Ronaldo Monteiro’s story as told to Bruno Nascimento in Portuguese then translated to English
Disclaimer: Ronaldo is incredibly articulate. I am afraid that I have not done his story justice in English. – Dani
“My name is Ronaldo Antonio Miguel Monteiro. I am a coordinator and teacher at the CDI school in Tribobo. I grew up in Tribobo. It is a poor neighborhood. When I was a boy my life, as everywhere, had bad and good elements. I got into drugs and that business, but things were like that. The friends I had were really important to me. And my family.
“When I went to jail I was in for 13 years. There is no hope in jail. Eighty percent of the prisoners did not even know how to read or write. The one thought that everyone had was that there would be nothing for him to do to better himself when his sentence was over: just like before jail. The prisoners talked to each other about this thought, and eventually the endemic of illiteracy was truly realized. The ones that knew how to read or write began to teach what they could to the others. Small groups formed, and the prison guards took notice.
“One day a prison guard came back to the prison with some information about an NGO called Committee for Democracy and Information (CDI). The prisoners got excited for the first time. CDI would provide a way to learn to read, write, and how to be civically engaged. You see, CDI’s mission is not just about teaching the students so that they have their own skills, but to take those skills and give back to the community.
“My life changed completely with the hope that CDI introduced. Not only did I experience hope in my own future, but that in my prison mates as well. I got out of prison before my sentence was finished, and I was able to take an extra course to be certified as a CDI instructor. With sponsors such as Petrobras, a Brazilian Petrol company, a school for ex-convicts was established in my old neighborhood. It is a community center now, open to more than just ex-convicts. Everyone who attends takes a CDI class. Classes such as cooking, barbershop, English, and gastroeconomia can be enrolled in additionally, but the CDI class is standard.
“Each person I have seen come through the school is a success story. I knew that CDI would change the lives of the person educated, but I did not anticipate the joy and hope that one person could bring to his or her family. That is the most amazing thing to see. The system is self-sustaining because hope replicates. If we are able to create one drop of hope it ripples out and no one can escape its encouragement.
“People affected increase exponentially. Each person taught gives to the world somehow; many seek to work directly with the CDI school. Having hope is powerful in itself. But when you have experienced a complete absence of any dreams, then hope transforms everything: the way you dream, think, and experience life. And once you have experienced true hope, life wherever you go is changed forever.”