There are more than 9000 kilometers to separate Faro and Malambanyama, in Zambia, but Patrícia Gomes, a former student at the University of the Algarve, is the link between these two locations. Patrícia is a volunteer in this community, which needs funding so that around 200 children are not left without access to education.
The former colleagues of the now volunteer, and who met her in the African students section of UAlg, where she was responsible for the social area, decided to help Patricia and the children of Malambanyama, with two solidarity lunches in the canteens of the fields da Penha (October 19th) and Gambelas (October 20th).
When Patrícia Gomes and her colleagues arrived in Malambanyama, "they detected about 200 children at risk of being without access to education due to lack of safety and sanitation conditions".
That's why Patrícia and her project colleagues child aid they decided to start making collections (formal/informal) inside and outside Zambia to buy materials to build a school to house these children.
In Portugal, Frans Silva, member of the African students section of UAlg, decided to help. “The idea came from me. Last year, I had a solidarity lunch to help the children of my island in Cape Verde and I thought it would be better to do one more for this noble cause», he told the Sul Informação.
Despite being scheduled for the University of Algarve's canteens, Frans Silva clarifies that «lunch is open to the entire community» and will cost 2,55 euros (for students), with non-students paying an additional 50 cents, which reverts to the construction of the school in Malambanyama, and “if anyone wants to contribute more, they are welcome”.
If the solidarity aspect is not enough to appeal to people, the lunch menu promises to help: «lunch will be made by African students from UAlg, there will be cachupa, a typical dish from Cape Verde, and muamba and funji from corn, a typical Angolan dish».
This is the first initiative, but Frans Silva wants the wave of solidarity with Malambanyama not to end there. «Patricia's volunteer work will end in November, but together with her, we will try to do more activities to help these children».
Despite this being an initiative of the students, «we have the support of the dean himself, the Social Action Services of UAlg, the Superior School of Education and Communication, where Patrícia studied, and the collaboration of the Paulo Freire Institute», concluded Frans Silva .
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