At the end of January, series host, K2’s Global Marketing Director, James Marshall, was joined by Brazil Country Manager, Patricia Tavares and Financial and Admin Coordinator, Ana Paduan, at a studio in Brazil, to record a very special edition of K2’s Personally Speaking podcast. The topic of this bonus episode is the recent completion of the K2 Foundation’s first major project: to build a brand-new school in the São Paulo district of Parelheiros.
Episode 8 (Bonus Episode):
The recording was planned to coincide with James’ visit to Brazil to accompany Ana, Patricia and Americas Managing Director, Phil Hunt, to the school opening, and the episode offers some insight into the immense work that’s gone on behind the scenes in São Paulo to create an amazing new space for education, play and community connection.
To kick the episode off, the trio delve into the origins of the project, with Ana sharing how a chance response from one of her friends to an Instagram post led to K2’s involvement with the school.
After providing some background around how the journey began, the group talk a little about Tia Mônica and Tia Selma, the incredible sisters behind Associação Semeando Amor; the charity responsible for setting up the original school to which the K2 Foundation pledged its support.
Ana and Patricia go on to explain why early plans to adapt the original school had to be rethought, before disclosing the heartbreaking circumstances which saw Tia Mônica and Tia Selma miss the initial phone call delivering the news that the project had been approved.
Later in the episode, James, Ana and Patricia discuss, amongst other things:
- The breadth of facilities available in the new building
- The significance of the school for the local community
- The value of projects like this one to our clients and partner network
- The impact that K2 Brazil have made in the 4 short years they’ve been operating in the region
Alongside Tia Mônica and Tia Selma, Ana and Patricia have been instrumental in the delivery of the school build, overseeing the construction for the last two years, in addition to doing their day jobs. They have been on hand to offer support whenever needed and to keep driving things forward, even on the days when completion felt like it was beyond reach. Their commitment has been unwavering and motivation unchanging. It is clear that this has been a labour of love, and Ana and Patricia’s genuine passion and sense of personal connection to the project are palpable throughout the episode.
This project is something we at K2 are incredibly proud of, and we look forward to sharing more about it over the coming weeks. Whilst the podcast goes some way to telling the story of the school, a film documenting its opening is also currently in production. Through this film, we hope to be able to transport those watching it to Parelheiros to experience the joy and wonder that are woven into the very fabric of this remarkable new building.