In our series ‘behind the scenes at Estrela da Favela’, meet Joice, who has been working with us as an educator and (nursery) teacher for five years.

Who is Joice?
I would describe myself as calm, understanding and I always trying my best. I always want the best for everyone. I was born in the city of Paracambi and grew up in Japeri. After I got married, I moved to Nova Iguaçu. I am married to  Fernando, my husband with whom I have two beautiful children, Náilla aged 10 and Hector aged 7. My biggest dream is to build my own house.

Work
I am a teacher and a social worker at Instituto Estrela da Favela. Focus point of my work are values, citizenship, personal care and health. As well I work as a tutor to enhance school outcomes. To enrich our activities we use games, storytelling, videos and dialogue.

Why do I work at Estrela da Favela? I would love to contribute to the story of many children, I would like to be remembered by them – when they are grow up – as the aunty that helped them to become an important person.

Moments
One of the most beautiful moments in Estrela da Favela was the initiation of our kitchen. From that day on, we are able to provide lunches and snacks for all the children. This is very important for many children.

I hope to forever remember the faces of every single child that has been part of Estrela da Favela.

Future
In five years’ time, I hope Estrela da Favela will be even better than today. I am convinced we will have a larger building, that enables us to do more activities. Our work will be even better.