Feed 150 vulnerable childrens from Belo Horizonte

They say time flies when you’re having fun... And time did fly, indeed! Did you know that this year marks the 35th birthday of our Centro de Acolhida? 35 years young and still looking fabulous! Well, we must say that we take great care of our dear and beloved Centro... On September 20th, for example, we decided to give it a well-deserved hug. After all, these four walls hosted workshops of all sorts (Arts, Robotics, Technology, Informatics, Theatre...), sport competitions, shows, classes of Muay Thai, Ballet, guitar, percussions... This is the place where all the magic happens! 

Throughout its 35 years of work, the Centro de Acolhida has touched and benefited the lives of more than 35,000 children and adolescents. That's why the motto of this event was ‘Let’s hug what once hugged us,’ a beautiful and symbolic gesture to thank the Centro de Acolhida and all the many people who have kept it alive through the years.

We invited EVERYONE: educators, children, adolescents, elderly, families, people living in the neighbourhood... And they did accept our invitation, hundreds of people joined our gigantic group hug! We created the longest human chain in order to surround the whole building, and we squeezed it with all our love and gratitude. Just look at the pictures and see for yourself — it was quite something, huh? 

The atmosphere was incredible, the sun was shining bright on Belo Horizonte and the air was filled with the joyful rhythm of our fanfarra — a group of teenagers led by Cacá, a professional musician who has been teaching them to play the drums. After all this playing the drums, smiling and hugging, we all needed to take a rest and to fill our bellies with delicious food. We moved inside the Centro and the surprises were not over yet! In our quadra — the space where most of our sports activities take place — a group of energetic women kicked off an engaging Zumba class, while on the football field our children and adolescents played a heartfelt tournament. And of course, no celebration would be complete without popcorn, hot dogs, ice cream, and soft drinks for everyone!

At our Centro de Acolhida, we believe in the power of community and solidarity, this is what this project is all about. That's why we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to each and every single donor who has generously supported us throughout these past 35 years. Without your generosity, which is never to take for granted, our journey would have not been possible. 

This is a very special year for our Centro de Acolhida, it will for sure be a year of celebrations and great events. Stay tuned, wait and see what happens next!