Meet Fabiana from Brazil

… find out about Fabiana’s life in the Brazilian rainforest

Here is Fabiana with her mum (Marcia), Dad (Jordevan) and her pet dog… Can you see him? Fabiana lives thousands of miles away in a village in the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. Her life is very different to yours, but in some ways it is the same.

Just like you, Fabiana goes to school. The children don’t sit together at tables at Fabiana’s school. They sit separately on special chairs. School starts at 7.30 and finishes at 11 o’clock.

Just like you, Fabiana has a home, her house is raised above the ground so it is harder for jungle wildlife to creep in.How else is her home different to yours?

Just like you, Fabiana likes to play. Swimming is one of her favourite things. Here she is with her mum, messing about in the river near her house.

Here are some of the children from Fabiana’s village having fun jumping in the river.

The river is used in lots of different ways by the villagers. Marcia and Jordevan grow a vegetable called cassava which they soak and wash in the river so that it can be ground into flour.

To make the flour, the cassava first has to be squeezed and drained of river water.

Fabiana sometimes helps her mum and dad make the flour. Once the cassava has been ground up into little pieces, Fabiana turns the handle of this machine to grind it up. How do you help your mum and dad at home?

Fabiana likes to play while her mum and dad carry on working. She loves to shape little balls out of the flour paste.

After it has been ground up, the cassava is passed through a giant sieve onto a big oven where it is cooked. The cassava flour is then ready to put into sacks to sell. Fabiana likes doing a little dance as she shakes the sieve!

Fabiana’s dad is happy making the flour but it is hard work and the family does not get much money from selling it.

It’s good that Fabiana’s mum Marcia is learning other ways of making money. Marcia’s aunt is teaching her to weave traditional mats and baskets, which she will be able to sell.

The extra money Marcia gets will help her pay for important things the family needs like healthy food and a more comfortable home.

Fabiana and her family are looking forward to a better future in the forest.

Photography: Marcella HaddadCAFOD is a member of Caritas InternationalRegistered charity no. 285776

cafod.org.uk/moneycount