I remember…

that I started to learn in 1956. At that time, this community here was founded by an inhabitant of the headland of Amorindos, who was called Antonio Colares Cardoso.

In order to hold mass, we all gathered in the house of Father Cleto, an American. There were a lot of people back then who weren't able to fit in there. So we considered building a little church.

A meeting was called, to which neighbouring communities were also invited. At this meeting, which took place over in the house Morena at the headland Ponta do Saracura, this place here was chosen. It was agreed that the church would be built here.

The people gathered in his house, as everyone lived dotted about here and there at that time, and prepared the field. Together they burnt down the forest and built a shack in the clearing. The clay bricks were made in this shack, from clay from the earth here. They used this earth to construct the first church. The church was finally finished and then after three days...

it caved in.

It then took quite a long time before another one was built. I don't know how many years it took for the one which stands here now to be built. This one here, made of brickwork.

And this church then also served as the school. The site for the church and for the village was 200 square metres in size, the whole area there. The daughter of the man, who gave us the piece of land, was our teacher. A shack was built in which they held the lesson back then. Now we have this new school. The man has since died and his daughter too. Other teachers came, I can't remember anymore what all their names were.

I thank God that we have what we have here today.

And I also thank God and the people who worked for us to have an education.

First of all it was just a seed, but it grew ...

Told by an old man at the schoolyard of Săo Miguel at Rio Arrapiúns, on 19th September 2000.