Project at a Glance

The Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM) began in 1985 as a small orphanage in San Jose, one of the poorest neighborhoods of Manaus, Brazil. Since then, developing organically to meet the needs of the urban and rural poor, and today ADCAM serves over 4000 students from pre-school through college and beyond.

IMPACT
In 2011
• 400 attended vocational training courses
• 26 scholarships to attend Tahirih College
• 51 scholarships to attend  Masrour Vocational School
• 80 scholarships to attend  Masrour Institute of Technology

About the Project

The Association for the Cohesive Development of the Amazon (ADCAM) began in 1985 as a small orphanage in San Jose, one of the poorest neighborhoods of Manaus, Brazil. Since then, ADCAM has developed organically to meet the needs of migrants who come from disparate parts of the Amazonas state to the city.  Today, it is a nationally recognized educational institution, serving over 4000 students from pre-school through college and beyond.

Challenges facing poor communities in Manaus are multifaceted, and ADCAM has grown organically to meet these different needs. In addition to a K-12 program with 1000 students, ADCAM oversees the Tahirih College of Education that offers three unique bachelor degrees in education; the SAT (System of Tutorial Learning developed by FUNDAEC) to deliver education to remote villages alongside the Amazon river; the Djalal Ehgrari Polytechnic Institute that provides rural populations with schooling for grades 5 through 8; and the Masrour Institute of Technology offering professional technical education for youth and adults.

To address other needs of the community, ADCAM has begun a number of different initiatives: A youth apprentice program trains youth ages 15 through 24 how to perform with excellence in the workplace, and then places them in internships; a program to assist juvenile offenders to return to daily life with “assisted liberty” community service; and a program offering “street children” after school programs. To provide a haven for pre-youth in non-school hours, and focus their energies towards service, ADCAM has also established a program to support social and educational needs of at-risk children.  In addition they have developed a program for the disadvantaged elderly serving approx. 120 of the most vulnerable members of the senior community.

ADCAM is in the process of becoming a fully self-sustaining institution. It has contracts to provide services for governmental organizations and has begun to receive revenue from tuition paid for attendance at Tahirih College of Education.

Background and History

Manaus, the capital of the largely rural Brazilian province of Amazonas, faces unique challenges as the economy of the nation develops. Located 1,000 miles up the Amazon River, Manaus is in the middle of the rainforest. Since it is the only large city for about 1,000 miles in any direction, over the last two decades it has attracted people from the villages of the interior who come to try to better their lives. These villagers are known as caboclos, a term which indicates indigenous background, and riberinhos, or people from the river villages.

This rural-to-urban migration of river villagers has increased the population of Manaus by 100% in the last ten years to nearly two million inhabitants. In a country ravaged by inflation and economic uncertainty, local government has been hard-pressed to meet the challenges of this rapid growth.

Many migrants find that without education or the skills necessary to navigate a city, finding work is difficult. Those who do find work often garner low wages—approximately $45 per month - and settle into shanty towns for shelter. Under this kind of pressure, families are more likely to break down, and many children are abused, abandoned or orphaned.

ADCAM was founded in 1985 by a lone, humble woman, her husband and two young sons. They picked up a few of the children abandoned on the streets and started a orphanage in San Jose, one of the poorer districts of Manaus. After three years, they had placed into stable families 299 children out of the 300 they had taken in. They decided that it was not enough to only care for these orphans and that only through education could they actually make a lasting difference in the social and economic condition of their community. So they decided to start an elementary school with just two classes at the outset. When the school year began, hundreds of students showed up at their doorstep and begged to be allowed to come to school. So, instead of only two classes, they opened four classes, and took the children in - many at no cost. Nearly 90% of the children who came to them had hardly enough means to eat one meal a day. But ADCAM never gave up on any of them - they took them in, educated them and every year added another classroom.

ADCAM never forgot about the street children forced by their parents to beg in the streets just to survive. They forged an agreement with the local government to pay parents $17/month to allow the children to come to ADCAM after morning school for an after-hour program which now serves 400 students. Today ADCAM employs 100 staff and teachers, serves 4,000 students, and reaches out to thousands more in the community.

Programs

After its humble beginning as an orphanage in 1985, through sheer determination and sacrificial services of its founding family, ADCAM has grown to a full K-12 school serving more than 1000 students; Tahirih College of Education has evolved now offering bachelor degrees to more than 700 students; the Mansur Institute of Technology, built with a “$1M Trust Grant” from the government of Brazil is now composed of 16 vocational training tracks; the SAT tutorial curriculum now supports the educational programs of 15 river schools alongside the Amazon river; there is an after school program for street children serving 400 students; a program for the disadvantaged elderly serving 120 of the most vulnerable members of the community; a Youth Apprenticeship program training youth with skills they need to be hired into well paying jobs and many, many more community service projects.

No child has ever been turned away from ADCAM. In recognition of these outstanding services to the people of Brazil, ADCAM’s Director, Ferial Sami, was awarded Brazil’s equivalent of Medal of Honor in 2006.

Stories

Werice’s Story: “One day when I was about ten years old, some friends and I were playing ball. We didn’t have a court to play on, so we played in the street. A woman from ADCAM approached and asked if our parents were home and if she could visit our house. We took the lady to my house where she talked to my parents, and with their permission, she enrolled me in ADCAM’s Pre-Youth Program.

“I tell you, it was like God smiled on me and said, ‘Boy, I’m going to give you a chance in life.’ I spent six years in the Pre-Youth Program and I grew not only academically, but also spiritually. Eventually, I volunteered to help teach classes. One day, a visitor came and saw a young man conducting a class for 26 students – that young man was me! And the visitor thought it so marvelous that someone only 16 years old could do that work.



Bruna's Story: “My story at ADCAM began in 2000. I was referred from a government program to eradicate child labor. Kids like me worked in the streets doing any little thing we could to earn money. “I liked the ADCAM program so much that I almost never missed class. Sometimes it rained so hard where we live that my mother wouldn’t let me go. Those days I would cry because I couldn’t attend.

“We studied hard. We did art and theater, music and dance. Truly, the ADCAM program opened my eyes to all I must do concerning my behavior and my relationships with others. I did my best and I was offered a scholarship to go to the Masrour Vocational School.

“It’s the dream of every kid in the Pre-Youth Program to study at that school, and my dream came true! It was difficult at first to learn all the things I had to learn, but studying there developed me as a student and as a person. And then another miracle happened. I was selected for the Youth Apprentice Program. I got experience working in a business in the mornings and continued my studies in the afternoon.

“Now I’m in a government education program, not as a student, as an assistant teacher! Everything I’ve achieved until today has been through much effort and the support of many at ADCAM who saw me through the difficult times. I’ve come a long way from the days when I was a little kid struggling in the street to make ends meet.”

“I went on to participate in ADCAM’s Youth Apprentice Program and to intern in a business in the personnel department. With all the knowledge and experience I gained at ADCAM, I became qualified to enter the job market. I’ve just completed my second year employed at a company in Manaus, working in administration and finance.”

Here are two examples from the many requests ADCAM receives for scholarships from parents on behalf of their children:

♦“Peter Henry is a 3rd grade student. He is a very bright child and we are struggling so I ask for this scholarship from ADCAM for him to continue enjoying a good education in this prestigious school. My family has an income of $403/month and most of that is committed to our basic living expenses.”

♦“My son is in the first year of elementary school. I am asking for a scholarship because we are unable to afford private school. The public school he was studying in shut down nine months ago and has no known plans to begin classes again. My son has not been in school since. I am unemployed and my husband receives minimum wage. My heart breaks when my son asks to go to school because I know he has the desire to learn new things. At ADCAM he will have the chance to learn and grow.”