In April 2023, work began on building a school in a São Paulo favela. The goal? To create a safe and vibrant space for up to 150 local children to play and learn each day.
The building is a replacement for an existing school which, over time and through lack of funding, had fallen into a state of disrepair, and as such was no longer fit for purpose. Once open, the new school will cater for the care and educational needs of small babies (‘Bebezinhos’) through to teenagers. As well as classrooms, the school will also offer a canteen, recreation room and a rooftop garden.
With plans to utilise every inch of the space and fill it with warmth, positivity and opportunities for play and learning, the aim is to give children a place to enjoy their childhood, but also a space where they can be equipped with all the tools they need to thrive in adulthood. A place for potential to be realised, where dreams are encouraged, and development is supported.
Mônica’s Mission – the story of the school
Associação Semeando Amor com a Tia Mônica (the latter part of which translates into English as Sowing Love with Aunt Monica) is a volunteer-run school, developed by Mônica after her nephew, Jhonatan, was born with Cornelia de Lange, a rare syndrome that meant he faced incredible barriers to receiving an education in a formal school setting.
After studying pedagogy and spending some time working in schools, Mônica set up her own classroom for Jhonatan and another boy in her kitchen at home. The project grew, with more and more children showing up at her door, necessitating a move from her kitchen to a school building. Though Jhonatan sadly passed away last year, Mônica keeps his memory alive by continuing to work tirelessly to support any children who need her help.
Inspired by Mônica and her mission, K2 set up the K2 Foundation in 2023 and developed plans to partner with Associação Semeando Amor com a Tia Mônica to help build the new school and create a dignified structure incorporating all the facilities that everyone there deserves.
Supply Chain support – recognising the generosity of our partner network
Whilst K2 have led on the project, working with an architect and construction teams to design and deliver the build, the project has also been supported by a number of Supply Chain partners in the region.
Rental furniture partner, John Richard, have provided furniture through their local project, ‘Projeto Sofá’, with HHG partner One Moving handling the transportation of the items donated. One Moving have also provided decorative items that they had in storage, and company owner, Wesley Thome, has donated money, toys and an industrial kitchen that has been installed this past month.
Net Move and Metropolitan have donated funds to the project, as have Unique Relocation, who also provided a washing machine via one of their partners, Caroline Monteiro.
Many other K2 global Supply Chain partners have donated to the project, by sponsoring members of the K2 team for their major fundraising activities, including the Nepal Expedition (2023) and the Ride Across Britain (2024).
Left to right: Ana Paduan, Linda Rafferty, Patricia Tavares and Tia Mônica
Progress of the project to date
Though there have been a number of delays due to unanticipated external factors, the bulk of the building work is now complete, with just the finishing touches to be made between now and January. The school has been the major focus for the K2 Foundation since its launch, and for K2 teams across both the US and Brazil in particular, this project is one that has become increasingly important.
Following a recent visit to the new school, Americas Managing Director, Phil Hunt and Americas Client Services Operational Lead, Virginia Howard, sat down with Brazil Country Director, Patricia Tavares, to talk about the progress that’s been made over the last year, the impact the project is having on the local community and the longevity of K2’s commitment to the school.
The school is currently on track to open in January 2025, and we look forward to sharing further updates with you in the New Year.
