Sustainability & CSR

At Christmas help us to support the children of Casa dos Curumins in Brazil

Someone once wrote that it sometimes takes very little to make a difference. So it was that one day 15 years ago, a Swiss couple, Alberto Eisenhardt and Adriana Gomes Fernandes Eisenhardt, went on holiday to Brazil and, as is always the case, made a decision that radically changed their lives and the lives of hundreds of others. The couple initially involved their friends, then many other people, and eventually opened a shelter home, Casa dos Curumins, in the favelas of São Paulo, followed by a nursery school and later a music school. Alberto and Adriana have been living in Brazil since 2010 and day after day they have made a difference to a lot of people, especially to an average of 400 boys and girls from the ages of 0-18.

“When we opened the shelter home,” says Adriana, “we wanted to offer an alternative to the hunger, violence and degradation that surrounds the children, supporting them until they completed vocational training and entered the labour market. To date we have worked with 150 children between the ages of 5 and 15. We provide them with a warm meal, breakfast and snacks and teach them basic hygiene skills, as well as activities that will help them in their adult lives. We also try to support their families, who almost always lack a father figure, and to support them in their schooling.” The same applies to the nursery school, which, however, specifically caters for children aged 4 months to 5 years and works with the poorest families. Currently, the Curumins nursery school serves 220 of Brazil’s poorest children. Finally, there is the music school, where around a hundred girls and boys can learn to play music and understand, through music, that there is more to life than the favelas.

Now let us explain why we are telling you this story. It’s simple: Adriana worked at IBSA and, after she involved friends and colleagues in her solidarity project, the company decided to support her from day one. So we have pledged to support Alberto and Adriana and now we are asking you to do the same.

It’s a simple process: you can directly donate to Casa dos Curumin (on their website all the details) or, for Christmas, you can buy a bottle of solidarity wine, the Ticino Merlot wine available in the Selezione and Riserva editions, which are both excellent for accompanying festive banquets and above all for allowing your to also tell the story of how easy it is to make a difference with even just a small gesture. You can tell your friends, for example, that the difference is often as simple as to do or not to do. We have chosen to do and we would love it if you choose to be one of us.

Here you can take a look at life at Casa dos Curumins, here you can make an even bigger difference and help the Casa tackle the food and economic emergency associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, and here you can purchase wine.

Feliz Natal do IBSA