HISTORY OF BRAZIL 4-S PEACE CORPS
By Francis Pressly, Project Director
The first Peace Corps volunteers arrived in Brazil in March, 1962. This group, Brazil I consisted of 43 4-S club workers whose goal was to assist in the development of rural youth clubs.
Most of the volunteers had many years of experience in 4-H Clubs. Several were junior and adult leaders and even some were county 4-H club agents. Approximately one-third were college graduates. They ranged in age from 18 to 34 years.
These volunteers were requested by the Brazil agricultural extension service, ABCAR, to provide needed manpower in this field. Basically an agricultural country, Brazil does not suffer for a lack of potential 4-S Club members. The main problem is finding adequately trained agricultural and home economics personnel to work with the agricultural extension service which; supervises 4-S Club work.The Brazil 1 project actually began in January 1962 when 55 volunteer trainees gathered at the 
National 4-H Foundation in Washington, D.C. for the initial phase of the training program, from Jan. 3 to Feb. 14. Then the volunteers went to the Peace Corps training camp in Puerto Rico for three weeks of physical and health training. They also spent a week observing the 4-H work in county offices of the Puerto Rican Extension Service.
On May 5th, the PCVs returned to Rio for three weeks of special training by Brazilian Agricultural extension personnel as well as additional language classes.
The final week-long phase of training was held in the states to which the PCVs were assigned. The volunteers worked in nine states stre
tching nearly 2,000 miles from north to south. They received orientation on their state's 4-S Club program. At the end of this period they moved to their assigned municipios and settled into permanent quarters to begin their jobs. From then the volunteers worked under the local Brazilian extension agents, who introduced them into their communities and have helped them to become acquainted with specific local conditions. The volunteers were generally responsible for recruiting and training local 4-S Club leaders, developing demonstration projects in agriculture and home economics, preparing audiovisual materials and other teaching aids, and assisting, with club organization, training and recreational activities. The addition of the volunteers to the Brazilian agricultural extension service has more than doubled the total personnel available in Brazil for full time work with 4-S Clubs.
In addition to the regular volunteers, four volunteer leaders work as area supervisors. Working in close cooperation with the state extension affiliates, these leaders are responsible for providing logistical and technical support to the volunteers. In addition, they counsel and assist the volunteers regarding their personal welfare (e.g. healthy morale, living and working conditions). Supervision of the working responsibilities of the PCVs, however, is provided by th
e Brazilian extension supervisors under whom they are assigned. At intervals of approximately four months, area or national meetings are held for the purpose of providing project evaluation and further training.
Many of our extension counterparts agree that the PCVs have made a tangible contribution to the development of the 4-S Club program and have requested more volunteers.
To fill in the vacancies in
the first volunteer group 13 additional persons (12 women, one man) were assigned to this project. This add-on group called the Mail Order Brides (MOBs), began training in July 1962, at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla. After two months of Brazil and U.S. country study there, they spent two weeks at the University of Kansas for technical training. Just before coming to Brazil in October, 1962, they spent four weeks at the National 4-H Foundation, Wash. D.C. In 1963 it was decided to continue the Brazil I project in four states. So a replacement group of 30 PCVs were trained and began their work in the places of the old volunteers in February 1964.
It is possible that the 4-S Peace Corps project may be extended for several more years, sufficient time to make a significant contribution to the program of youth development in rural Brazil.
