A few weeks ago I felt like I was a real trailblazer. I wasn’t with my regular moto-taxi guy who 
faithfully takes me from community to community on the back of his motorcycle. And, this new guy took me on some new and different routes. Routes that had us crossing through people’s farms, weaving around herds of cattle and speeding through back yards. Each time we crossed in to a new farm I had to hop off the back of the motorcycle, un-latch the wooden fence, let him pass, close the gate and hop back on the moto. It wasn’t my idea of “fun” and I definitely felt like a “trailblazer”. Of course, a trip of this sort is everyday life for most people in rural Ceará, Brasil, but for me it was something new.
In this post, however, that is not the type of trailblazing of which I want to write. I want to tell you about some real trailblazers- people who have done something where there is no precedent set, where there is no expectation or previous vision, where something truly amazing is taking place. I am privileged to teach the students in the community of Providencia where the joy and enthusiasm of the children fills the PRECE EPC. In just 3 short weeks they are already excelling in their English. But, there wasn’t always a place in this community where this was possible. In fact, it was less than 10 years ago that the first person from the entire town of Providencia entered UFC (Federal University of Ceará). I have heard people say before, “she was the first person in her family to go to college”. But, never before have I heard someone say, “she was the first person in the whole city to go to the university”.
Granted, the visiting doctors and dentists had attended the university. But, they were not “from” the community. And some of the teachers had also received education past high school, though not at UFC. She was the first in her town to go to school at UFC (the best university in Ceará). Her name was Horleina. The year was 2002. She heard about PRECE in Cipó and traveled there (30 minutes by motorcycle) where she studied with a small
group of students who all had the dream of passing the Vestibular (now ENEM) and entering UFC. In 2004 she passed the test and entered UFC. Since that time much progress has been made in the community of Providencia. A PRECE EPC opened in that same year, and 3 students from Providencia are now studying at UFC. Each weekend Carla, a UFC student and the Providencia EPC coordinator, opens up the doors to many children and teenagers hoping to following in Horleina's path. Here the vision and dreams are great and the energy is explosive. The students have so much talent and they now have the vision for success and growth.
Because of the PRECE trailblazers the lives of so many are being changed and improved. But, I must wonder… If I had not had constant examples setting me on the path to college, grad school and good jobs would I have been as motivated as I was? If I had to blaze the trail on my own without someone else first setting the precedent could I have been so brave? I don’t know the answer to those questions. But, I sure am glad that there were strong examples in my life and other people like Horleina to show the way and set others on the right path.
faithfully takes me from community to community on the back of his motorcycle. And, this new guy took me on some new and different routes. Routes that had us crossing through people’s farms, weaving around herds of cattle and speeding through back yards. Each time we crossed in to a new farm I had to hop off the back of the motorcycle, un-latch the wooden fence, let him pass, close the gate and hop back on the moto. It wasn’t my idea of “fun” and I definitely felt like a “trailblazer”. Of course, a trip of this sort is everyday life for most people in rural Ceará, Brasil, but for me it was something new.In this post, however, that is not the type of trailblazing of which I want to write. I want to tell you about some real trailblazers- people who have done something where there is no precedent set, where there is no expectation or previous vision, where something truly amazing is taking place. I am privileged to teach the students in the community of Providencia where the joy and enthusiasm of the children fills the PRECE EPC. In just 3 short weeks they are already excelling in their English. But, there wasn’t always a place in this community where this was possible. In fact, it was less than 10 years ago that the first person from the entire town of Providencia entered UFC (Federal University of Ceará). I have heard people say before, “she was the first person in her family to go to college”. But, never before have I heard someone say, “she was the first person in the whole city to go to the university”.
Granted, the visiting doctors and dentists had attended the university. But, they were not “from” the community. And some of the teachers had also received education past high school, though not at UFC. She was the first in her town to go to school at UFC (the best university in Ceará). Her name was Horleina. The year was 2002. She heard about PRECE in Cipó and traveled there (30 minutes by motorcycle) where she studied with a small
group of students who all had the dream of passing the Vestibular (now ENEM) and entering UFC. In 2004 she passed the test and entered UFC. Since that time much progress has been made in the community of Providencia. A PRECE EPC opened in that same year, and 3 students from Providencia are now studying at UFC. Each weekend Carla, a UFC student and the Providencia EPC coordinator, opens up the doors to many children and teenagers hoping to following in Horleina's path. Here the vision and dreams are great and the energy is explosive. The students have so much talent and they now have the vision for success and growth.
Because of the PRECE trailblazers the lives of so many are being changed and improved. But, I must wonder… If I had not had constant examples setting me on the path to college, grad school and good jobs would I have been as motivated as I was? If I had to blaze the trail on my own without someone else first setting the precedent could I have been so brave? I don’t know the answer to those questions. But, I sure am glad that there were strong examples in my life and other people like Horleina to show the way and set others on the right path. 
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