São Paulo – The Secretariat of Justice and Defense of Citizenship of São Paulo State announced this week the creation of a Portuguese course for immigrants at the Centro de Integração da Cidadania Oeste – CIC (Citizenship Integration Center – West), in Jaraguá, city of São Paulo. The classes are free, including the course material, and are open to foreigners of all origins, refugees and even those that already know a little of the language.
According to CIC Oeste’s coordinator, Edilaine Daniel, 40 spots will be open for the first group of students older than 16 years. The registrations are open until July 10th. To enroll, one need to go to the center (see address below). The classes will start on August 22nd and will be on Saturdays, from 9 AM to noon. The course lasts five months.
The course will be offered in partnership with the NGO Educafro, according to the secretariat, and the requests came from immigrants that live in the region, have a hard time finding jobs for not knowing the language and don’t have the money to go to CIC do Imigrante, in Barra Funda, where a similar course is offered.
To make it easier for immigrants to obtain a job is one of the goals of the classes. According to Edilaine, CIC is also registering businesses from the region that are interested in hiring immigrants for posts under Brazil’s labor laws.
At the CIC do Imigrante, in Barra Funda, the Portuguese course is taking place since March, on Saturdays, from 2 PM to 4 PM. The place also offers Spanish and French for the general public.
Further information and registration:
CIC Oeste
Address: Estrada das Taipas, 990, Jardim Panamericano, Jaraguá, São Paulo, SP, CEP 02991-000
Phone: 55 11 3942-5898 / 5228 / 5146 / 5186
Email: edilainedaniel@sp.gov.br
CIC do Imigrante
Address: Rua Barra Funda, 1020, Barra Funda, São Paulo, SP
Phone: 55 11 3104-2733 and 3115-2048
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
