Why children in the Amazon need a strong voice in their education
Children in the Amazon struggle with a lack of education that meets their specific needs.
Photo: Cadu Marques
In the Brazilian Amazon, many families depend on the forest and fishing for their livelihoods. Unfortunately, many schools in this region usually deliver a standardised education that doesn’t account for the unique aspects of growing up in Amazonian traditional communities. As a result, students find it difficult to engage with and relate to the content.
Education is relevant when it understands students' needs and listens to their voices. At Porticus, we strive for education that adapts to the child's lived experience and lifts them up through Social Emotional Learning. There is no better way to advance education than to hear
and address the needs of communities. That’s why we promote community participation in the design of education programmes.
“When we talk about Social Emotional Learning and education for the development of these skills in the Amazon, the importance of identity, culture, and pride in being Amazonian becomes very clear. All subjects are still important to the students like any other in Brazil: mathematics, Portuguese, biology, chemistry, physics, history, geography but the content needs to reflect the richness of the Amazonian communities.” Anna Nascimento, our Regional Director in Latin America, explained,
Watch this video to see what else Amazonian communities told us they need from their education system.
Promoting community participation in education in the Amazon
In 2023, we visited our partners and communities in the Amazon to find out what it means to make education inclusive of their needs. Anna said, "Our visit here aims to understand how the reality of the Brazilian Amazon connects with the educational challenges we are committed to addressing globally and how our actions can be strategic."
During the discussions, one mother, Vanusia Santos Silva, expressed her hope for change: "The education I had is not the same as the one I want for my daughters. I want a quality education for my daughters with continuous support, so they can say, 'I was educated in a school where I participated and wanted to stay and learn more.'"
We design and fund programmes that support communities in advancing education. The Amazon is just one example of how we work with partners and local communities to ensure the system change we target is grounded in local needs.
Learn more about Porticus' education strategy
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