More than 400 young people participated in a four-day volunteer project to benefit the Karajás Indians of Bananal Island, Tocantins State, Brazil.
More than 400 young people participated in a four-day volunteer project to benefit the Karajás Indians of Bananal Island, Tocantins State, Brazil. Organizers say the venture, called “Karajás Project—Mission Possible,” was also intended to commemorate the United Nations International Year of the Volunteer.
Bananal is the world’s largest river island—a more than 7,000 square mile island formed by two channels of the Araguaia River. Karajás Indians are the island’s main residents.
The young people arrived July 28 and focused on the villages of Santa Isabel and Fontoura. They painted and repaired schools and health centers, cleaned up trash, planted trees, and helped construct a community center.
The volunteers received lectures about Indian thought, culture and customs and had instruction in the Karajá language. In turn, volunteers provided lectures for the local community on health, hygiene, and prevention of alcoholism.
The project was the initiative of Brazil’s Pathfinder Clubs—youth clubs run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, involving young people of all religions. The volunteers for the Karajás Project were predominantly leaders of Pathfinder Clubs in the central region of Brazil.
Brazil’s Pathfinder Clubs, part of the international Adventist Pathfinder movement, promote cultural, civic, sports-related, and intellectual activities, which are aimed at developing a sense of responsibility and respect for God and fellow human beings.
