Today was day 2 with our Clients from Casa Da Crianca  . Here are some of the team 
L/R Sonya Favretto (IBM) Patricia Chalaca (Executive Director and Founder of Casa Da Crianca) , Lavinia Mata De Petribu ( Casa Da Crianca) , Laura Cavalcanti (Casa Da Crianca) ,
Deirdre Dowling (IBM) , Laurie Santos (IBM)  

The story of Casa Da Crianca is fascinating . Starting in 1999 by a couple  of architects
The Projeto CASA DA CRIANÇA (The Child’s Home Project) is a nonprofit organisation certified by the federal government as an OSCIP (a civilian-led organization for public service) that aims to defend the rights of and provide a better quality of life for underprivileged children and adolescents throughout Brazil.

With the vision of improving the poor conditions of the Casa de Carolina- a shelter located in the city of Recife for disadvantaged children- architects Patrícia Chalaça and Marcelo Souza Leão came together in 1999 along with several other architects and interior designers to remodel the shelter. This remodelling project was very successful and inspired many architects from all over Brazil to carry out similar initiatives in their own home towns. To support their enthusiasm and commitment, Patricia and Marcelo created the CASA DA CRIANÇA Project. They labelled it as a social franchise technology and formalized it into a comprehensive manual with tools and information on how to replicate the successful model of Casa de Carolina. More than 13 years later, this project has grown significantly, working to improve the physical structures and management of child and youth centers all throughout Brazil just like Casa de Carolina.

The CASA DA CRIANÇA Project has three primary focus areas:

1.    Construction and remodelling of several types of child and youth care centres- the organisation brings together a group of architects and interior designers to design and build centers that offer services in education (day care centers), children with special needs, pediatric cancer treatment, and rehabilitation (for victims of  abandonment and violence);
2.    Capacity building initiatives for child and youth centers- using the Cia dos Anjos Programme as a flagship, the organisation helps to improve the operations and organisational management of these centres;
3.    Public Policy advocacy- the organization works with various government bodies in Brazil to help the public sector develop policies that better meet the needs and basic rights of under served children and youth in the country.