Meet The Team!

Our team is made up of women from across the United States.  This trip will be a wonderfully memorable  experience because not only are we going to a place we've never been, we will be meeting one another for the very first time in September when we all arrive at the airport in Miami on our way to Brazil.

We will introduce ourselves here so we can get to know the other team members  a little better before the trip begins.  I feel certain, we will know each other VERY well by the end of our journey!

Two Cities... One Goal

During the trip we will be spending time in São Paulo and Fortaleza.  Both cities are located near the east coast of Brazil (Fortaleza toward the middle of the country and São Paulo to the south).


São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and the world's eighth largest city by population.  It is the business center of Brazil and is home to the São Paulo Stock Exchange.  São Paulo is colloquially known as "Cidade da Garoa" (city of drizzle) because of the unreliable weather. Not sure what this means for my hair while there but I'm still looking forward to the trip.  The city's motto is "Non dvcor, dvco" which means "I am not led, I lead."  I love this!  What a great motto for our trip.  We, as United Methodist Women, aren't going to wait for others... we are leading the way!



Fortaleza is our other stop on the trip.  This is a city of about 3.5 million people (making it Brazil's fifth largest city).  Fortaleza will be one of the host cities during the 2014 FIFA World Cup (soccer is the main sport in Brazil).  Unlike the "city of drizzle", Fortaleza has a tropical climate with high temperatures throughout the year.   The current mayor is Luizianne Lins a former academic at the local Federal University of Ceará and well known feminist.

Portuguese is the official national language of Brazil but English and Spanish are also part of the high school curriculum for students.  Language barriers are always an opportunity for learning and usually some guaranteed laughs.

Ubuntu: Brazil 2011

For the 2011 Ubuntu: Brazil Journey, United Methodist Women and the Methodist Women of Brazil will be exploring violence against women with focus on human trafficking and domestic violence.  Our group of twelve women from across the United States will venture to Brazil for the last two weeks of September.  We will be spending time in two locations in Brazil: Sao Paulo and Fortaleza. 

I know this trip will be one of those life changing experiences and I can't believe we'll be in Brazil in six short weeks!

Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is an African word and proverb meaning "I am human because you are human."

Ubuntu Explorer Journeys are unique, short-term mission service opportunities for United Methodist Women to interact with the world through mission partners. Ubuntu Journeys are about women of faith coming together though shared mission to address social issues and discover new ways of working together, supporting one another, and growing spiritually. United Methodist Women Ubuntu Explorers will expand their understanding of issues that impact the world and their community through mutual learning with women from other cultures. Each Ubuntu Journey connects women to women for a faith and mission opportunity that will:

• Witness love and struggle; share challenges and opportunities.
   
• Enhance cultural awareness; exchange ideas and skills.
   
• Learn where the United Methodist Women’s Mission Giving goes to support more than 200 programs in 75 countries.
   
• Understand daily life with Methodist and United Methodist, grassroots and ecumenical sisters around the world.
   

Together with global sisters, United Methodist Women will share the human experience of worship, prayer and spiritual reflection to engage in mission that will cultivate faith, hope and love into action.