Arrival in Santarem

Our team arrived at 3:00 a.m. in Santarem and reached our destination at the Hope Foundation at 4:00 a.m. This is a college dormitory setting in Santarem, which is linked to the Catholic Church. We had to wake the staff in order to gain access at this ungodly hour of the morning. Even the security guard was asleep at his post. We rested until 11:30 a.m. before gathering with the Rotary leadership. We visited two agencies, one similar to a Head Start program and another a children's rehabilitation program. Santarem is a city of about 300,000 population that is located at the confluence of the Tapajos and Amazon Rivers. This is a very large fluvial port and a large agricultural center for Cargill, which exports soy and rice. This is also a regional educational and health center. Recently, the Brazilian government decided to subdivide the state of Para and create a new state of Tapajos. Santarem will become this new state's capital. Belem will remain the capital of the other half of Para.