Charity in Paradise … Schoolbooks for Kids

Nilton Gomes is a man with a big heart, an even bigger smile and the biggest desire to make a difference in the lives of children. He was born 24 years ago in the interior of the island of Santiago surrounded by rolling green hills. He grew up poor. He remembers his school-days as happy days. But he also remembers that his parents were too poor to buy the textbooks he needed for school. Each of these books cost about €3 or US$4. His parents had to choose between feeding their kids and buying the text books. It’s a very tough choice for any parent. His school, Escola de Salina, did not have the resources to supply him with free schoolbooks.

Despite those early challenges, Nilton eventually went on to success: he serving in Cape Verde’s military, obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and is now assistant manager of operations at Cabo Verde Fast Ferry in the capital, Praia. But he never forgot where he came from. He decided that he would give back to his community, the community that raised and nurtured him, by helping the students who are sitting in the same desks and classrooms that he sat in almost 20 years ago.

Nilton enlisted the help of his former teacher – Manuel Barreto – who coincidentally, also works at Cape Verde Fast Ferry. Today they are headed back from Praia through those beautiful rolling hills into the interior of Santiago to visit three schools in Salina, Santa Cruz and Achada Ponta; with 400 text books that Nilton purchased on his own account; to distribute them to the students whose parents cannot afford to purchase them; accompanied by the proud CEO of his company.

The influence of Cape Verde’s cultural heritage on its Diaspora

Maritsa Barros is a young woman on a mission. Her goal is to make the world a better place for women.

But Maritsa is no ordinary young woman. While she’s interested in fashion like many women her age, her interest lies in starting a business in this arena in order to mentor young women and serve as a role model.

Maritsa has already started on her career path. She is an instructor at Barbizon, a top American agency for modeling, acting and self-development. Maritsa teaches all three disciplines to women from 14 through 19 years old. Maritsa wants to be a positive influence to enlighten young women to be confident, have self-respect and self-esteem, which are important characteristics for future success. She instills in her students a sense of purpose yet shows them that they can also be compassionate.

Maritsa was born in America to Cape Verdean immigrant parents who raised her as one of twelve kids in the strict tradition of Cape Verdean parenting. The first language she learned was Kriolu. She formally learned English as a student in school. At such a young age, Maritsa experienced a bit of a cultural identity crisis, as you could well imagine, given the cross-cultural blend of American and Cape Verdean values. She was unsure which culture to adopt. Yet, this was a very important part of who Maritsa has become today – as she matured, she took the best lessons of each culture and found a very happy medium between both cultures in her day-to-day life and her values.

Cape Verde's enduring Jewish heritage

It may come as a surprise to many visitors since there are no remaining people of the Jewish faith practicing in Cape Verde. About 95% of the population today is Catholic or Protestant. But, in the five hundred years immediately following its colonization, there was an influx of thousands of Jews fleeing religious persecution in Spain and Portugal. Many of the early Jewish settlers were Sephardim who came by way of Morocco and Gibraltar. And in more modern historical times (the 1800s) many immigrants of Jewish descent arrived in the islands to seek economic opportunities.

Many of the Jews who settled in the Cape Verde islands married local Catholic women and made contributions to the islands economic, cultural and religious heritage. There are thus many Cape Verdean descendants of the original Jewish settlers who cherish and celebrate their Jewish ancestry even to this day including a former prime minister and president of the archipelago.

For visitors who wish to explore Cape Verde's Jewish heritage, there are several physical items that remain to tell of the legacy of the Cape Verdean Jews. In particular, there are four Jewish cemeteries: there is one on the island of Boa Vista near the entrance to the Hotel Marine Club, another within the main cemetery in the capital city, Praia, and two on the island of Santo Antao.