In July 2024 Sam Ward visited Rio do Janeiro along with Dan Buswell, Tom Moorcroft and Mackenzie Robb (who all left RHS in 2023). They were there to learn more about the work of Onda Solidária, a charity which Richard Hale has supported for over 10 years. They are the first RHS students to travel independently to Brazil to support the work of the charity. Spencer Richardson (7Cr) visited with his sister Ella (2021-23), brother Aidan (2015-2022) and mother in 2023. Below is Sam’s account of the amazing two weeks.

This July, I was lucky enough to travel to Brazil, with the charity Onda Solidária. The charity was founded by Ricardo Calçado, who has been visiting Richard Hale and giving inspirational assemblies since 2013. The charity runs a handful of social projects, the main of which is his Vila dos Sonhos, or ‘Village of Dreams’, where he organises groups of teenagers and young adults to stay, exchange cultures, talk about the environment, and construct the Vila. In May 2023 Ricardo ran an assembly urging us to get involved in environmental change, and offering us the opportunity for a cultural exchange in Brazil, which inspired me enough to get involved and try to get to Brazil. In the interim, between meeting Ricardo and travelling to Rio, I raised over £500 for the charity, by cycling, running and organising a fundraising music concert. By early 2024, three other students and myself had booked the flight over, and committed to the trip.

The trip was part volunteering, part sightseeing. After I landed in Rio, I was greeted by Ricardo, who wasted no time in getting me involved and integrated into the Brazilian lifestyle, taking me to Flamengo Beach to play volleyball with some of the locals! Although I wasn’t very accomplished, it was great fun, and a great introduction to the country’s culture and the people I met were very welcoming and easy-going. We spent a total of 6 days in Rio over the trip, visiting sights like Sugarloaf Mountain, watching a Flamengo football game and visiting a Botanical Garden. A big shock over there is the food culture. Most meals came with rice, beans and chips, and the drink of choice for lots of Brazilians is Guarana, a soft drink made from the Guarana fruit, or freshly squeezed juice. For desert frozen Acai is very popular, made from the Acai fruit, the purple bowl tastes similar to a sorbet. Rio is such a vibrant and exciting city, bustling with life, and I absolutely loved my time there.

The next step of our trip took place outside of Rio. We travelled to Tinguá, where Ricardo had organised a climate forum. I met lots of young people who were all passionate about their work, in schools and in their local communities. One of the projects that we met was based in Paraty, which is where we went next.

Paraty is a colonial town West of Rio. We spent four days there, taking part in many activities, from boat tours, beach outings, celebrating the June festival, to meeting an indigenous tribe, Afro-Brazilian community and visiting more social projects. My highlight of this leg of the trip was meeting the Indigenous tribe. We heard first-hand how they struggle to survive in Brazil, they face disputes over their land, and religion, meaning they cannot live peacefully, as they would like. The tribe leader’s son had recently been killed because of these disputes, and all they would like is to be left alone.

After a nervous taxi ride to Tres Rios (the Brazilian driving conditions are challenging to say the least!), we arrived at Vila dos Sonhos, where we would spend a week. Bunking with our friends from the project in Paraty, we spent the week with other members of the project, exchanging cultures and making friends, visiting local schools and community centres, as well as rafting, visiting ‘Brazilian B&Q’, stargazing, and watching football in my new favourite pub Redondos. Our weekly goal was to get as far into digging new stands for the football pitch as we could. Our job was to move as much dirt from the side of the hill as possible. We dug out about half of the stand area over the course of the week, which was an achievement considering the heat of even a winter’s day in Brazil. This task was very rewarding when, on our penultimate day there, we participated in Sports Saturday, where children from the local community took the free public bus to the Vila to play football and volleyball. There must have been 20 to 30 kids using the sports facilities, and it really showed us what a difference small work like ours made. Saying goodbye to Vila (and its 5 adorable dogs) was very difficult, as it was such a quaint, pretty place.

As our time in Brazil came to an end, we enjoyed an all you can eat Brazilian buffet and sushi bar and visited “Cristo Redentor”. Visiting Christ the Redeemer was one of the most moving experiences of my life, as there was a service on whilst we were there, with worship musicians, a preacher, and hundreds of people kneeling below the mosaic, praying. The next day we said our goodbyes to Ricardo on Copacabana beach, and after one last can of Guarana and a bowl of Acai, I was leaving my new home, with memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you for making this opportunity possible Richard Hale and Ricardo!