From under the Brazilian moon

Escola Padre Reus in Porto Alegre, Brazil is a quite remarkable state school.

Yesterday I was invited there to give a talk to 15 -17 year olds, about the Hands up Project’s work with children in Gaza. They also have the ‘Moon tell me truth’ exhibition set up there in the school corridor for everyone to see.

I don’t think I’ve ever visited a school with such a great atmosphere between teachers and students. All the young people I spoke to were so mature, so aware of the situation in Palestine, and so committed to taking action to support the young people there in whatever way they could.

This morning, one of their teachers, Liliana, pictured in the foreground above, got in touch with me to tell me about about an activity she did today with the poems from ‘Moon tell me truth’. She encouraged her students to find one of the poems that they found particularly inspirational and then write a short text in English as a response. Below you’ll find four examples of these texts with the poems that inspired them.

What a beautifully simple idea this is. If you’re an English teacher somewhere in the world and you’d like to find ways to share the creative work of Palestinian children in engaging ways, perhaps it could work in your context.

Nick

“I like the way she talks about Love and peace, and the sky and stars are beautiful, and I hope god bless your heart , in this difficult moment ( Murilo 17 years old)”

'‘I found it an extremely moving poem, which evokes memories of the old days in Palestine and the sadness of the present. It also contains a plea for everyone to see Palestine as a free state” (Yasmin, 17 years)

‘This poem remind me of Saint George’s prayer’’

(João Vitor,17 anos)

“Something in those words touched me more than anything else. Something so weighty in its words, written by someone so young. The part "every human being has the right to live in safety" was the one that touched me the most.”

-Maria Eduarda, 17 anos