Criar e Transformar Association works to improve public transportation, unemployment and lack of public policies in the favelas of Rio

Criar e Transformar Association was created in 2017 by the educator and social activist Shirley Ramos, also director of the initiative, together with other women, teachers, local residents and volunteers.  It is a non-profit civil society institution located in Conjunto Maestro Olímpio dos Santos, popularly called Conjunto Urucânia em Paciência, a marginalized neighborhood in the far west zone of Rio de Janeiro.

The association emerged after Shirley’s daughter was born, when she met a school principal who opened the school on Saturdays to provide workshops in which the children’s mothers shared knowledge, even with the existing challenges.  This attitude caught Shirley’s attention and she wanted to bring this activity to the community where she lived, a place where hunger is very present, as well as lack of public transportation, unemployment and absence of public policies aimed at the territory.

Activity offered by the Criar e Transformar Association

Criar e Transformar Association offers various social activities and opportunities in the areas of art, culture and entrepreneurial education. Under the leadership of the Director, the project carries out projects and networks with partner institutions, aiming at women’s empowerment, social impact and solidarity economy for 35 women shellfish gatherers from Sepetiba and 280 families from the Caiçara community of Sepetiba Bay, in the west zone of Rio, mainly through the project “Mariscando Com Elas”.

For children: specific bond strengthening workshops, working on citizenship, environment, sexuality, self-esteem and financial education, with the aim of reducing or eliminating the impact of verbal violence, which is very large; keep them away from cell phones, direct them to the job market and teach them to live in society, as a high level of mental health imbalance has been observed.

For women: entrepreneurship, self-esteem workshop and financial strengthening, as most of the participants are in situations of domestic violence, or live in the home of relatives or, because they are unemployed, depend on basic food baskets.

It is not the purpose of the institution, but because of the last context and several other adverse circumstances that these women go through, there is also a need to deliver food baskets.

Shirley considers the work of paramount importance, as it takes to the territory what public policy ends up not taking and speaks of the challenges that the institution faces.

How to help?

The institution managed to acquire a property, to be paid in installments of one thousand reais and, at the time of this interview, there are still around 50 installments to be paid. The great challenge for the institution at the moment is to find sponsors, financiers who will make a financial contribution, who will pay the amounts due and maintain the activities, which will provide stability to the work and open other fans. They also need people who are sensitive to the causes with which the NGO works, such as Education, Art, Culture and Entrepreneurship.

If you like the project, you can help by following on Instagram and Facebook.

To make donations, simply transfer the desired amount to PIX: 33578025000126 (CNPJ).

Bank details:

Banco do Brasil

Criar e Transformar Association

Agency: 1257-2

Checking Account: 90.555-0

CNPJ: 33.578.025/0001-26

Consult more information at +55 (21) 9 7440-0725, also on WhatsApp.