Read our new Annual Newsletter 2023 here!
Education: the best development aid!
Education is the most important form of development aid to really improve the lives of people in developing countries. With education, homework guidance, parenting support and health prevention, the foundation improves the living conditions in the Favelas, the poor neighborhoods in two major cities of Brazil, São Paulo, and Salvador da Bahia.
Local people lead the projects we fund, which improves the collaboration. The projects themselves also tap into other sources of income. We encourage a transition to full independence.
We work with minimal overhead; every euro we receive ends up with the projects.
Objectives of the Foundation
- Learn Brazilian children in the Favelas (preschoolers: 2-6 years old) and their parents the importance of going to school.
- Improve the condition of these preschoolers by giving them the necessary meals (it is difficult to learn on an empty stomach).
- Keep poor Brazilian children off the streets, while their parents work to make a living.
- Improve the well-being of small children and give them the opportunity to develop their knowledge and social skills.
Method
- Collect money from a large group of “Friends” of our Foundation from funds and from campaigns. All donations go directly to the projects with minimal overhead costs.
- Acknowledged by the Dutch Tax Authorities as a “Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling (ANBI nr .: 8156.19.431)”.
- On-site supervision and advice by reliable local contacts.
- Personal involvement in the projects by Portuguese speaking Foundation board members who visit the projects during their vacation.
- Every year the “friends” of the Foundation receive a letter with a report on how the donations have been spent.
For more information about the Foundation, please go to https://www.kleutercentrabrazilie.nl/ (in Dutch).
History of the Foundation Friends of Nursery Schools in Brazil
In 1973, Margriet Husmann-van der Ree established a nursery school in Salvador da Bahia during a three-year stay in Brazil. The nursery school took care of 30 poor preschoolers in a classroom of a social center in a slum with about 100,000 inhabitants. She did this in close collaboration with Anna Sironi, a social worker from Italy who lived and worked in the neighborhood. The nursery school turned out to meet a great need and was soon too small. In the Netherlands money was raised for the school, so that it could grow into a real nursery school.
In order to make it easier to raise money, the Foundation Friends of Nursery Schools in Brazil was founded in 1977. Over the years, with the money raised by our financial support, even more nursery schools were established in slums in and around Salvador da Bahia, which are largely independent and run with local funds. Thousands of children have now used the nursery schools. The schools also have a social function and make a significant contribution to improving living conditions in the poor neighborhood.
In the meantime, there are always new local initiatives for preschoolers that qualify for support. Not only do the children receive education, but attention is also paid to health care and there are meals for the children and their families. In addition to structural support for nursery schools and other local initiatives for young children, the Foundation also makes one-off contributions to projects that benefit preschoolers, such as toys, books, improvement of classroom and improvement of buildings.
Criteria for projects
It goes without saying that our board always critically assesses which projects the Foundation supports and the way in which this is done. To this end, the board has formulated a set of requirements that a project must in any case meet. These criteria are directly based on the goals of the Foundation and range from the goal of the project to financial management and communication. In this way we can make clearer and more substantiated decisions about how we deal with projects.
- The project must meet the objectives of the Foundation.
- The project must have a strong, reliable and enthusiastic local contact.
- The financial situation must be transparent and reliable. It must be clear that the money is spent in a correct manner.
- The project must be either be an extension of an existing project with a proven track record or a approved new project that meets our qualifications.
- The project must have the trust of the board in the sense that at least 1 board member is personally responsible for the quality of the project.
- There must be good and transparent communication with the local project lead.
Board members
It has always been our policy that board members do their board work unpaid.
A.J.M. Lemoine-van den Bosch, president Anita has 3 children and works as a family therapist helping families with young people who have social and emotional problems. As chairman of the board, she sets the agenda, leads the board meetings and maintains contacts with various projects in Salvador da Bahia. Together with her husband Dominique she takes care of the financial administration of the Foundation. She is responsible for contacts with the local project leads. | |
B.G.C. van der Ree Bart is an independent consultant in the field of energy and sustainability. He has worked in China, Africa and several European countries. As a board member, he takes care of the website and contributes to the newsletters and other communication with the Friends. | |
D. Wesselius-Simon Diana is the daughter of a Brazilian mother (Paulista) and Dutch father and she has been traveling to Brazil every few years throughout her life. In the winter of 2011, she spent 3 months with her family traveling through Brazil. Diana currently works at FMO, the Dutch development bank, where she is responsible for financing energy projects in Latin America and Southern and East Africa. On the board she is responsible for contacts with the Escola da Fraternidade project. | |
R. Jimmink Ronald is married with Karen (born in Salvador da Bahia) and has 2 daughters studying in Dutch Universities. Graduated in both IT and business administration, his current occupation is head of IT at a Dutch accounting firm. From the conviction that education is a basic right and provides children the best opportunities for a better life, he wants to contribute to the foundation’s board and help achieve our goals. | |
A.H. Besuijen Aart was born in South America (Suriname) and spent part of his childhood in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia). He works as a lawyer in Amsterdam for an international company. He is married with Suzane (born in Brazil) and has 3 children. Aart travels to Salvador da Bahia every year to spend time with his is family. He believes it is very important to help children in the Brazilian Favelas to give them a fair chance in life and changing their future for good. Education is key to improving their situation. |
We are a group of volunteers that since 1977 collect money and provide financial support to kindergartens in slums in Brazil. Our projects help preschoolers in Brazil. We contribute to the costs of pedagogic counselors, meals for children, educational materials, educational toys, books and improvement of the classroom and buildings.
Our vision
Education is the most important pillar of social development and contributes directly to poverty reduction. In Brazil, despite the economic development the country has experienced, 9.2% of the population still lives below the poverty line (2018). We want to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods by means of education, homework guidance, parenting support and health prevention and as such give children a fair chance in life. We work with minimal overhead costs, almost all donations go to the projects.
Results
Lorena from Salvador is an example of one of the many successes that the Foundation has been able to achieve with the support of its Friends. As a child from a poor family without a father living at home, Lorena was admitted to the nursery Comet at the age of 4. Now 20 years old, she is studying nursing at the University of Bahia. She herself says: ‘A big thanks to all who have contributed to my learning at the nursery school, where I have experienced that I am the owner of my destiny. What I learned at daycare has been hugely important to my life and my admission to the university. ‘ An appealing example of how the Foundation will in the future help children, giving them hope and a better opportunity to build a successful future.
Since 1977 we have supported 19 projects for a shorter or longer period. You can read more about this on our website www.kleutercentrabrazilie.nl.
Details of the Foundation
- Dupontplein 3, 3817 DV Amersfoort
- Tel: 033-4655953
- stichting@kleutercentrabrazilie.nl
- www.kleutercentrabrazilie.nl
- IBAN NL35INGB0004467404
- BIC INGBNL2A
- Registration no. Chamber of Commerce 41197964
- ANBI / Tax No. 8156.19.431
- Tax-free donation is possible
“O sonho que se sonha só”, é so um sonho que sonha só, mas quando se sonha junto, se torna realidade”
“The dream you dream on your own is just a dream, but as soon as you dream it together, it becomes reality” Together with you and with your support, Brazilian children can make their dreams come true!