Mission

The mission of the Program for Assistive Technologies for Underprivileged (PATU) is to allow students to practice engineering skills while they develop strong communication and teamwork skills, gain global perspective, and learn social responsibility through projects for persons with disabilities that otherwise could not afford assistance.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

It all starts somewhere

Today was our first day at the clinics.  We got a tour of CREADH, which is the main hub for the clinics in Itabuna, and most of the management of and training for the city's system of clinics is run through CREADH. The students observed physical therapy for both adults and children, learned about a program where mother's of patients get together while their child is receiving therapy and learn how to craft in the art of Fuxico to learn how to gain income, and also saw where they conduct gastro surgeries.  It was really cool to see a couple of our past projects there that have obviously been well-used!  







We then visited a day care name Creche in a very low-income part of Itabuna.  At this center, students learn dancing and painting when not in school.  They loved having us there and teaching the students how to Forro!  Then our students tried to teach them Swing dancing.  I think they were better teachers :) It will be interesting to see if we can find a project to help Creche like we do the clinics.











In the afternoon we visited the chocolate factory, Barry Callebaut.  No photos there, they aren't allowed!  But the students got to observe large-scale manufacturing that is done in Brazil with their largest exported good, chocolate.

Day 7 reflection: discuss your reaction to Crèche, the day care we visited. This center is is on one of the poorest and most dangerous parts of Itabuna. Why do you think this center is important?

No comments:

Post a Comment