01/11/2018

Between the district of Lagoa da Cruz (PB) and Canada, Mathematics

Karine Rodrigues

Those who make their living from farming know that, in times of dry skies, no amount of sweat will make anything sprout. Rogaciano and Adeilda Ferreira da Luz can attest to that. Residents of the Lagoa da Cruz district in Princesa Isabel (PB), 420 km from the capital João Pessoa, the farming couple raised their six children braving the harsh conditions of the Sertão region. Leandro, the fifth child, 17 years old, dreams of studying medicine. If he achieves this, he will be the first in his family to attend university.

She certainly has the credentials, judging by Maria do Bom Conselho Freitas' account. With a Master's degree in Pure and Applied Mathematics and a teacher in the Pernambuco public school system for over two decades, she knows very well what teenagers are capable of.

“In the 22 years I have worked at the Tomé Francisco da Silva School, I have had the opportunity to work with many different students, some very intelligent, hardworking, with a desire to succeed, brilliant students with exceptional logical reasoning. Two were very special: one is studying Mathematics at the Federal University of Paraíba; the other is Leandro.”

Bom Conselho met him in 2014, when he started attending advanced math classes. At the time, the student had qualified for the second phase of the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). Two years later, when Leandro became his student in regular classes, their contact deepened. “I came to admire him even more. Intelligent and disciplined. Humble, he didn't let difficulties get him down. He's always seizing opportunities,” he observes.

Leandro debuted in the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) at age 12, when he was in the sixth grade of elementary school. He remembers how impactful the experience was. “Those questions were totally different. I had never solved anything like it. It was truly wonderful,” he recalls, detailing what he felt when he won a medal. “It was spectacular. Going through that experience further increased my passion for Mathematics.”

Leandro, a 10th-grade student at Tomé Francisco da Silva school in Quixaba (PE), won three silver and one gold medals in the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). Winning the top prize brought him to Rio last year to receive his medal, something he had considered unimaginable.

“It never crossed my mind that one day I would attend the awards ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. I come from a poor family. My father and mother supported and educated six children by working the land with a hoe. We received a small amount of government assistance through the Bolsa Família program. Even with all the hardship, they did their best so that we could study and lack nothing.”

"With education, the situation can improve."

In the Ferreira da Luz household, Leandro's achievements are a source of pride. The family has faced many difficulties, but Adeilda believes that with education, the situation can improve. "The family is very large, but we move forward, with faith in God and in education, which is very important in everyone's life. Leandro will one day have a good future, a job to support himself."

Although no one in the family has ever attended university, Leandro says that none of his six children are "stuck in the countryside." The two oldest are truck drivers and deliver eggs produced on a farm in Princesa Isabel.

The two older sisters live in João Pessoa and São Paulo. Leandro remains in Lagoa da Cruz with his youngest sister. He thinks life has improved. His parents no longer receive Bolsa Família (a government welfare program). Rogaciano started working on a farm, earning minimum wage.

Now, Leandro dreams of Canada. He was selected for an exchange program in the country through the "Ganhe o Mundo" (Win the World) Program, run by the Pernambuco State Department of Education.

And if he goes into medicine, mathematics, which has opened so many doors for him, will surely accompany him. "It's in everything. Regardless of my choice, I will live with it every day." There's no shortage of people rooting for him to fulfill this dream.