Our former monitor David Gomes, witnessed many of our transformations: renovations, changes in activities, new educators, among others. And it was with the arrival of the music educator, Abuin Junior, that David learned a valuable lesson: "I identified a lot with Abuin's way, so much so that I became a monitor in his workshop. He has an ease of conversation, always joking with everyone. I learned from him much more than music, because he talks about everything. And that's what I did when I worked as a music monitor and in the computer room, I tried to be friends with the children, especially those who were more restless. I realized that the best way for them to listen to me was to be their friend, that way, they respected me and understood what I was asking."

Eva is connected to Acorde in many ways: either by having attended activities during her childhood and adolescence, or by having participated in the tutoring program, and even by her mother, Eva Maria Henrique, who is an Acorde collaborator. And do you know what all these experiences have in common? The act of cooking! The tutoring experience was very enriching for our young woman, who had the opportunity to develop numerous skills, such as: resilience, self-management, empathy and commitment. “I think it’s really cool to show the possibilities in the kitchen, to take the kids out of their routine. I believe that cooking is just a way to show them that you can always find a new way to learn more about the world.”

Italo Victor has one of the most captivating smiles at Acorde. He has been with us since 2014. Our smiling little boy remembers that the children at his school and on his street used to talk about our activities, “I didn’t really know what I would do at Acorde, but my friends talked about the spaces and games they played here and I really wanted to visit.” Over the years, Ítalo has had unforgettable experiences, “one of the things I liked most at Acorde was the trip I took to Acampamento Paiol Grande! It took a long time to get there, but it was a lot of fun! I participated in scavenger hunts and even went horseback riding and kayaking, I’ll never forget that time there!”

Geovana, student and monitor who started participating in Acorde in 2018. Her mother was responsible for introducing Acorde, “she showed me the activities that took place here and said that it would be really cool and important for my development”. The teenager agrees with her mother, “Acorde always shows me new things, awakens my curiosity to learn more about the world!” And it’s not just the workshops that contribute to Geovana’s development; She considers the friendly relationship she has with our educators to be very important, especially with Wilson Procópio and Iris Guimarães, “I feel very inspired by them, for example, I really like football and Wilson always encourages me and says that It's not a sport just for boys. Iris, on the other hand, is always very lively and talks to me, I realize that they both like to know how I am, what I think about my future, and I feel supported by them!”

Isabela Cardoso has been attending Acorde since 2014 and her favorite workshop is the Sports workshop, with educator Wilson Procópio. “Before, I thought sports were just about running around, but with the workshops, I discovered many new things, like Flag Ball!”, which is considered an unconventional sport very similar to American football, but instead of being tackled, players are stopped when they lose the flags they carry around their waists. But this was not Isabela’s only discovery. “It was here at Acorde that I discovered my favorite sport: football! Before, I thought it wasn’t something cool, but with the workshops I saw how much fun it was and I started to like it more and more.” Sports also brought Isabela new friendships: “Over time, I got closer to the new kids in my class and had more friends to talk to and do activities with.”

''Through its activities, Acorde has contributed greatly to the development of Arthur, who had great difficulty in relationships and interacting with children. Today, he has seen significant improvement in this aspect. Acorde has also encouraged Arthur to believe in himself. He has developed great origami skills, an interest in caring for plants and animals, and a love for capoeira. All of this has made him a calmer and happier person. Acorde has been essential for the development of Arthur's self-esteem. He has been diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and ODD (oppositional defiant disorder). He began taking 4 controlled medications at Acorde. Today, we have been able to stop taking one of them.''

Derick de Oliveira is full of good stories to tell, besides being very curious about everything and everyone, “I remember that before I started here, I would watch people coming here from my house and I would think how cool it must be. As soon as I started, I loved everything! There is so much to learn!” Our boy doesn’t waste any opportunity to learn, so much so that in addition to his after-school classes, he also attends Taekwondo classes. “Acorde is an incredible invention! I love making friends and everyone I met here has taught me something, for example, Wilson, he is always so kind to everyone, I like that. One day I want to be like him and teach classes, maybe about technology. My dream is to find a way to use it to end wars, I don’t want people to continue to be so dependent on cell phones, I will find a way for them to have more free time and enjoy life more!”

''My biggest dream is to travel! Traveling to the United States, Korea, and I'm already taking 3 courses to learn Korean, which is a very difficult language and I'm learning it on my cell phone. I learned to access the courses through Acorde, because I wanted to learn when I found out that some people from the United States who spoke English were coming... then I was excited to learn to speak English. I was already taking a Spanish class on Duolingo but it wasn't working out, so I realized that I liked Korean. I love Acorde, I come every day. I like playing on the swing, with my friends, I like taking classes. When I grow up I want to travel to Korea, but then I have to study a lot.''

Suíane arrived here at Acorde at a very young age, at the age of 9 “my mother really encouraged me to come here, as my brother was already part of Acorde and really liked it. The first thing I discovered was capoeira! I loved the workshops and fell in love with the sport. Another thing that was a surprise for me was how easy it was for me to act. Before, I stayed away from workshops, but after I decided to try it, I discovered that I was totally wrong. Today, I don’t want to leave there anymore, the hours go by and I don’t even understand.” And part of this passion for theater is the result of the admiration she has for our educator Iris Guimarães, “she is very funny and loves to make us laugh and I identify with that, because I like to see people happy, I love making people smile. someone who is a little down!”

Maria Eduarda practically grew up with us. “Acorde has always been very close to me. Even before I joined, at the age of 7, my father would take me to participate in some activities. I learned a lot of things here, from crafts to helping my friends and even to being less shy.” According to Duda, the opportunity to leave her shyness aside came in the theater workshops. “I still get a little nervous when I’m going to perform, but then I look around and see that the whole group is there and that calms me down, because we support each other.” Duda is one of our Cultura Inglesa scholarship holders. She is doing great in English and wants to put it into practice in the future. “I want to live in another country, maybe in Canada or the United States. I know that English will open new doors for me! And I also want to spread the love and affection that I learned here at Acorde around the world.”

“What am I going to do when I grow up?” was the question Matheus asked himself when he was 10 years old. While attending Acorde, he participated in photography, sports, music and theater workshops, but ended up discovering his passion for gastronomy. During Acorde’s “Gastronomics” program, Matheus strengthened his bond with chef Diego Sacilotto, who, upon realizing the boy’s talent, immediately invited him to join his team. Today, Matheus is a graduate in gastronomy and continues to build his career - “In the future, I would like to move to Spain and work at Alquimia Fogo, run by Brazilian chef João Alcantara, because when I become a great chef, I also want other countries to know our recipes and ingredients.”

Great responsibilities are not a problem when you have determination, that's how Lucas thinks, folks! In addition to finishing his English course at Cultura Inglesa, he is also studying International Relations. Lucas is as important to Acorde as Acorde was and is to him. As a volunteer, he tells us about his learning experiences as a substitute educator. Through the processes of creating, planning and implementing his own workshops, Lucas says he is getting to know himself, but now as an educator. He loves following the children's development process closely year after year. He says gratefully that he just tries to give back, doing the same as they did for him.