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Midwives take part in neonatal resuscitation training in Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil, on April 4, 2024. Photo from Autossuficiência Brazil Facebook page, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Mary Richards, Church News
Recent donations, trainings and other humanitarian efforts from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are helping to increase self-reliance and quality of life for people around Brazil.
This includes new medical equipment, playgrounds, language skills and medical training. Below are some of the recent efforts.
Neonatal Resuscitation Training
This month, the Church and the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics came together to promote safety and neonatal care. Trainings were held in Boa Vista in Roraima State, Manaus in Amazonas State and Macapá in Amapá State.
The first day of training on April 4 brought together midwives from various indigenous communities. The classes give midwives essential skills to handle critical childbirth situations, from respiratory challenges to neonatal emergencies, ensuring a safe and healthy start to life for babies.
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A trainer demonstrates newborn resuscitation during a training course in Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil, on April 4, 2024. Photo from Autossuficiência Brazil Facebook page, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.The Church provides the resources and funding for the training, including a complete kit for each midwife containing all the necessary equipment for neonatal CPR.
Similar “Helping Babies Breathe” training classes have been held in several other countries around the world by the Church for several years. Donations at Sao Paulo Hospital in March included the necessary equipment to be able to care for newborns and mothers during pregnancy and after birth.
Upgrading Playgrounds
Brother Milton Camargo, the First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, represented the Church at an event marking the opening of a new courtyard space and playground for children at Tia Maria Lucia School in the city of Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul State.
A post from the Church’s Autossuficiência Brasil Facebook page on March 27 explained that the Church supported a project from the Secretary of Education and Urban 95 to upgrade the unique space — a naturalized patio, designed to help children interact with nature.
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Children and teachers celebrate the opening of a new playground at Tia Maria Lucia School in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in March 2023. Brother Milton Camargo, First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, is on the right. Photo by Autossuficiência Brazil Facebook page, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Brother Camargo spoke of the Church’s commitment to education and the importance of providing children with opportunities that foster their physical, mental and spiritual growth.
The Church also made donations to create similar spaces at other schools in Canoas. The playgrounds are equipped with toys made from natural materials such as wood, tree trunks and ropes, providing children the opportunity to play while exploring and learning about the environment around them.
Donations for Women in Need
The Church donated items and equipment to help a women’s treatment facility in Patos de Minas in Minas Gerais State in March.
The Comunidade Terapêutica Nosso Lar (Our Home Therapeutic Center) helps women recovering from addiction and elderly women with special needs.
Mattresses, a fridge, kitchen cabinets, steel shelves, and other furniture and equipment were donated to improve living conditions and services at the facility.
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An employee shows new kitchen equipment and supplies donated by the Church at Comunidade Terapêutica Nosso Lar (Our Home Therapeutic Center) in Patos de Minas, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, in March 2024. Photo by Autossuficiência Brazil Facebook page, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Brazil Goiânia Mission President Brian D. Hancock and his companion, Sister Kimberly R. Hancock, as well as Pato de Minas Brazil District President André Lopes da Silva were present at the donation ceremony.
Nosso Lar Coordinator Marli Isabel expressed her gratitude for the support. “The donation not only improves the living conditions of residents, but also strengthens the capacity of the institution to reach out and help an even greater number of people in need in the community.”
Meanwhile in February, the Luciety Shelter House in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, held a ceremony to commemorate items donated by the Church to the institution.
These items — including beds, mattresses, cabinets, a stove, a washing machine and a swing — were donated to meet the needs of mothers and women at extreme risk due to domestic violence.
Members of the stake presidency and high council of the Pelotas Brazil North Stake attended the ceremony.
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Representatives from the Church and Luciety Shelter House unveil a plaque outlining the Church's donations to the shelter to help meet the needs of women and mothers in need in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in February 2024. Photo by Autossuficiência Brazil Facebook page, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Language Training
A Portuguese language training course held a graduation for 163 people on January 31 in Campo Grande in Mato Grosso do Sul State. The class at the Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS), or State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, taught Portuguese to migrants from 18 countries who have moved to Brazil.
The UEMS program is in partnership with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Public Defender’s office of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, the Methodist church and various other institutions.
Among the graduates was Sandra Mirabal, a member of the Coopharádio Ward of the Campo Grande Brazil Mount Libano Stake. Mirabal left Venezuela and arrived in Brazil at the end of 2019 with her family to start a new life. But she faced the challenge of speaking Portuguese. After taking the language course, she earned a promotion at her work.
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Participants take part in a graduation ceremony for a Portuguese language training course in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, on January 31, 2024. Photo by Autossuficiência Brazil Facebook page, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Hospital and Medical Equipment
The Clementino Fraga State Hospital, located in João Pessoa in Paraîba State, was facing challenges due to outdated equipment and limited capacity.
To help the hospital improve and expand its services, the Church donated various medical diagnostic equipment. Leaders from four stakes in João Pessoa attended the donation ceremony in January.
A post on the Autossuficiência Brasil Facebook page explained that the new equipment will not only replace outdated devices but will also expand the hospital’s ability to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases.
In December 2023, the Church donated 200 bath chairs to the Centro Estadual de Reabilitação e Atenção Ambulatorial Especializada (CERAE-RN), or the State Center for Rehabilitation and Specialized Outpatient Care, in Natal in Rio Grande do Norte State.
Leaders from four stakes in Natal attended the donation ceremony, in addition to the Brazil Natal Mission leaders and the Church’s regional Welfare and Self-Reliance manager.
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The Church of Jesus Christ donates 200 bath chairs to the Centro Estadual de Reabilitação e Atenção Ambulatorial Especializada (CERAE-RN), or the State Center for Rehabilitation and Specialized Outpatient Care, in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil, in December 2023. Photo from Autossuficiência Brazil Facebook page, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Copyright 2024 Deseret News Publishing Company.