History of the Project
The ‘Associação Pão da Vida de Assistência Social’ (Breasd of Life Association), began its work in 1989 with a group of young people, led by Salomite Costa and Risalva Paiva, who started to evangelize and to encourage the children and adolescents who they found to be at risk, to leave the streets where they were living. While the work was being carried out, the children always made the same request: “Uncle, take me away from the streets or find me somewhere to live.” Thus the group felt the need to find a shelter.
On 23rd May 1990, Salomite Costa handed over the leadership of the group to Paulo Vicente and Ziza Barbosa who began to look for a place that would be suitable as a shelter for the children that wanted to leave the streets. In 1991, Paulo Vicente lent a building that belonged to him to serve as a temporary shelter. At this time Jamesson Santos, who worked for the outreach group on the streets, was invited to begin working at the Bread of Life shelter together with other volunteers from the Northeast Pentecostal Seminary. The work of the project began to increase and with that, it became increasingly necessary to find a larger site. In 1992, Paulo Vicente together with Francisco Cavalcanti, managed to find a small farm in Desterro, Abreu e Lima, and also in this year, siblings Robson and Roseli Borges began to make up part of the group. So, in 1992, the Bread of Life project moved from Ibura in Recife to Abreu e Lima. Due to the difficult access, the distance from the town and the lack of transport in Desterro, the Bread of Life project moved to another farm in Inhamã, Igarassu in March 1993. The project continued to increase and became home to 52 children at one time.
In 1995, Jamesson and Roseli got married and continued to work recuperating the children. In 1999, Paulo Vicente suffered a financial crisis which meant he could no longer financially support the Bread of Life project. During this difficult time, the project received much appreciated help from the Rotary Club in Abreu e Lima and from the COMDICA in Igarassu. In December 2000, the Bread of Life project moved to another farm in Engenho Monjope , Igarassu where they remained until December 2003. In this same year, the project moved to Itamaracá where they received the donation of a piece of land from Itamar Barbosa and Alexandre Melo.
In May 2004, the Bread of Life inaugurated a half-way house in Cruz de Rebouças, Igarassu for children arriving at the project to spend a time of adaptation. Cicero Matias who left the streets aged 9 and came to the Bread of Life project, began to work in the recuperation of the children in the half-way house. In May 2005 the Bread of Life project made an agreement with the CPP (Little Prophets Community) through their president Demetrius Demetrio, to stay on the farm they had rent-free for a year. The Bread of Life project moved from Itamaracá to sítio Clarion in Igarassu, where they remained for one year.
In July 2006, the Bread of Life project received a generous donation from an English girl, Gabrielle Goldet, who found out about the project through another volunteer from the UK, Helen McMillan. Thanks to our great God, this amount was sufficient to finally be able to purchase our own farm in the name of the Bread of Life project.
Currently on the project we offer computer and music lessons, homework classes, bible studies and sports training for our children and adolescents. The project also has chickens and a self-sufficient organic vegetable garden called the ‘Mandala project’ as well as fruit trees all of which are intended to help improve the quality of food eaten by the children and adolescents of the Bread of Life project.
We have already begun to invest in the farm and in 2007 we managed to build a large office thanks to a donation from a church in England. At the beginning of 2008, we also received a donation from Ricardo Lira, enabling us to build a large larder in the main house and in the same year we have also received a donation from Hans Haller from Switzerland to extend the main house with a large dining room.
We still have many dreams for the Bread of Life project: in particular to be able to build a classroom for homework and extra lessons to better provide for our children and adolescents and we also plan to extend the bedrooms that are currently a little cramped.
We firstly wish to thank God in body and spirit for the blessings we have received from Him and for the future blessings we await to receive. We also wish to thank all people who have helped us up till now.
