MIT-Brazil Program

Hi all, Theo here again. In our first lab meeting with community leaders from favelas in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, I casually shared some work I’d done to adapt the built environment for my particular use-case as a wheelchair user. My colleagues expressed what a challenge accessibility is in their communities, and asked if I’d be interested in starting a project in that space. While I develop hardware for myself, and have worked for years on neuro-rehab techniques and equipment through , I’d never done a community-based access project. After hiring two incredible undergrads, Rodrigo and Pedro, we dove in to interviewing Heliópolis residents.

My intent with the project was to identify common themes with in-home access challenges (example: postural improvement for seated work…not building sidewalks).
Difficulties we discovered through interviews fell into two categories:
🔸physical access and
🔸the time required to give attention to hyperactive kids.
Whether due to the access issues leaving the home, or simply the daily grind of work, it was difficult to find and meet individuals with physical disabilities.

🪀 So, we pivoted to focus on hands-on toy-building for kids to make their own toys, based at .

Rodrigo, Pedro, and I studied the toys which resonated the best with kids, then designed 3 different builds from recycled & cheap materials: Labirinto Fantástico, Vai-e-Vem, e Bilboquê. We ran workshops with kids, seeking feedback from them and their teachers, and iterated the workshops.

We were happy that by the end, we’d satisfied the following success criteria:
1️⃣ Less than 30min of preparation for educators for a class of 30.
2️⃣ A cost of less than R$10 per student.
3️⃣ Team work in groups of 2-4 required to complete the toy(s) in time available.
4️⃣ A spectrum of objetives from ‘defined’ to ‘flexible’ for various learning styles.

After every session, kids asked if they could take the toys home (as planned!) and when we would return to make more toys (unplanned, but heart-warming!).

Rodrigo and Pedro will expand this project to more schools, so I’m excited to see where they take it!

The info session with details on the January program in Brazil is today at 5pm in 14E-310.

IAP 2024 Global Opportunities / are you an MIT student interested in Brazil?

TOMORROW: join us for the upcoming info session on what will be and how to apply for a credit-bearing MIT’s Global Classroom 3-week program in Brazil in January 2024.

Global Classrooms are short-term-usually 2- to 3-week-opportunities to learn abroad alongside MIT faculty and local partners.

—> learn Portuguese .global.languages. Either complete your studies here and (or if already know Portuguese) apply for summer internship opportunities in Brazil (including the new regional program in the Amazonian biome), in Portugal and in Cape Verde.

Find out more about MIT’s Global Classroom Program at misti.mit.edu/global-classroom!