Brazil: Guainumbi

A community for people with support needs and their families in São Paulo

Where is your organisation located?

The non-profit Associação Beneficente Guainumbi is located in the Jardim Aracati neighbourhood in the south of São Paulo, Brazil, right in the heart of the community known as Favela da Muriçoca. It is an urban area where many families live, whose social reality brings challenges but also strong community bonds, cultural diversity, solidarity and a close-knit neighbourly life.

In contrast to its urban surroundings, there is a great deal of vegetation on Guainumbi's grounds. Trees, plants, gardens and green spaces are part of everyday life at the centre. They make the place more welcoming and give the people in our care direct contact with nature. This is what makes Guainumbi such a special place within the community.

The centre supports people with intellectual disabilities and multiple disabilities and aims to offer them an environment shaped by security, inclusion, learning and community. Activities take place both indoors and outdoors, with nature woven into the educational and social experience.

Brazil is a country of continental scale, known for its great cultural, social and geographical diversity. São Paulo, where we are based, is one of the country's largest urban regions and brings together very different realities of life: from heavily urbanised areas to communities on the outskirts, to places where nature is still present. It is precisely at this intersection of community, diversity and nature that Associação Beneficente Guainumbi carries out its work.

What does a typical day at your organisation look like?

A typical day at Associação Beneficente Guainumbi begins with welcoming the children, young people and adults with disabilities in an atmosphere of care, respect and community. Throughout the day they take part in activities planned according to their abilities, needs and possibilities, always valuing each person's independence and development.

Learning happens above all through hands-on experience, living together, and taking part in everyday activities. Offerings in art, painting, watercolour painting, woodwork, computing, vegetable gardening, cooking, music and other craft activities foster creativity, coordination, communication and independence. Outdoor activities and contact with the vegetation on Guainumbi's grounds are also part of this learning process.

Times of being together, meals, celebrations and group activities strengthen friendships and a sense of belonging. Beyond passing on content, we want to create experiences that respect each person's own pace and contribute to their participation in society. In this way, everyday life at Guainumbi is renewed each day through care, inclusion, art, hands-on work, nature and, above all, human relationships.

What makes your organisation special?

Associação Beneficente Guainumbi is much more than an organisation. For many of our young people and their families, it is a place where they finally find security, understanding and the certainty that they are not alone.

Everyone who comes to us brings a story. They are young people with disabilities who have often already faced prejudiced looks, socially imposed limitations and closed doors – simply because someone was unable to see beyond their difficulties. Along with them come their families, who bring worry, exhaustion, uncertainty, and above all, hope.

Guainumbi arose precisely out of this need: to welcome people who so often find no place. It began with the wish to make a difference in these people's lives. Over time, it grew into a place of encounter, learning and achievement.

Here we learn that something which might seem like a small step forward to some can mean an enormous achievement for one of our young people. Learning something new, carrying out a task more independently, building a friendship, or simply the joy of feeling part of a group – these are moments of enormous significance to us.

What makes Guainumbi special are precisely the people who are here. Every young person teaches us daily that there are many ways to learn, to communicate, to show affection and to see the world.

That is why it matters most to us that they are never defined solely by a disability. Before any diagnosis, there are dreams, feelings, wishes, and a person who deserves to be respected, accepted and given opportunities.

We know we cannot remove all the difficulties they will encounter along their path. But we can make sure that, during their time with us, they know: there is a place where they are expected, loved, welcomed and valued exactly as they are.

What are the special highlights of your year?

Associação Beneficente Guainumbi is special because it is a place where every person is accepted and valued in their individuality, and where their own pace, needs and potential for development are respected. We mainly care for children, young people and adults with intellectual disabilities and multiple disabilities, many of whom come from the local community and surrounding areas.

Our work is inspired by anthroposophical philosophy and follows the principles of social therapy and Waldorf education. These shape our view of the whole-person development of each individual. That is why we value art, music, crafts, manual work, contact with nature, the rhythm of activities and communal living as important paths to learning and development.

Guainumbi was born from the wish to open up opportunities for inclusion, development, independence and social participation for people with disabilities. Over the course of its history, the centre has grown into a large community made up of the people in its care, their families, professionals, volunteers and partners.

For us, it is especially important to see the person beyond their disability, to recognise their abilities and to celebrate every step of progress. Above all, Guainumbi is a place of belonging, community and care, where we want to give every person the opportunity to learn, to be creative, to take part and to be happy.

What connects your team?

What connects our team is the certainty that every person has abilities, talents and potential that need to be recognised and nurtured. We share a commitment to accepting every child, young person and adult in their individuality, respecting their own pace, their story and their particular way of being in the world. Inspired by anthroposophical philosophy, social therapy and Waldorf education, we want to create an environment where care, education, art, work, nature and human relationships go hand in hand.

Our team is convinced that learning goes far beyond traditional content. That is why we try to create experiences that foster independence, creativity, a sense of responsibility, communal living and self-confidence. We want our children and young people to grow up feeling they belong to the community and can take an active part in society, by making decisions and developing their own abilities.

For the future, we want to give them tools for as independent a life as possible, but also emotional bonds, security and genuine opportunities for participation in society. We want every person to be able to discover what they can do, express who they are, and find their place in the world. Beyond preparing them for the future, we want to shape a present together with them in which they are respected, heard, valued and happy.