Loose Tongue Project

1. Loose Tongue Project • Confronting poverty through education.

2. Presentation Outline • Environment – Database • Our Mission • How we achieve our mission • Why what we do is important • What makes us different from other organizations in the same field • How you can help • Contact

3. Environment • Every year drug dealers abduct approximately one hundred children living in low income areas to work as their soldiers. • Why?

4. Environment - Database • 83% of people living in risk areas are black, migrant, and unemployed. • 55% of them are teenagers from 12 to 17. • 27% of them are women from 12 to 14, young mothers and some of them are married to drug dealers. • Most of the schools which are closed in these areas are shut down by the drug dealers.

5. Our Mission • Our mission is to transform lives and reduce poverty in the low-income areas of Rio de Janeiro, which is one of the most oversized cities in South America.

6. Our Mission • We teach Human Rights through English language training. • We share high quality education with economically lacking communities.

7. Our Mission • We aim to transform peoples’ lives by using Human Rights frameworks for language acquisition.

8. Our Mission • We believe that the best way to transform a community is not through handouts, but by providing tools for individuals to empower themselves via active engagement.

9. Our Mission • We believe the most effective tool to help people help themselves out of poverty is high quality primary education, secondary and adult education.

10. Our Mission • We intend to partner with education projects based locally and abroad that: • Run efficiently • Have strong academic programs • Have high graduation rates • Promote leadership, personal responsibilities, civil engagement and strong ethical values

11. Our History and Goals • We were founded in January 1996 by a law and psychology student who used to teach Portuguese and basic English in the slum as a volunteer. • We are staffed by English students, law students, artists, intellectuals, religious leaders and experienced professionals with English and Human Rights degrees from top Universities in Brazil and the UK. • We have reached 240 students directly and more than 1,500 indirectly. • Target by 2009: To reach 500 citizens: doubling our outreach. • We aim to facilitate the access to the Cambridge Exams in order to improve our students’ CVs and increase their workforce employment opportunities so that they can compete for good jobs in their cities.

12. Our Vision • We envision a world in which all citizens have access to a high quality education so that they productively reach members of their communities.

13. How we achieve our mission • English and Portuguese classes, tutorial and extra help classes in both subjects. • Visits to museums, theatres, and workshops. • Fee exemption for exams (FCE, CAE,CPE) for our students through our partnership with Cambridge Press. • A database connecting our students to possible employment enterprises so that they can find a good job and . • Interview preparation.

14. How we achieve our mission • We currently are informally partnered with two important contacts for English language in Brazil: the British Council and the Cambridge University Press. • The British Council provides some seminars and courses so that students can practice what they learn, and Cambridge University Press has donated some books which we have been using in our classes since 2004.

15. Why what do we do is so important • Every year the drug traffickers from Rio de Janeiro enslave more than 5,000 children who have no school or family to care after them. They are easy targets to be reached. • Our program offers schooling plus social outlets for children and adults in order to provide a secure and loving environment.

16. Why what we do is so important. • Since we have started our work in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, more than 50 students have started attending good colleges with community and churches support.

17. Why what do we do is so important • We currently have 28 students at PUC University studying law, some of them involved with Human Rights.

18. Why what we do is so important. • We have provided a substantial number of housewives with the opportunity to attend a University close to their children.

19. What makes us different • Our cornerstone low-income project, “Loose Tongue”, represents a comprehensive solution to educational and social ills that plague poor communities in Brazil. • Although we are a small piece of the great puzzle, we have been accomplishing our goals with flying colors, which means that even through we are a seed, we have worked to become a great and productive tree.

20. How you can help • US $15,000 = Construction of a classroom. • US $5,000 = Teacher’s annual salary. • US $1,200 = Support for two students. • US $600 = Support for one student. • US $300 = Support for a half-year student scholarship. • US $50 = Funding the purchase of classroom material.

21. Contact Us: • In Brazil • PROJETO LINGUA SOLTA • Rua Dr. Arruda Negreiros, 945 –Centro • Sao Joao de Meriti • Office Address • Rua Mundo Novo, 714 – Botafogo • Rio de Janeiro – RJ • 22251-020 • Brasil • Phone/fax: 005521 25527416 • 005521 88585776 • Email: joaobrandjr@yahoo.com • In the USA • 25, Washington Street, 4 floor • Brooklyn - NY • Phone: (718) 237 6262 ext 120 • jbrandjrny@aol.com