maria_teresinha_de_jesus

A Brazilian educator who pioneered inclusive schooling for marginalized children in the Amazon region during the 1950s

Maria Teresinha de Jesus (1915–2001) revolutionized education access in Brazil's Amazon basin through her innovative Educational Canoe Project. Born in a riverside community, she witnessed how geographical isolation prevented 70% of Amazon children from attending school. In 1953, she launched the Barco Escola Nossa Senhora das Cataratas, a floating school that traveled 10,000 km annually along the Amazon and Negro rivers, reaching 15,000 students by 1970. Her curriculum integrated indigenous languages and ecological knowledge, creating the first bilingual textbooks in the region.

De Jesus' 1965 manifesto <《Rivers of Knowledge》 inspired UNESCO's 1974 guidelines on riverine education. She developed the Agro-Educational Kitchens program, teaching sustainable farming alongside literacy skills. Her 1968 partnership with the Ford Foundation established teacher training centers that produced 200 Amazonian educators by 1980. Despite facing opposition from logging companies, she secured land rights for 12 indigenous communities through educational advocacy.

Today, her legacy lives in the Maria T. de Jesus Institute, which operates 30 floating schools. Google honored her with a 2020 Doodle celebrating her centenary, and her pedagogical methods are studied at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. Modern Amazonian leaders credit her with establishing the foundation for Brazil's 2012 Indigenous Education Law, proving her vision's lasting impact.