Partners of the Americas Trip Report
Bryan Cooke Sept 12 through 26,
2003 Colorado—Minas
Gerais
The purpose of my trip to Minas Gerais was to jointly conduct a needs assessment with the MG leadership to formulate a tentative 3-year plan to strengthen our partnership. Specifically the purpose was fourfold:
a. to review Colorado-Minas activity over the past 5 years (15 southbound and 10 northbound travel grants—see Attachment A)
b. to determine ways of revitalizing our partnership using the 3x5 approach
c. to respond to specific requests for possible projects in Belo Horizonte, Pitangui, Diamantina and Iracambi (see Attachment B)
d. to prioritize exchanges over the next 3 years.
Sept 13 Arrived BH Confins International Airport at 11:30 am. Met by Dr. Luzia Lisita & transported to Dr. Pedro Paulo & Maria Luiza Marques’ home, Rua Agripa Vasconcelos, 210, Mangabeiras
7:00 to 10:30 pm Dinner meeting with 9 MG Partners and 2 guests (see Attachment c)
Sept 14 Visited outdoor market with Partner Heloisa Oliveira. Met with potential new partners Maria Helena Andres, artist and author, Ivana Andres, musician and illustrator, and Ronie Filgueiras, architect and artist.
Sept 15 We visited the Health Clinic Centro do Saude Padre Fernando de Mello with Dr. Luzia Lisita. Manager Jose Antonio Calixto, RN, showed us the Family Planning Clinic. This clinic received a grant for TV monitors & VCR equipment to educate men, women & children about family planning, STDs and HIV/AIDS prevention. There were over 40 men and women in attendance today. Partners Linda Nedved and Luzia Lisita originated the grant application which resulted in this very successful and impressive program.
Attended Fala Tambor practice with Heloisa Oliveira. Met dancer Benjamim & musician Carlinhos. They are interested in performing in the U.S.
Sept 16 Visited the phenomenal Salao do Encontro with Dr. Regina Almeida and Dr. Acyr Salgarello. Regina requested immediate help with honoring this remarkable woman for her lifetime humanitarian contributions. I suggested we explore ways to recognize Dona Noemi and her work through an international award from a foundation such as Ashoka, Fulbright, Kellogg, or Melinda & Bill Gates. (Malcolm & Ambassador Bill Stedman, your recommendations would be invaluable!)
On returning to Belo we visited Sao Joao Evangelist church’s crèche, Casa da Crianca. We were given a tour by Director Maria Aparecida Horta Rodriques Bastista & Giselda Duarte, who coordinates this program for 70 children aged 3 to 6 years, who come to the crèche from 6 am to 5 pm and receive day care, lessons, and three meals each day. There are 3 teachers with high school education who need more training. I suggested that they visit the Salao do Encontro preschool program for in-service teacher-training. Met with Fr. Jose Resende and engineer Antonio Carlos Vinhas who showed us plans for expanding the crèche by adding another floor. They are looking for financial aid. I suggested they explore local Rotary Clubs for possible matching grants.
Sept 17 & 18 Dr. Acyr Salgarello drove Dr. Regina Almeida, Carolyn and me to Pitangui to visit the Instituto Esther Valerio (IEV). We were greeted with a welcome banner by Principal Maria Jose Valerio Calderaro Teixera (whom we met at the Partners dinner meeting on 9/13) and her students ranging in age from 11 to 14. After a tour of the school and lunch we were invited to the City Council meeting which was conducted entirely by the Children’s Council of Pitangui. The IInd Children’s Forum on the Preservation of the Environment included students from IEV and five other schools in and around Pitangui, the Mayor and the President of the City Council. The opening ceremony included music by IEV’s Children’s Choir in attractive red & white uniforms and conducted by an 11 year old boy. The Head Table in the City Council included Mr. Jose Eduardo Lopes Cancado, Mayor of Pitangui, Mr. Marcilio Valadares, President of the House of Councilors in Pitangui, Regina Almeida, President MG Partners, Teacher Maria Elisa Chaves Machado, Patroness of the Children’s Council, Teacher Alice Pereira Duarte, Municipal Education Secretary, Carolyn Cooke, myself & 12 year-old Adriano who presided over the Forum. The Forum was conducted very professionally & entirely by the school children.
Environmental project progress reports were given by the school children followed by questions for the city officials on issues relating to graffiti removal, river clean-up, sewage treatment, museum preservation and historic building restoration. After the Forum we toured the museum & the church that were badly in need of restoration. (museum items are to be temporarily stored in the Banco do Brazil building while the original building will be restored).
I met with Pitangui Rotary Club President Wagner de Faria Valadares and Rotary Club Founder Arthur Bernardes dos Santos. We visited the 50 bed Hospital Santa Casa de Miseri Cordia and its volunteer Director Dr. Paulo Cesar Ferreira Almas.
Because the incidence of Breast Cancer is higher in this area than the rest of the state, they are interested in acquiring a mammography machine and equipment for an ICU. We were shown the ICU addition which was under construction but is not yet equipped. We also visited the construction site (land donated by the Mayor) for a Regional One-Stop Health Clinic for Handicapped Children and their need for audiology equipment. I recommended that both facilities explore the possibility of acquiring old/obsolete equipment from Hospitals in the USA, Canada, Europe through service organizations & churches.
Sept 19 Partner Mariangela Sorbilli and her husband Gil showed us the Centro Marcado in Belo, Oscar Neimeyer’s Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Pampulha, and treated us to a wonderful lunch at the Restaurant Xapuri. After meeting her daughter and mother, we returned to BH in time to attend a wedding with our host Maria Luiza Marques. After the wedding we met Regina & collected the Greeley Chorale CD.
Sept 20 We bade farewell to our gracious hosts Pedro Paulo & Maria Luiza Marques & we were transported to Dr. Joao Meira’s home in Diamantina by Partner Heloisa Oliveira. After presenting gifts to Joao & his family (Maria de Jesus, Maria Luisa & Maria Teresa) & having lunch, I went with Joao to the Church of Our Lady of Rosary to hear a musical concert by Banda Mirim. This Municipal Brass Band was made up of street children. They receive instruments, uniforms & music lessons by a maestro/conductor provided by the City of Diamantina, a UNESCO designated World Heritage City.
That evening we attended the ceremony for the induction of Bishop Don Paulo Lopes de Faria into the Diamantina Academy of Arts and Letters. Carolyn and I were introduced to several dignitaries including Professora Doctora Mereile Sao Geraldo dos Santos Souza, Director of the Federal University of Diamantina (FAFEOD). We concluded our first evening in Diamantina by attending a Vesperata, with Banda Mirim and the Military Police Band in the balconies that surround the town square, and the audience was in the street. This wonderful event occurs only in Diamantina, and is a highlight which attracts many tourists from all over the state of Minas Gerias.
Sept 21 Attended an outstanding Serenata (concert) by Arte Miuda in the Church of Our Lady of Carmel and met Coordinator Soraya Ferreira Alcantara. We confirmed the invitation for Arte Miuda to perform in Colorado and at the POA International Convention in 2005, (hopefully in Denver, Colorado). After a traditional Brazilian Sunday buffet lunch, we visited Joao’s son’s farm and enjoyed an eucalyptus sauna at the Diamantina Country Club. Carolyn and I cooked dinner and made Indian pistachio ice cream for the Meira family.
Sept 22 Morning meeting with the Director, faculty & staff of FAFEOD and checked compatibility of my laptop and their projector for my power point lecture later this evening. Afternoon meeting with the Diamantina City Council to get their support to buy some land to build a one-day hospital to serve 10,000 underserved people in 2 low-income neighborhoods. Monday evening I lectured on the Foundations of Health Promotion to the faculty and students of FAFEOD. I presented gifts as follows to the Director: A book on UNC’s first 100 years entitled Shaping Educational Change, CDCynergy, and CDC’s Injury CD. After a spirited Q & A session, I presented UNC lapel buttons to the Faculty.
Sept 23 Morning visited FAFEOD museum and the Arte Miuda school. Afternoon toured the city with Joao Meira and inspected the site for the proposed one-day hospital. Joao indicated that the City Council would donate the land and the Mayor would provide the manpower to build the hospital. The 1300 square meter plot of land sits in a low income section of town that houses 4,000 people. The plan is to raise approximately $20,000 to help build a 474 square meter building with a 680 square meter parking lot. This ambulatory hospital would be open 7 am to 7 pm Monday through Saturday, and 24 hours on Sunday to serve the 4,000 underserved in addition to approximately 6,000 who live in the surrounding villages. It is Joao’s dream to have the hospital built and equipped in the next year. We discussed funding the project by getting the Rotary & Lions Clubs of Diamantina and Greeley to use a matching grant approach. Since Joao and his wife will be attending the POA convention in Lexington in November 2003 and then will be visiting Colorado, I recommended that he meet with Don Cook, MD, Past President of the American Academy of Pediatrics and member of the Greeley Rotary Board. Last November Luzia Lisita MD visited the Monfort Children’s Clinic (which was built with private funds by Dr. Don Cook) and she invited him to visit the clinics in Belo Horizonte. (Since I will be in India on a Fulbright lectureship November 2003 through March 2004, I will have Rotarian & Partner Jon Monson/Rotarian Brian Larson have Dr. Meira meet Dr. Cook & Scott Bosch, President, Colorado Region, Banner Health System.) Since Joao Meira and his wife will be interpreter and chaperone for the Arte Miuda children’s choir, I will ask Partner Stephen Waechter to arrange for them to hear the Greeley Children’s Choir and meet Administrator Beverly Bell to plan for the Arte Miuda 2005 visit. This evening Soraya and her husband came over for an Indian dinner, Indian ice cream & chocolate chip cookies that Carolyn and I had prepared. We discussed ways to fund Arte Miuda’s visit to Colorado such as: recognizing donors by printing their names in the programs, selling CDs and T-shirts, asking airlines to collect change from passengers and providing CDs to airlines for in-flight audio programs.
Sept 24 Joao took us to see Serro, a historical city with a magnificent church. We returned in time to observe Arte Miuda practice. This culminated in a surprise Birthday Party for Joao, his 75th!
Sept 25 Joao drove us through town to observe where he grew up and the rivers where he learned to swim, the Rio Grande and the Quatro Vinteines (four dimes), now too polluted! He took us to the “Bridge at the end of the World” to see where diamonds were found at the confluence of the rivers Sierra and Campos to become the river Jequitinhonha.
Sept 26 We attended the opening ceremony for the new campus FAFEID, followed by a medal ceremony at the old FAFEOD campus and a lavish cocktail party. At the party we met Gustavo Botelho Jr., the Mayor of Diamantina (pmdiamantina@citel1.com.br) and Vilson Cardoso Machado, the President of the Rotary Club (Vilson@cite12.com.br). Both were very supportive and excited about Dr. Joao Meira’s proposed One-Day Hospital.
Sept 27 Saturday at 5 am we left Diamantina for the airport at Belo Horizonte. Since Joao was going to celebrate his 75th birthday with his family in Sete Lagoas, we dropped off his two youngest daughters there on the way to Confins airport. There we met President Regina Almeida and her niece who had come to bid us farewell.
Results/Impact
From the above description I believe I accomplished the major purposes of my trip. Direct outcomes of my trip include the following.
After my meetings with President Regina Almeida, Vice President Luzia Lisita, the Partners in Belo Horizonte and Joao Meira, the following projects were identified and would be prioritized by Presidents Regina Almeida and MaryGershwin along with Vice Presidents Luzia Lisita and Francis Wardle:
Needed medical equipment—used/obsolete equipment is required for the following three projects:
Diamantina—Joao Meira’s One-Day Hospital. City donated land and labor to construct
it. Hospital to serve 4000 under-served
in the Bairro Palia and an additional 6000 people from the surrounding
villages. (I have arranged for Dr.
Meira to meet with Don Cook, MD, Past President, American Academy of Pediatrics
& Scott Bosch, President, Colorado Region, Banner Health System, on Nov 24)
Francis Wardle is checking with UCHSC Denver.
Pitangui—Santa Casa de Miseri Cordia (SCDMC), a 50 bed hospital, needs a mammography unit and equipment for their newly constructed ICU. The Rotary Club’s Regional One-Stop Health Center for the Handicapped is looking to equip their 5m X 5m Phoneaudiology Clinic. I offered to help Paulo Cesar Ferreira Almas, Director of SCDMC and Pitangui Rotary President Wagner de Faria Valadares & President-elect Antonio Luis Oliveira to locate used & obsolete equipment and seek matching funds from the Rotary Foundation TRF. Francis Wardle will contact the University of Colorado Health Science Center about their old equipment as they move to their new Fitzsimmons Campus.
Difficulties Encountered
& Lessons Learned
Since my wife accompanied me, I had EWA Travel book her ticket. We could have saved $250 if we had gone through our travel agent. I suggest you shop around for the best airfare if you are taking a family member along at your own expense.
Host Partner Chapter Involvement, Follow-up and Impact
The Minas Partners, my host chapter, with the great leadership of Dr. Regina Almeida, Dr. Luzia Lisita, Dr. Joao Meira, Dr. Acyr Salgarello & Ms. Heloisa Oliveira were entirely responsible for my busy but fantastic schedule. Upon receiving the preliminary itinerary, because the Mayor of Ouro Preto would not be available, I requestd that we visit Noemi Gontijo’s marvelous Salao do Encontro and spend some time with Partner Mariangela Sorbilli. My good friend Regina graciously accommodated my request. Muito obrigado, Regina!
Anticipated Long-term Benefits
As a result of my visit to Minas Gerais, I anticipate the following benefits:
· Increased efforts at recruitment, retention & recognition
· Greater leadership training & mentorship activity
· Better communication between NS and SN Partners
· New ways to leverage resources outside of Partners
· Explore improved networking opportunities
· Proliferate more mutually beneficial projects
Follow-up
Plan to share experience with Colorado Partners & community: I plan to e-mail my trip report to all the members of the Colorado Partners and key Partners in Minas Gerais. I regularly share the opportunities provided by Partners of the Americas with my Rotarian friends, church members and the academic community.
Recommended follow-up activities: In preparation to host Acyr Salgarello, Joao & Maria Meira, I helped set up their itinerary for Vice President Francis Wardle. Since 4 Minas Partners will be attending the 2003 POA Convention November 19-22, I would like to see the Colorado leadership also attend the Annual Convention in Lexington, KY and make a strong bid for Denver to host the Partners of the Americas Convention in 2005.
I would like to see both Colorado and Minas Partners continue to expand their membership using the 3 x 5 Plan and to mentor the emerging leaders by providing leadership training.
General Comments & Suggestions
I would like to recommend more Partnerships have strategic planning meetings like the one I just experienced. This allows the leadership of both chapters to share their perceptions of their needs, to prioritize their needs, and to seek ways to work smart and have fun, rather than only working hard! A word of advice to Partners—share your story—the world needs to know the great things we do.
Partners Membership
Yes, I would join the Colorado Partners. Actually, I got involved with Partners 13 years ago by volunteering and paying my own way. I was then invited to join Partners and asked to serve 2 two-year terms as the Chapter President. I’m a firm believer that a person must be a member in order to receive a travel grant! I also believe that there should be more accountability with those who have received a travel grant. Too many “partners” drift off into the sunset once they have had their “free trip!”
ATTACHMENT A
COLORADO-MINAS GERAIS TRAVEL 1998-2003
Colorado Minas Gerais
1998
May 16-26 Linda Nedved Jul 15-22 Jose CL Caldeira
1999
Mar 13-20 Sara Martin Sep 11- Oct 1 Luzia Lisita
Sep 12-28 Dale Beckman
Sep 12-28 Linda Lujan
Dec 28- Jan 11 Francis Wardle
2000
Oct 26- Nov 22 Laurie Morris Nov 24- Dec 11 Robin LeBreton
2001
2002
2003
Jan 26- Feb 15 Jon Monson Jun 12-28 Heloisa Oliveira
Feb 7- 9 Mary Gershwin Nov 18-Dec 2 Joao Meira
Apr 23- May 1 Francis Wardle Nov 18-Dec 2 Acyr Salgarello
Sep 12-27 Bryan Cooke
Sep 27-Nov 1 Meredith McBurney
ATTACHMENT
B POSSIBLE PARTNER EXCHANGES 2003-2005
COLORADO MINAS
GERAIS
1 Diane Bolden Taylor, Concert Soprano, 1 Arte Miuda (Nov 2005)
Spirituals
dbolden@arts.unco.edu 2 Brasil ComS Chorinhos (Apr 2004?)
2 Ian Cooke & Whit Sibley, Artists-in-Residence
3
Ronie Filgueiras, architect (2005?)
sculpture/cello & painting/guitar
3 Faton Emami, Public Health Nurse 4
Acyr Salgarello (Nov 2003)
4 Jim Fittz, cello & Steve Waechter,
guitar 5 Joao Meira
(Nov 2003)
5 Greeley Children’s Chorale, Beverly Bell 6 Maria Jose Valerio Calderaro
gccsingers@msn.com Teixeira, Pitangui (2004)
6 Greeley Chorale 7 Jose Eduardo Lopes Concado,
cgerbrandt@arts.unco.edu Mayor, Pitangui (2004?)
7 Mary Hoff, English Teacher 8 Fala Tambor, Benjamim, Carlinhos
mhoff1215@aol.com & dancer (2005?)
8 Drs. Eben & Pam Howard, MD, Burn
Specialist
9 Charlotte & John Mills, piano &
trumpet
10 Nacho Men
(Band) POA Convention 2005?
11 Dianne Pavelka, health museum development
12 Francis Wardle, lecture on US Democracy;
playground IEV Pitangui
13 Ben Johnson – Web Developer &
Technology Trainer
14 Alex Komodore, Classical Guitar
MG
PARTNERS MEETING
ATTENDANCE 13 Sept 03
Regina Almeida
Rua
Dep. Viriato Mascarenhas
129
Apto 502
30.210
Seroa
Belo
Horizonte, MG Brasil
Ph
011-55 31 225-9182
Fax “ 223-3925
Email
– psje@terra.com.br
Maria
Jose Valerio Calderaro Teixeira
Rua
Luis Orsini, 56
Pitangui
– MG
CEP
– 35-650-000
Email
- iev@mwm.com.br
Maestro
Luiz Aguiar
Rua
Manaus – 454
Sao
Lucas
Belo
Horizonte – 30.150-350
Ph
(31) 9999-4390 (cel)
Fax (31) 3241-2539
Acyr
Salgarello
Rua
Manoel Gomes Pereira, 129/101
Bairro
Serra
30220-220
– B. Horizonte – MG
Ph (31) 3284-2793, (31) 3282-82-67
Email
– acyrsalgarello@uol.com.br
Roberta
Almeida Versioni
Rua
Oscar Trenpewiski 565-1102
Bairro
Gutierrez
Zip
Code 30430-060
Belo
Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil
Ph
(31) 3371-4500 (31) 8847-1210
Email
– betinhaversioni@hotmail.com
Mariangela
Sorbilli (& husband Gil)
Rua
Expedicionano Jose Assuncad dos Anjos, 791
Bairro
Ouro Preto – Belo Horizonte
Cep:
31310-050
Tel:
31 34918185 / 34274134
Email
– sorbilli@terra.com.br
Luzia
Salem Lisita
R.Alvorenga
Peixoto 444/502
BH
– MG 30180-120
Phone
55-31-3335-8597
Email
– llisita@microplanet.com.br
Alexandre
de Lima & Silva
R.
Manoel Gomes Pereira, 129/202
BH
– MG 30 220 220
Phone
55-31-3284-63-85
Email
– alex_minas21@hotmail.com
Helena
Lopes