Created by a group of friends during the pandemic, this Brazilian NGO has already reached more than 9,000 children with recreational, cultural, and social transformation activities on the northern coast of São Paulo.
In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a group of friends gathered with a simple goal: to deliver Easter eggs (traditional Brazilian chocolate egg given as a gift at Easter) to children who were away from school and social life. Their goal was to distribute 150 eggs. The result? They donated 750 eggs — and thus was born Onda da Esperança (Wave of Hope), a non-profit organization that now mobilizes around 200 volunteers and has already transformed the lives of more than 9,000 children in the municipality of São Sebastião, on the northern coast of São Paulo.
“The idea for the NGO came from the fact that children were out of school, and we wanted to bring them love and hope, even if it was just with an Easter egg”, recalls Patrícia Oliveira, one of the founders. “We wanted these children to know that there were people thinking about them”.
The initial push, combined with community support, got a boost from a promotional campaign by Americanas (a large Brazilian retail chain), which at the time offered cashback deals that allowed people to make more purchases on their website, enabling new actions such as delivering basic food baskets.
“What motivated us was seeing how much people embraced the cause. We started out among friends and soon realized that many people wanted to keep join us. That’s what drives us to this day”, says Patrícia.
With Alexandre Centurião as the administrative director and Marcella Centurião as co-founder, the NGO has grown in an organized way. Today, it aims to reach neighborhoods in all regions of the city, from the central area to the northern and southern coasts, which, due to their size and difficult access, require logistical planning.
“Some neighborhoods take up to an hour and a half to reach. Even so, every year we make sure to hold activities in all regions”, explains Patrícia. “We always check which neighborhoods haven’t yet received our actions, because for us it’s very important to make sure all children in São Sebastião are reached”, adds Alexandre.
One of their most remarkable initiatives is the cinema project. In 2022, the NGO began setting up improvised movie rooms in public schools, with a big screen, popcorn, and soft drinks. “This idea came up because there is no movie theater in the municipality of São Sebastião. Many children here have never had that experience. I myself only got to see a movie in a cinema through a social project when I was a child, in my neighborhood, Topolândia”, shares Patrícia.
“They showed Finding Nemo. To this day, I can close my eyes and remember that scene. It was a way to break the barrier to culture and recreation. For me, that screening planted a seed inside me, and we wanted to do the same for other children”.
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Last June, that seed sprouted in a special way: the NGO took more than 100 children to watch a movie in a real cinema for the first time. “It was the first time ever for all of them in a movie theater. We watched Lilo & Stitch, and I still get goosebumps just remembering it. We broke yet another barrier”.
With a solid network of volunteers, all formally registered and with signed commitment terms, Onda da Esperança is now preparing for its next big step. “Probably next month, we will be officially recognized as an NGO, which will allow us to seek public and private funding,” says Alexandre. “Our dream is to have our own headquarters, a space that lets us develop other activities, such as technical courses for young people. Most NGOs in the city focus on sports, but we want to take other paths, and for that we need support”.
Children from neighborhoods such as Topolândia, Itatinga, Olaria, Maresias, Camburi, Barra do Sahy, Morro do Abrigo, Enseada, Jaraguá, Canto do Mar, and Travessão have already benefited from the NGO’s activities. And the impact goes beyond the numbers.
“We want to create emotional memories, offering experiences that help form more empathetic adults. Onda da Esperança was born from a small gesture, and today it’s a wave of transformation”, concludes Patrícia.
How to collaborate
To support the Onda da Esperança project, you can become a volunteer by filling out the form available on the NGO’s Instagram (@ong.ondadaesperanca), contact them via WhatsApp at +55 12 99233-9843, or make a financial contribution of any amount via PIX to the tax ID (CNPJ) 51.739.874/0001-04.
