to be completed this year.
Continual Growth to Meet Community Needs
Over the last 23 years, continuing a process of responding to community needs, the school has grown from one classroom to a facility that serves over 1100 students a day from pre-school through university. It has also expanded its services to the whole community with outreach programs designed to help at-risk teens, women, families and the elderly, rural education programs, community health education, eradication of child labor and the promotion of symposia directed to professionals in government and private organizations for the investigation and discussion of socio-educational challenges affecting Amazonian society.
2005 Masrour Institute Inaugurated
The Institute of Technology was inaugurated on October 31st, 2005. Read the full story at inauguration.
2005 40 Computers
Mona Foundation acquired and shipped 40 computers to ADCAM in the spring of 2005. The donated computers and software serve the students of Masrour Institute of Technology.
2002 Masrour Institute of Technology
A grant from the Federal Government of Brazil for approximately US $1 million was awarded in 2002 to construct and equip the Masrour Institute of Technology. This Institute, opened in October 2005, offers a variety of courses, 4-year degree programs and technical associate degrees for youth and adults in areas such as refrigeration, graphic design, business administration, social and economic development, social work, environmental studies, nutrition, carpentry, mechanics and music.
2002 Tahirih College of Education
In February, 2002, a proposal by the Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM) to found the Tahirih College of Education was officially approved and licensed by the government. The College offers degrees in education and educational administration.
This initiative is helping to raise educational standards and practices throughout the Amazon region. It also allows ADCAM's students access to higher education and assists the project to attain self-sufficiency through tuition paid by teachers who study at the college to upgrade their skills. The Tahirih College of Education was formally approved and licensed on February 15, 2002, and offered its first classes to a student body of 100 students in February, 2003.