Traverse 12 | Page 21

It was tough on me, but I enjoyed every piece of it. Rio de Janeiro was a second home for me during the last month of the year and the first place where I pro- vided support to an association. With the help of two members of the organisation Terr’Ativa we bought US$1,000 worth of school materials; backpacks, books, pens, scissors, paper, notebooks, rubber, glue, everything they would need to start a new year of classes. We then pre- pared a Christmas party with many kids from the Favela. Unfortunately, many of those kids miss school be- cause of the lack of materials. It was important for me to be there and help as much as I could. The smile on all those faces when we distributed all the gear was one of the best memo- ries so far and I will never forget it. After only a few days in town, it was time for me to keep going, my visa was about to expire. Two thousand five hundred kilo- TRAVERSE 21