The next presentations from the GEB seminar came from the Brazilian Catholic Chaplaincy.
Father José Geraldo pointed out that the chaplaincy was mission based, having four priests, three being in London and one in Oxford. Amongst the issues that Brazilians struggled with he emphasises the climate, the lack of sunlight and depression and affirmed that the Church provides a meeting place for migrants facing difficulties.
João Neto, a lay member of the chaplaincy emphasised the health problems caused by drug abuse and sexual illnesses. He also indicated the educational problems faced with a lack of parental supervision, culture shock and the lack of groups that emphasise Brazilian culture. Also as a former chef, he lamented the lack of cooks able to prepare typical Brazilian dishes with the right ingredients. On a more positive note he pointed out that the Catholic chaplaincy had grown from one mass a week to masses held in 9 churches attended by 5,000 Brazilians. He also claimed that there has been an improvement in the situation regarding false documents with many Brazilians seeking to regularise their situation and many new arrivals intending to settle and thus integrate in the UK.
The final presentation was by Claudio Souza from ABRIR. Here I must confess that my mental tiredness, and the need to start preparing to pick up my daughter from her babysitter started to get the better of me and my notes got a bit vague, apart from the fact that he focused on the various institutions and ways to provide education in Portuguese and Brazilian culture.
Daniel Clark
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