Rukha Institutional Video (10 min)

History

The Rukha Institute (“breath of life” in Aramaic) is a non-governmental institution founded in October 2004 to help eradicate child labor and address issues of violence through a more human development of children, young people and their families.

The Rukha Institute also strives to increase societal awareness and to mobilize other NGOs from the private and public sectors, as well as citizens willing to engage in this cause, encouraging their integrated work to achieve common goals with greater efficiency and optimization of resources. The Institute currently works with several partners – including Fundação Telefônica, SMADS (Municipal Agency for Social Development), the submunicipalities of Campo Limpo and M’Boi Mirim, Unibanco, Parceiros da Educação and Microsoft, among others.

Mission

The mission of the Rukha Institute is to engage e mobilize every segment of society by increasing their awareness as participants of the social reality and establishing links and networks to bring everyone together in a concerted effort to change the current scenario.

Values
Transparency
Synchronicity
Empowerment

The Rukha Institute is currently active in southern São Paulo through:

1.Virada Social Project. This is the Institute’s main project and has a direct impact on the lives of children, young people and families in high-risk or child labor situations. The Project helps to keep children and adolescents off the streets and allows them to enter, remain in or return to a formal school and join special educational programs. Concerned with the biological, psychological and social development of the families of the children and adolescents under our care, we also empower them to define a “life project” capable of assuring their social and economic autonomy. At present, 102 families (567 people) are beneficiaries of this project, but we hope to increase their number to nearly 200 still in 2008, providing direct assistance to an average of 1,200 people.

2.Local Development. The Local Development Project aims to strengthen collaboration with other social organizations in our region, increasing the synergy between the various levels of relationship – families, organizations, governmental agencies and civil society in general – through:

- Transversal projects. These involve bringing the community together to face common challenges by articulating partner organizations and mobilizing other players.

- Organizational sustenance. This initiative offers customized support to foster the sustainability and autonomy of organizations that are essential to carry out common projects.

3.Mobilization. The aim here is to promote reflection and mobilize society by identifying and absorbing opportunities and resources (human, financial and institutional), which are invested directly in the Virada Social and Local Development projects.

Results in 2 years of project in the model of integrated actuation:

- 99% of the children are no submitted to child labor .
- 98% of the children are now attending formal schools .
- 75% children attending school’s complementary activities.
- 49% of the families having at least one family member with a defined life project.
- 25% of adults enrolled in professionalization courses.
- 29% of unemployed adults reinserted in the job market .
- Families have already accessed more than 600 vocational courses.

For further information, please contact us: Central 55 11 3168 9449
e-mail: contato@rukha.org