The year was marked by the expansion of the Adolescent Apprentice project, a new stage in Building the Future and Ramacrisna being one of the 100 best NGOs in Brazil for the seventh consecutive year.
Another year comes to an end and Ramacrisna can celebrate the achievements of the last 12 months. There have been several milestones, including the expansion of projects, the consolidation of programmes and awards.
That’s why, before starting a new phase, with new initiatives that can transform lives, Ramacrisna looks back on the main moments of 2023:
In January, the Institute inaugurated a new centre for the Adolescent Apprentice programme in Igarapé, in partnership with the city council. It was the second centre opened in partnership with municipalities. The first was in Juatuba, in September 2022.
Adolescente Aprendiz seeks to train and direct young people aged between 14 and 21 into the labour market. The project offers theoretical training in the following areas: administrative assistant, logistics assistant, banking services assistant, audiovisual assistant, trade and services assistant, music apprentice, industrial automation apprentice, welding apprentice and car mechanic apprentice.
In March, Ramacrisna launched its second Impact Report. With a focus on ESG, the document is intended to consolidate an entire programme of actions based on Compliance, Ethics and Conduct, careful management of the use of resources and impeccable accountability. Much more than that, through the Report we present the results to our partners and to society, including figures, indicators and socio-economic impacts achieved by the public we serve.
The report showed that for every R$1.00 invested in the vocational courses offered by Ramacrisna, R$6.81 is returned to society.
In May, Ramacrisna celebrated 18 years of one of its main projects, Adolescente Aprendiz. Over the years, more than 4,000 socially vulnerable teenagers have been trained and placed in the labour market. The programme is a fundamental tool for giving young people new opportunities and purposes.
In addition to the head office in Betim and the units in Belo Horizonte, Juatuba and Igarapé, eight other cities are served by the programme. Cities are served: Contagem, Esmeraldas, Ibirité, Mateus Leme, Nova Lima, Ribeirão das Neves, São Joaquim de Bicas and Sarzedo.
August was a busy month, especially for Belgo Cercas – Ramacrisna’s franchise specialising in urban fencing. The unit was the first in the country to be rebranded.
The idea was to unite the brand with the strength of Belgo Arames, the largest producer of steel wire in Latin America and the franchisor of the business. Belgo Cercas’ visual identity will follow Belgo Arames’ brand evolution, which was updated in December last year to reflect its strategic development in the country.
Belga Cercas – the unit on Av. Nossa Senhora do Carmo in Belo Horizonte – donates all its profits to the maintenance of Ramacrisna’s projects. For every R$100 in purchases, R$28 is invested in social actions. In other words, more than R$1.7 million a year goes to the Institute, the equivalent of more than 22,000 a year.
In the same month, the Ramacrisna Youth Philharmonic Orchestra turned 18. The project transforms lives through music and had a special performance to commemorate the anniversary.
In all, 40 musicians who attend music theory and practice classes on string, wind and percussion instruments, conducted by maestro Eliseu Martins de Barros and teachers Alexandre, Elias and Lucas, performed a repertoire that included songs such as ‘Cor de Rosa Choque’, ‘Menino da Porteira’ and ‘I Feel Good’.
Also in August, professors and students from Liverpool Hope University landed at the Instituto Ramacrisna to put another edition of the Globalised Solidarity project into action.
Globalised Solidarity project. The partnership has existed since 2004 and Ramacrisna is the only non-English-speaking institution to take part in the project.
In all, there were 27 days of exchange, in which the group was able to have an enriching cultural and knowledge exchange, developing artistic, sporting and educational activities with the students of the Institute’s various centres, such as the Ramacrisna Educational Support Centre – CAER, the Ramacrisna Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, FabLab (Fabrication Laboratory), among others.
It was also in the second half of 2023 that the 6th edition of the Building the Future project began. In all, 17,000 people will be impacted by the initiative, which offers professional qualification courses, sports activities and school tutoring, with 4,362 people benefiting directly, including children, young people and adults aged between 6 and 45.
The project is aimed at residents of the Imbiruçu and Petrovale neighbourhoods in Betim, and the towns of Ibirité and Sarzedo – neighbouring regions to the Gabriel Passos Refinery (REGAP) and is sponsored by Petrobras.
For the seventh year in a row, Ramacrisna was voted one of the 100 best Brazilian NGOs. The award recognises organisations with excellence in areas such as governance, transparency, communication and accountability.
The award is organised jointly by Instituto O Mundo que Queremos (IOMQQ) and Instituto Doar, sponsored by Ambev VOA and supported by Instituto Humanize, Prosas and Toyota do Brasil.
Even before 2024 arrives, Ramacrisna is already preparing to transform the lives of more people. Over the next 12 months, new projects will be implemented and others expanded. In addition, the Institute will continue to offer education, leisure, culture and professionalisation options to socially vulnerable people living in 12 cities in Greater Belo Horizonte.
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