In honor of her son, resident of Campinas creates NGO to combat depression

The ONG Gabriel, located in Capinas, São Paulo, is an institution with a short lifespan, but a well-defined purpose: to fight depression, suicide and other challenges related to mental health. The NGO focuses on giving access to free therapies for those assisted and, in the recreational, affective and social part, holding music classes, conversation circles and games.

Nádia Kelly Nunes, the founder of the ONG Gabriel, is from Pernambuco, married, 42 years old, mother of four children, and talks about the initiative.

“The ONG Gabriel comes to fill a need of Brazilian society in general, which is to obtain more support for people who face strong challenges concerning Mental Health and which, many times, can lead to suicide. We intend to give this public access to information and to provide support humanely by providing support in the physical, social, emotional and professional areas. Welcoming and listening to beneficiaries without judgment, with love and professionalism”, she says.

Nádia lives in Campinas for 25 years, she likes to live in a way that can help society in any way possible. In addition to being the founder of the NGO Gabriel, which began in September 2021, Nádia develops work with the street population, with a rehabilitation clinic and participates in various social projects, mostly carried out by churches.

The institution’s social director, Clara Ribeiro, explains the reason for creating the NGO.

“Gabriel, 21 years old, son of Nádia Kelly, died by suicide and the impact was very strong for all the people who lived with him, the pain of the loss was very great. It was then that we, Gabriel’s friends and family, together, decided to do something because our wish is that depression does not always have this tragic outcome if we can help. We want to do our best, through activities, so that other people don’t go through what we went through”, says Clara.

And that’s how, through pain, another good initiative was born, whose name honours a being who left early, interrupting dreams and plans of a lifetime.

Gabriel left on September 1st 2021 and the NGO took action on the following 10th. Instead of letting themselves be carried away by pain and nonconformity, these people decided to transform these feelings into solidarity. 

Clara Ribeiro also talks about the main values of the ONG Gabriel, which are love, diversity, non-judgment, education, kindness, empathy, teamwork, emotional balance, determination, forgiveness, playfulness and equity.

Current activities

The NGO welcomes and supports the beneficiaries in person or chats with them via Instagram or WhatsApp. Participants in the NGO body understand that it is necessary to offer support and referrals for professional help, in this case, carried out by psychologists. It is part of the institution’s plans to diversify and add other practices, thus also increasing the number of people assisted. The ONG Gabriel is currently looking for partnerships with sports teams and theatre schools and other partners in the region, intending to obtain discounts on the amounts charged for classes so that its beneficiaries, who are mostly residents of the periphery and in a situation of economic vulnerability, can have access to classes, as he understands that sport and art are strong allies in the battle against depression and its consequences. In addition, they also provide training to NGO employees with professionals from different areas.

The target audience is people who face, in some way, one type of challenge or several related to mental health. There is no age range for the public served, but the institution is more frequented by young people and adults.

The NGO aims to combat depression, suicide and other challenges related to mental health issues; promoting the unity of the local community around the problem, creating an extensive support network for people in these situations and making society aware of the reality of people who face depression and how to help them.

Clara Ribeiro says that the biggest achievement so far is that they managed to create support networks and be able to provide free therapies for people with depression or other mental health issues.

Clara also says that, during the initiative’s existence, they discovered that there are many more people than imagined needing this type of help.

Follow the ONG Gabriel on Instagram and Facebook. 

How to support?

Be a professional volunteer in your area of expertise or preference, get in touch with onggabriel@gmail.com

The NGO is raising funds to build its headquarters and start receiving and benefiting a larger number of people in need of help.

Make a PIX to 55 19 994476477, in the name of Danierge Dambroski, 1st Treasurer, BMG bank institution. You will be collaborating with the construction of the necessary physical space for the development of the NGO which will benefit many people.

Location: Heitor Ribas Bueno street, 231 – Cidade Satelite Iris, Campinas – São Paulo.