Gratitude brings happiness to the heart.

"It’s not happiness that brings gratitude, but gratitude that brings happiness."

I have not continued the blog on my Lent challenge of keeping a gratitude jar.   So, here is the list of the entries in my gratitude jar over the past few weeks.

Wed 12 Mar: Light shines best in the dark. I went for a night snorkel in Krabi, Thailand.  Plankton shines like glittery light in the sea when there is movement.  As the moon was up, the glow was not as strong. Lesson learnt – thank you for the times when we experience waves in our lives to create a chance for us to shine in the darkest times.

Thu 13 Mar: Everything is in God’s hands. I arrived safely in Singapore with sufficient time for a quick shower at home before the next flight to Brazil for the IBM Corporate Service Corp.  The Krabi trip had been planned last year before I was notified of the selection for CSC Brazil 17 team. The timing of the required arrival to Brazil was just in time so that I did not have to move the Krabi trip which we would have had to incur additional expenses.  It worked out well that I could spend quality time before being away for a month.

Fri 14 Mar: Safe travel and smooth transfer. I was happy to have a safe transit into Dubai after 7.5 hours on Emirates Airlines and the 2 hour 20 min transfer time was sufficient to get onto the next flight to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil.  After 14 hours 20 min flight from Dubai Airport, I arrived safely in Rio De Janeiro GIG airport with sufficient transfer time of 3 hour 30min to buffer for the obligatory luggage checks for food items in all my luggage.  Managed to print my boarding pass at the self serve terminal and luggage weight went uncharged.  Met a fellow passenger on transfer from Rio who told me that Fortaleza is paradise. Glad to arrive safely in paradise after an hour flight delay and another 3 hour 20 min flight on TAM Brazilian Airlines. Survived 25 hours to Brazil paradise!

Sat 15 Mar: Airplanes make everything possible.  Due to crossing of time zone when travelling across the globe, while I landed on Friday night Brazil time, it was Saturday morning in Singapore. We finally met the IBM CSC team face to face at breakfast after 12 weeks of telecon! Especially my project mates Julius Kiss, Shi Yi & Berna.

Sun 16 Mar: Safe neighbourhood in Fortaleza. IBM had placed the CSC team at Biera Mar of Fortaleza where the tourist stretch in front of the sea is relatively safe. Fabiana of Pyxera took us for a walk around the neighbourhood for where to get our necessities like pharmacies, supermarkets, laundrymat etc. I managed to walk to church alone to attend mass.  A stranger held my hands as we lifted our hands in prayer. I felt safe and accepted.

Mon 17 Mar: Successful kick off of IBM CSC with clients. We heard each group present their organization and introduced the IBM consultants. We met our client ITEVA Sara, Andersen, Gabriel, Fabio and the team for the first time. It was like meeting old friends.

Tue 18 Mar: Heart-warming Brazilian hospitality. First full day meeting at ITEVA was filled with warm hospitality – transport to/fro, lunch, 2 tea breaks, smiles, hugs and genuine welcome.  It’s a promise of more good things to come.

Wed 19 Mar: Team bonding time. This was a public holiday for San Jose.  The IBM CSC team went to a beach for team bonding.  We made friends as a relaxing start to an intense CSC assignment.

Thu 20 Mar: Joining in a meaningful cause.  We learnt about the challenges faced by Brazil communities for education, and saw how ITEVA was helping the lives of youths to get educated and be able to find jobs.  I know my efforts will truly help a worthy cause.

Fri 21 Mar:  Promising youths of Aquiraz at EEEP Alda Facanha. Awesome sharing experience. IBM CSC Brazil 17 team had an awesome community day with the students of EEEP Alda Façanha in Aquiraz. The IBM consultants shared about our home countries & our life experiences. The youths gave us a warm welcome, clapped & cheered their appreciation. We are overwhelmed with the promise that the youths have - positive attitude, team work & passion.

Sat 22 Mar: New experience with team mates at Canoa Quebrada. We took a weekend trip to Canoa Quebrada, the pearl of the east coast of Ceara in the municipality of Aracati.  We saw the beautiful red cliffs, took buggy adventure rides over the sand dunes, zip lined into the oasis and para-glided over the beautiful coastline.

Sun 23 Mar: Built deeper team friendships across cultures. Shared room with Shi Yi and got to know her better. Spent Sunday shopping with Andrea and Shi Yi.  Each of us have different cultures, personalities but we blended so well together.  Girly activities like walking, chatting, shopping and having dessert together was very relaxing.

  

  

Mon 24 Mar: Sisterly love.  Today Berna my team mate shared with me something personal.  We shed tears together like sisters.  .  She also appreciated that I was sensitive over last week that she was going through a difficult time and was patient with her.  I appreciated that she was open with me, and I fully emphatized with her.  The CSC is not an assignment, but made up of people to care for.

Tue 25 Mar: Rare experience of Maracatu parade. This was the 2^nd public holiday during our CSC assignment. While we spent the day working from the hotel, four of us went to the Maracatu parade, which was a black faced procession of African queens.  This was not a publicized tourist attraction and we were the only tourists there. Thankful that Eoin could read the local papers and grateful that we were safe despite the same newspaper citing Fortaleza as having the 3^rd highest murder rate in Brazil with 37 murders over the past weekend. But we are safe.

Wed 26 Mar: Singapore meals made with love. As a special cultural experience, I prepared a Singapore meal to be cooked on Thu for my new ITEVA family. The dishes included our national favourite chicken rice,  our Peranakan specialties Laksa (pimento noodles) & shrimp paste chicken. I hope they enjoy the meal that I will cook with love.

Thu 27 Mar: Heart and action for the youths.  We met Nunes Conceição (Secretária Executiva do Conselho Estadual dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente) from the STDS (Secretariat of workforce and social development for teenagers) in Fortaleza. She shared with us about the drug problems that the youth face and the efforts made to provide activities for the youths so that they get out of the social problems. Real actions from the heart.

Fri 28 Mar: Friend in need is a friend indeed. In the preparation for the Brazil trip, I was not aware that visa was required for more than 30 days stay in Brazil.  Fabiana from Pyxera called on a friend to help secure a workable appointment date with the Federal Police for my extension, which would have otherwise not been possible with the on-line appointment booking. My passport on records had a 90-day visa free approved stay.  Thankful for the help rendered & care showered on us for a worry-free stay.

Sat 29 Mar: Blessings of rain to Guaramiranga city with drought. Trip to Guaramiranga, the smallest town in Ceara with an altitude of 865m 110km equivalent to 3 hours drive from Fortaleza.  The waterfall was dry due to drought.  We had 2 days of rain, a blessing for beautiful days.  We were rewarded with cool weather and a view of the gushing waterfall.

Sun 30 Mar: Being still and quiet.  Rain brought us to a chance to pause and enjoy just being, instead of the helter skelter of daily chores.  We enjoyed a night of Slovakian home made apricot Schnapps, caipiranha and beer, with a slow dinner with CSC friends from Europe Eoin (Ireland), Rene (Switzerland), Julius (Slovakia), Martina and Christine (Germany). And had a lovely morning of fishing and admiring the rain fall.

Looking forward to gratitude jar experiences next week with the CSC Brazil 17 team!

Above photos were taken by Anne Phey at Ao Nang Beach, Krabi, Thailand in March 2014

ITEVA. Transforming Youths. Changing Lives.

On 17^th March 2014, the IBM consultants on the Corporate Service Corps Brazil 17 team met our clients face to face for the first time.

I was really excited to be able to meet our client ITEVA, the Advanced Technological and Vocational Institute, for the first time in Brazil.

Prior to our arrival in Brazil, we had been briefed on ITEVA, and I had arranged a call with ITEVA to introduce ourselves on the phone. After several email exchanges, Sara had arranged for our call.  I had prepared the AT&T teleconference with a toll free Brazil number and also connected with Sara on Skype.

On the call, I was trying both AT&T and Skype, just to make sure that we were able to connect. Sara came onto the call with Gabriel, who introduced himself as the translator (interpretator).  He told us he was 19 years old but the way he conducted the meeting was very professional as he introduced Sara, Andersen and Fabio.  I got to practice my first “Ola” and “Obrigada” with ITEVA.

It was also the first time I had Berna Tucel my CSC partner from Turkey on the call. We previously had Josie McManus and Ruby-Ann Singson (Ryan) in the team but as they were leaving IBM, IBM CSC WW had re-assigned Berna from another team to join me on the ITEVA project.

So, on the IBM CSC Brazil 17 kick off day with our clients, as I went around the room to greet the clients, Gabriel and Andresen recognized me.  When I saw Sara, Gabriel and Andersen, it was like meeting long lost friends.

In my intro at the kick off, I shared that I was excited to work with ITEVA. We share same passion to 1) Improve lives of local communities, 2) Build up youths for the future, 3) Believe in Innovation.

 

 That afternoon, we went to ITEVA office and met Fabio, Vanessa and the youths who had graduated from the Midacom academy and were now professionals working at ITEVA business co-operatives.  They were Miguel, John Lucas, Adriana, Josinaldo, Kananda and many others.

We have been working with ITEVA for two weeks now.  In these two weeks, ITEVA’s president Fabio had shared with us about his many wonderful and sustainable green energy inventions.  He also shared with us about the challenges that youths in Brazil faced and how ITEVA helped the underprivileged youths.

We experienced the stories about youths who did not know how to turn on a computer to one that is able to teach others about powerpoint presentations, many like Josinaldo who walked for hours to get to study and many who were able to start their own business or do well at other work places due to the training at ITEVA.  ITEVA not only gave the youths skills but also changed their mindset and motivation in life.

I am blessed to be able to work with ITEVA, as I too truly believe that to change one’s destiny, it is both a matter of the mind and the heart.  They have found the right formula.

Find out more about ITEVA at http://www.iteva.org.br