History
How we started.
In January, 2006 we went to the northeast of Brazil for three months to work on a writing project. We arrived in a tiny, calm fishing village in the state of Paraiba with dunes, palm trees and unlimited sunshine. We settled in to do our work. As we became familiar with our new environment, we realized, not to our surprise, that our placid fishing village was not quite what it appeared to be on the surface. The first indication was the condition and treatment of many of the animals in the area, often a barometer for the sensibility of a community. It was the dry season and the parched, dusty fields yielded nothing of value for the animals to eat. There was food to be had, but it was at some distance and required planning and effort to harvest it and bring it to the animals. Some inhabitants prepared themselves for this seasonal reality. Others gambled that their animals would make it through the dry season, letting them loose to scavenge on thistles, mangoes and scattered garbage, until the day the torrential winter rains turned the hopeless, scrabbly fields, in one extended downpour, into a banquet table of lush green. We could see that some villagers were distressed by the disharmony of living among creatures, struggling daily on the knife’s edge. Others were so inured that they didn’t even notice.
We decided to buy a sick, starving and abused five-year old horse and quietly use him as an example of how a little generosity and compassion can save and transform a valuable life. It was a bizarre and quixotic effort in the eyes of many of the older inhabitants of the village, but not so to the younger ones. In no time we had attracted 15 curious children, who offered their services to bring our new ward back to health. We then hired a local vet practicioner, who taught our young ambassadors about animal care and a lot of other philosophy besides. We used this exercise of compassion towards the horse to invite the children to talk, if they so desired, about themselves, their lives and their relationships with each other. So was born our Project Mirror (Link).
It was through our work with these children in northeast Brazil that we came into contact with women and men in the region, heroines and heroes in their own right, who were devoting their lives to their own personal vision of social and humane justice. These courageous people, fired by moral ardor and a desire to do the right thing, had an easy and natural ability to attract others to join them in their inspired causes. We witnessed over and over again how these special individuals and their following had become formidable forces for social change in their small communities. In a world in which there is so much emphasis on disseminating the sad, the mad and the tragic of human behavior, we saw these people as examples of the best, most life-affirming qualities that human beings possess.
After returning from that trip, we decided we wanted to be part of the work of these inspired individuals and to contribute and participate by giving what we had to offer.
Maria Lucia Ferreira
David Adams
