Coming to the end !!!!

Forgive me blog followers for not updating this week but I have had no internet access and have only managed to grab a few minutes here and there. I know the girls have been updating regularly and so  you are all up to date. I wanted to reflect on the week in Porto vehlo.
After the 9 hr coach journey we were all really tired. We loved the people in Rolim so it was sad to say goodbye. I went back to Fernandos  parents house and got a few hours sleep before meeting up with the team again later. We met with Rodrigo who we would see a lot of this week. He is a great character! A photographer, a drummer and works for the secretary of tourism. He speaks great English which is a great help to us. We visited the port area and had a walk around the city. We were all starting to struggle a little as the day went on and when we ended up in the shopping Mall to meet Fernando we were all ready for bed !! We saw the conference venue and  later returned home to an very welcome bed !
Tuesday saw a vocational day for me and probably the most varied for me and most enjoyable. I met the local commandant and then went to meet the special ops team. I delivered a small presentation which led to a rather lengthy Q and A session! I then had a chance to do a bit of work with the local dog trainer. He explained he learned his skills from the internet !!  I had a good exchange with him and he took my advice well. I found it quite frustrating as he was trying very hard but he just does not have the knowledge to train an dog and no support. I explained that his dog could be trained to a high standard in four weeks ( it was a drugs detection dog ) he simply thought this was impossible !!.
I was then taken to the training centre of the  environmental section of the military police. They deal with all crime related to the  forest and logging and pollution etc. It was an amazing place and the staff where so committed. It is so different from what I am used to but their job is very important. I explained to the students that the eyes of the world are on Brazil and what they are dong to protect the rain forest. The Amazon is the “lungs of the world” if it is not protected then this crazy weather will only get worse  and those who come after us will have a very different planet.
The education centre last year had 25,000 students in 11 months last year! They visit local companies and talk to them about the environment. They inspect wood yards and check that the wood is all legal etc. They protect the animals and release and captured back into the wild. There is a problem with boa constrictor snakes roaming into the city and the locals contact them and they release them back into the jungle along with any other stray wild animals. They have a nursery area where 125,000 plants are growing to replace the ones being torn away from the banks of the Amazon as the water rises due to bad weather and the controversial new power plant nearby which has turbines in the river causing stronger currents. This work is incredible and I was really impressed. So much so that the whole team returned a few days later  so as we could all see it.
I finished my visit off with a  boat ride in the police boat to show me some of the damage that is being caused by man to this important river. I was treated so well by the staff here  and the following day there was a big write up about my visit in the state newspaper.
I finished off my vocational day with Kelly and Liz at Urso Branco Prison which was a bit of an eye opener!  It has one of the worst human rights records in the world and has been the scene of many bloody riots and prisoner disputes. Naturally we were shown the nicer parts but believe me you would not want to end up in here it was a bit scary at times! We had four special ops guys with very large rifles follow us about so I felt a bit more comfortable!
Not much happened then really till the conference began. Fernando the coordinator here is under a lot of pressure as he is also in charge of the conference. We  have been left with “ free time “ quite a lot and we don’t really want any as our time is short in Brazil now. The trip is definitely winding down  and so the conference was the next thing on the agenda.
The opening was long speeches in Portuguese which was hard work but necessary I suppose!  We were in our best uniform and everyone wanted their photo taken with the Brits !!   Friday saw us on a trip out to the children’s school where we delivered  a whole stack of Liverpool shirts to the kids. Every child got a shirt and the lady who ran this school for very poor children declared that this will now be the school uniform !! They were delighted ! the shirts were given to me by the community section at Liverpool FC, it was worth every extra kg in the bag to see the delight on their faces!  Thank you LFC!!
Friday evening was the talent show for the conference and time for us to make a show of ourselves which we did very well!  The photos tell the story!  We also held our auction and raised over £500 !! this will go to an Orphanage in Manaus which was a venue of many tears when we visited.
Our final presentation was a great moment. We changed the photos to ones of Brazil. Lots of our new friends and hosts were in the audience and  to the sound of the Long and winding road we finished our tour of brazil.  It was very emotional and everyone was on their feet, there were many tears as we looked into the audience and we realised the effect of our presence in Amazonia. It is incredible how attached one can get in such a small time. These people have done so much for us and ask for very little in return ( except for maybe a million photos !) The whole experience for me has been made by the team. I am very proud of what we have achieved and how we have touched the hearts of so many people. The delight of children’s faces as we give them football shirts and the uncontrollable tears of the lady who runs the crèche in Rio Branco on her own for 30 children will stay with me for a long time. The walks through the jungle, the intense sometimes unforgiving  heat, the footie matches, the food, the boats along the river Amazon were all amazing but what will I miss the most?
The people…….just amazing people. I will also miss being with my team. They have made my job easy and we will, I hope, be close friends for years to come.
We have just spent our first Day in Rio. I have travelled all over the world  and I can honestly say I have not seen a view like that from the top of sugar loaf mountain it is truly spectacular. Only one thing missing…… Maria. I hope to return one day and share the same experience with her, I cant wait to tell her ( or bore her ) with all the Brazilian tales!!
That’s not to say I wasn’t in good company, and fantastic company they have been. We have had some wonderful  compliments paid to us by the Rotarians of  district 4720 and I think we can safely say that we have left our mark. We wanted to let the Brazilians know that we had visited there district and made a difference and I think we can hold our heads high and say we have achieved what we set out to do and more.
Thank you Kelly Liz Ursy and Kat for being such a great team Im proud of you all.

steve

Lots more photos to follow !!!!!!!!!!!