Casa de Frei Francisco is a non-governmental organization which contributes to the development of the community by focusing on bringing a significant change for the children. The community where Casa de Frei Francisco is active, is characterized by heavy frictions between different families, including a lot of violence and crime. Casa de Frei Francisco prevents the children from hanging around on
the streets, and getting involved in the crime. Instead the children and adolescents get additional classes, in, for example reading, computer skills and psychology. But most importantly, at Casa de Frei Francisco, they increase their social abilities. In this way they do not only improve their ability to learn and future prospects, but also will be able to create a sense of community, which will eventually be transferred to their home situations to improve the well-being and the quality of life of the community. Casa de Frei Francisco is part of Instituto Dom Helder Camera (IDHeC), founded in 1984 and named after the famous Catholic Archbishop of Olinda and Recife Dom Helder. He served from 1964 to 1985 during the military regime of the country. Dom Helder was known for his clear position on the side of the urban poor. Casa de Frei Francisco used to be a homeless shelter of this institute until Adriana transformed the place into its current state in 2004. The age of the children and adolescents at Casa de Frei Francisco are between 12 and 16 years old. At Casa de Frei Francisco, we work in two “shifts”, which children that go to school in the afternoon and come to this organization in the morning, and vice versa. The morning shift is from 08:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. and the afternoon shift from 13:30 p.m. until 16:30 p.m. Before the classes start, Casa de Frei Francisco offers the children a snack and after the classes, a healthy meal will be provided. Casa de Frei Francisco had a tough period trying to operate the organization in the beginning due to the conflicts between the families of the children. Due to the violence and a high rate of crime in this area, we were afraid to use forks and knives until 2009. However, by operating for several years, we brought positive changes to the children. The variety tests that we hold show that the level of reading and writing skills have increased. However, more importantly, we observed the positive change in their behaviors and attitudes. The changes that occurred in their behaviors include the teamwork skills, openness to newcomers, sense of sensitivities (recognizing emotions), and flexibilities. In this way Casa de Frei Francisco provides the students with an indispensable toolkit for finding a suitable job.
