Writings

I have a friend who lives in the rain forest in Brazil. His name is Neto – short for Francineto. I met him when I traveled with my husband to Manaus, a large city located on the Amazon River.
Neto is a tour guide. He takes English-speaking visitors into the jungle river crannies and shares with them his knowledge of the animals and plants. He is very proud of the Amazon and enjoys showing its treasures to visitors.

Neto was born many miles from Manaus in the deep jungle of the rain forest. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, so it is taught in all the schools. In the jungle where Neto grew up, schools only went through grade six. No English was taught in these small village schools. If a child wanted to learn English and extend his schooling beyond sixth grade, he had to move to a large city.

Eager to learn English and further his education, Neto moved to Manaus with his mother. He completed his schooling in Manaus, learning English well enough to become a tour guide. He works very long, hot hours, often being away from his family for weeks at a time and still he continues to study to improve his English and increase his knowledge of the world.

At the time I first met Neto he had a three-year-old daughter named Kessia. He was already teaching her some English. Being a school librarian I was thrilled with his story. When I returned home I sent Kessia some English picture books to help her with her English. Neto sent me back pictures of an excited Kessia and her new books.

Kessia is over ten-years-old now, and Neto informs me that she studies hard at school. He has managed to buy his own home computer and is very proud to have his own email address with which we can more easily correspond.

Sometimes learning to read and write is easy. Sometimes it’s not. But if, like Neto, you make learning a priority, you can accomplish your goals. I hope reading and writing are an important part of your life—leading you to new jungle adventures.

Below is a picture of me on Neto’s tour standing next to a huge Amazon tree. Reading can take you to places just this amazing.