Students from the Adventist School of Serra (EAS) in Grande Vitória in Brazil filled a clothesline with books and letters they wrote themselves. The material speaks of hope in an action that connects to the annual Yellow September campaign, an effort for suicide prevention.
The initiative was developed in a drive-thru format , although students also had the opportunity to hang messages in the space in front of the school. The event is called Yellow September: more love of life and took place Friday, September 4, from 9-11 a.m. The goal is to hold a second event on September 25. On this first day alone, more than 200 letters were delivered.
“Considering the importance of valuing life, we took advantage of the month of September, which is already focused on suicide prevention, and we came up with the idea for students to show solidarity and provide hope in the form of letters and notes with messages of support and appreciation of life,” explains Elaine de Souza, one of the teachers who created the event.
The clothesline will be mounted in the community throughout the month. An on-site sign indicates that tickets and books spread out in front of the school are free and carry messages of hope. The students also received literature to distribute where they live.
Positive reactions
Athos Figueiredo, an eighth-grade student, arrived early with his father.
“We are contributing to a better society,” says Athos Figueiredo, an eighth-grade student who helped with the project. “This is a problem that affects many people and is often ignored.”
The whole school is involved, but in this first phase of the project, only a portion of the students were present to kick off the project. Some letters were written and attached to a yellow heart alluding to the campaign.
Other messages were written in cordel format, a Brazilian literary genre studied in the classroom. Some students drew engravings on posters and others brought copies of the Bible to be distributed. The project is also part of the curriculum developed by the school, which will include subjects such as artistic education and Portuguese language.
Camila Bita brought her daughter Yasmin to the project. Bita believes that the message of the campaign has come at a good time.
“It is important because it can create hope in people's hearts,” she says. “There are many [people] who have even lost, and there’s hope that all this can improve.”
During the event, dozens of books for adults and children were delivered. Teachers distributed the literature at points close to the school, with materials stored in a plastic bag and sanitized for safety reasons. Elisabete Bahiense, another creator of the project, pointed out that the measure helps students in more ways than giving them an opportunity to combat suicide.
“They made these clotheslines, intended to convey peace, love, and joy to people,” Bahiense says. “With this they understand that September is not only about awareness but also a month to show love.”