The lack of high school in Atodi
In the Arapiuns River region, many communities face challenges regarding the education of their youth. Schools often lack the capacity to provide high school education for students in the region, which forces community members to seek alternatives to address this situation. In the Atodi area, the nearest locations offering all levels of education are Anã, Vila Gorete, São Miguel, Aminã, Bom Futuro, and São Pedro. However, all of these are still quite distant and require a long journey.
Residents of the community face a difficult choice. One option is for students to spend hours traveling by boat or speedboat to reach the nearest schools. However, these journeys are often exhausting, and teachers can be absent for weeks or even months. Students must leave home very early and return only at the end of the day, which increases the risk of dropping out before finishing their studies.
Another option is for students to move with their families or relatives from Atodi to Santarém, one of the oldest cities in the Amazon region. There, they can attend a more stable high school but will be separated from their home much earlier than expected, facing the challenge of adapting to a very different reality. Homesickness is common, but education remains a priority for families. This second option is the most common for those who can afford to support their children in Santarém. This situation highlights the violent reality faced by young people who are forced to leave their community, choosing between staying connected to their land and culture or pursuing higher education. This leads to a steady loss of youth in the community, putting its future at risk.
Both scenarios highlight a significant issue: the difficulty young people from traditional communities face in attending school continuously from early education through high school. For this reason, the Atodi community has been fighting to ensure that local youth have access to this level of education. Education is both a right and a duty, and everyone should have easy access to it regardless of their circumstances.