ARCHIVES OF LEAD STORIES
January 6, 2005
Dorchester office focuses
on needs of Cape Verdean kids
Tanya Andrade
December 30, 2004 - Amidst a sea of social services and community
programs offered in the city of Boston, there’s a certain
place in the heart of Uphams Corner that has put itself on the
map, especially with the area’s large population of Cape
Verdean youth.
The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) has been
providing health and social services to the Portuguese-speaking
community in the state for nearly 35 years, literally coming through
the back door of Dorchester in 2001 before opening the doors of
its convenient Stoughton Street office location later that same
year.
“We used the conference room at Citizen’s Bank for
about six months, but I would have to use the back of my van to
do all the paperwork since we couldn’t get into the bank
until after 2 p.m.,” said Alcides Semedo, MAPS Cape Verdean
Youth Program Coordinator.
It’s a good thing that Semedo and the rest of the MAPS Dorchester
team stuck it out, since their perseverance and persistence has
yielded one of the most successful youth programs among the other
Cambridge, Somerville, Allston-Brighton and Lowell MAPS offices.
“Most of our kids, once they’re done with MAPS go
on to college,” beamed Semedo as he sat in his office, walls
adorned with dozens of soccer plaques, trophies, and colorful
kente cloths. “Right now we have more than 25 who are in
college.”
Since many of the students’ parents speak little or no English,
Semedo and his small staff of five often act as liaisons for teachers,
and also provide guidance and direction for the kids who may not
necessarily find the support they need on the homefront.
“When you have a man like Alcides to guide you through all
your problems, help you with your homework, it’s really
good. You learn, he learns, it’s like we all give some and
we get some,” said Elizangela Lopes, 14, a longtime youth
program member.
“Some of us kids don’t have a lot of parents like
that — here they want to see us step up to the plate, moving
forward and not stepping back, getting our work done and going
on to college,” added Lopes, known to her friends as Wheezy.
MAPS, which also provides immigrant social services, HIV awareness
programs, translation services and a host of other community-improving
support programs, has lost about a half million dollars in contract
and grant revenues since last year, according to an October 21,
2004 press release. These cuts have forced the organization to
lay off staff, reduce and cut programs and shift the Somerville
office from a full-time to a part-time schedule.
“We’ve had to cut our dance program to Mondays and
Wednesdays, when it used to be three days a week before the cuts,”
said Lino Tavares, dance and theater choreographer for the Dorchester
MAPS office. “We would do theater, but now we can’t
do a lot of the fun things we used to do with the kids on Friday
when they didn’t have homework for the next day,”
added Tavares.
In 2002, Tavares and Semedo chaperoned 18 students from the youth
program on a two-week tour of Cape Verde, visiting the islands
of Sal, Praia and Sao Vicente, while sponsoring workshops on HIV
awareness and prevention in the local schools, prisons and on
the streets. The two have also organized cultural theater performances
in the Strand Theater for the past three years, known as “Chuva
da Cultura,” performed by the students for their families
and friends.
Despite the recent budget cuts, MAPS continues
to provide support for Dorchester’s youth, helping them
to appreciate the value of education, respect for others, and
communication to make their voices heard in today’s society
where youth are so commonly overlooked.
“The program got me more involved with the Cape Verdean
community, and I respect the fact that right now most people only
see how bad the community is, but we’re here doing something
positive, getting involved, helping people and making ourselves
seen and heard” said Alex Tomar, 22, a graduate of the youth
program and MAPS volunteer.
Although its become a little more difficult to stay afloat, MAPS
continues to navigate itself through the choppy seas, offering
life rafts to all who need a line and staying on the map.
Visit www.maps-inc.org for an extensive list of MAPS health and
social services, current events, donation information and the
organization’s bimonthly newsletter.
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