VOLUNTEERING
THE IRRESISTIBLE
URGE TO DO THE
RIGHT THING
HIGHWAY BLAZING TRAILS
IN THE PERUVIAN ANDES
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
WOMEN GAIN GROUND IN CONSTRUCTION
Educate.
Transform.
Believe.
The Acreditar (Believe) professional
education program prepares men and
women for skilled jobs that meet the
requirements of the Group’s Businesses.
In Brazil, it prioritizes local candidates who
are participating in the Federal
Government’s Family Grant Program. The
program has also been deployed in nine
other countries under different names.
Since 2008, the Acreditar Program
has graduated over 73,000 people,
and 43,000 have been hired
to work on Odebrecht projects.
E D I T O R I A L
BEING USEFUL AND
SERVING OTHERS
T
hey are active in several
parts of Brazil, Panama,
the Dominican Republic, Peru,
Venezuela, Mexico, Angola,
Mozambique and wherever else the
heart can reach.
When they get to the places
where they pursue their calling
of service, donating their time,
energy and generosity, they meet
people who have never enjoyed the
security of seeing food on their
tables every day, or walked hand in
hand with their father or mother,
or received a visit from a child or
grandchild in their twilight years.
Odebrecht Group members (and
their relatives) who do volunteer
work immerse themselves in
situations just like these. What
drives them is an irrepressible
desire to be useful; to help and
serve others; to share. In the 47
pages of our special report on
Volunteering in this issue, you
will read about initiatives that
are making the difference for
people living in the most difficult
2
- and sometimes most dramatic conditions imaginable.
Despite the consternation
and sadness these stories can
sometimes cause, we hope they
will inspire you and make you
feel optimistic. The experiences
showcased in the following pages
have proved capable of changing
the lives of children, adolescents,
adults and seniors while benefiting
the people who get involved in
these programs – Odebrecht
volunteers. Starting now, we invite
you to understand the ethos of
service that drives them.
Good reading. ]
Holanda Cavalcanti
Odebrecht informa
3
h i g h l i g h t s
COVER
HYDROELECTRIC DAM
Almério de Brito, an Odebrecht member from the Santo
Antônio Dam construction project, with kids at the Semear
Educational Center in Porto Velho. Photo by Almir Bindilatti
58
06
VOLUNTEERING: The urge to help others
and the ethos of service drive Odebrecht members
to do volunteer work in their local communities
The Simplício Hydroelectric Complex:
a feat of engineering born of creativity,
persistence and the motivation
to break paradigms
HIGHWAY
68
The Carhuaz-Chacas-San Luís Highway,
built in the Andes Mountains, will boost
development in a tourist region of Peru
that is home to over 200,000 people
4
55
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
The Ilha Pura project makes Rio’s
Barra da Tijuca district even trendier
FOLKS
INTERVIEW
72
62
A snapshot of the lives of Wanda Dorville,
Katherine Calle, Frederico Barbosa and João Freire
66
COMMUNITY
Literacy: the company joins
forces with the public sector
to build the future
74
INTERNSHIPS
84
FINAL WORD
Antonio Gavioli: the leader of a team whose victories
are down to appreciation and respect
ARGUMENT
54
Youths seize the chance
to enter the professional world
Luciana Arce and the transforming
experience of volunteer work
Genésio Couto discusses the commitment
of Odebrecht members and their relatives
to social causes
Odebrecht informa
5
c o v e r
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Children in Manchay, a disadvantaged community in Lima, Peru: a day-care center built with the help of expat Odebrecht members’ wives
6
Celso Doni
LIBERATING
GESTURES
ODEBRECHT MEMBERS
ARE HELPING CHANGE COMMUNITIES
AND THEMSELVES THROUGH
VOLUNTEER WORK
Odebrecht informa
7
Guilherme Afonso
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Children at the Mozambican Heroes Secondary School in Moatize, Mozambique: another source of hope
Leaving your comfort zone to delve into the world of people who often have nothing to eat or wear,
or sometimes just need someone to talk to, takes courage and generosity, time and energy. Above all,
it takes love – for others and for yourself.
This special report shows how volunteer work can be fulfilling, transforming and even
transcendent – for everyone involved.
In Brazil and the other countries where they are present, guided by the principles of the Odebrecht
Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO), Odebrecht members – and in many cases, their families – are
taking part in a wide range of initiatives that bring more dignity, joy, hope and security to the lives
of children, youths, adults and seniors. As you will see, these experiences can sometimes make those
volunteers rethink and reassess their own way of living.
Some of these stories brought tears to the eyes of seasoned reporters, photographers and editors.
Tears that were often followed by smiles of relief and optimism. Forgive us if this sounds corny or
melodramatic, but the stories that fill the next 46 pages are very special - highly representative of the
human condition – and we’re only human.
8
π Rear, from left, Luciana Muniz, Marcia Santini, Luiza Cabral da Silva, Solange Penna, Sônia Cruz
and Gabriela Fierro, in La Romana: computers and joy
SCREENS THAT TURN
INTO DOORS
Written by Luiz Carlos Ramos | Photos by Edu Simões
Schoolteachers and students in the Dominican
town of Alemán, in San Pedro de Macorís County,
had a beautiful reason to celebrate on August 23,
the day they went back to school: the arrival of the
Internet.
Those teachers and over 300 of their students
aged between 5 and 15 now have access to the miracle of information technology, which brings the
world within reach. This is down to a productive
alliance between the community and the wives
of Odebrecht expat members in the Dominican
Republic, who donated the computers. Those
women are the founders of the Love of Others
Movement (Movimento de Amor ao Próximo or
MAP), which is devoted to volunteer work.
The Alemán Elementary School has received
eight computers. It is located near the San Pedro
Macorís-La Romana stretch of the Del Coral
Highway on the Vial del Este Corridor, part of the
route that links the nation’s capital, Santo Domingo,
to Punta Cana. Another school, Villa Padre Nuestro,
in La Romana, got 10 computers last year. In 2013,
the MAP continued its support by donating school
supplies and library books. The volunteers took the
Odebrecht informa
9
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Students at the Alemán Elementary School in San Pedro de Macorís: experiencing a new era
with the help of MAP volunteers
decision to make these donations at a meeting of
the MAP, whose symbol is a pinwheel that is blue
and red, the colors of the Dominican Republic, along
with the green and yellow of the Brazilian flag.
The MAP’s director, Sônia Cruz, was a schoolteacher in her home state of Bahia, Brazil. She
is married to engineer Marco Cruz, the CEO of
Odebrecht Dominican Republic. She explains:
“This movement got started seven years ago,
and now more than 50 wives of Odebrecht expat
members are involved. Most of us are Brazilian,
but there are also women from Peru, Ecuador,
Colombia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
We raise funds at Christmas parties, St. John’s Day
festivities and feijoadas (traditional Brazilian “bean
feasts”), as well as through our monthly donations,
and use them to support social outreach projects.
We donate household items, help young and adult
patients in hospitals, and support schools by giving them computers and better facilities. The joy on
10
the faces of the people we are helping has been a
wonderful sight!”
“I have seen tremendous progress”
The party at the school in Alemán begins with
the staging of “Los Trans-Inovadores” (The TransInnovators), in which each member of a group of five
students picks a component of a desktop computer and explains how it works: the screen, keyboard,
mouse, processor or webcam.
Nairobi Perez, 13, displays a poster with a drawing of a mouse on her chest. She declares: “Nothing
works without me.” Nairobi has learned to use the
Internet, and is now on Facebook. “I have lots of
friends there,” she says.
The school principal, Victor Grullon, is visibly moved when he gives his speech: “I’ve worked
here for 20 years and now I have seen tremendous
progress. I would like to thank these ladies from
Odebrecht for their help.”
Sônia Cruz speaks on behalf of the MAP: “It is
an honor for us to do our bit for education in such a
friendly country, for the future of its children.”
Then they all go out into the schoolyard, where
the children are standing under an awning. They
sing the Dominican national anthem and listen to
a lecture on how to prevent cavities, given by the
Brazilian dentist Ila Braga Cruz Vicentin, Sônia and
Marco Cruz’s daughter. After that, the MAP hands
out toothbrushes and toothpaste. The young students also get textbooks, notebooks and pencils.
Márcia de Sousa, the wife of Brazilian ambassador José Marcos Vinicius de Sousa, is there at
Sônia’s invitation and helps distribute the books to
the kids. “It’s wonderful to see all these smiling faces,” she says.
π Miguelito Tamare (bottom) and Roberto Napoleón,
students at Villa Padre Nuestro: more reasons to smile
Renovating and expanding a school
The day before the party in Alemán, MAP members visited the Villa Padre Nuestro School in La
Romana, where they had donated computers in
2012, and Odebrecht has renovated and expanded
the school building. Principal María Regina Sarely
observes: “Thanks to the renovation, our school is
more productive. And computers give students new
perspectives.”
Luciana Muniz, who is married to Lito Gusmão,
the Business Development Director for the Del
Coral Highway project, is the MAP’s treasurer. “We
try to multiply the donations we collect so we can
increase the benefits to the schools. Here, we’ve donated a library, and we are always contributing more
books,” she says.
Other wives of Odebrecht members visited the
schools in August: Sandra Bartolomeu, Márcia
Santini, Vanessa Campos, Marcella Browne, Liana
Carvalho, Solange Penna and Letícia Coelho, from
Brazil; Gabriela Fierro, from Ecuador, and Elizabeth
Tejeda, from Peru. Claudio Castro, the officer
Responsible for Communication and Business
Development at Odebrecht Dominican Republic,
has extensive experience with social outreach programs and supports the MAP directly.
Roberto Napoleon, 8, and Miguelito de la Cruz,
10, are playing basketball on the refurbished playing
court at Padre Nuestro. “I love basketball, but I want
to be an engineer,” says Miguelito. The Dominican
Republic ranked 86th in FIFA’s soccer ranking in
August, but this Caribbean nation is a powerhouse
in basketball and boxing, sports that fill the nation’s gyms and stadiums, and in baseball, exporting sports idols to the United States. “We’re huge!”
says Roberto. ]
Odebrecht informa
11
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π From left, Wanessa Faria, Ivani Galvão, Helena Liberatori, Helen Baldi and Tereza Weyll with children aided by ANAR in Mexico City:
helping kids who had a difficult start in life
12
GIVE ME YOUR HAND
Written by Luiz Carlos Ramos | Photos by Ricardo Teles
José Antonio, 15, wants to be a musician. His talent
has blossomed thanks to piano lessons. Giovani,
16, dreams of becoming an architect. His drawings
show his artistry. Estrellita just want to play. She is
only three years old.
The dreams and joys of José Antonio, Giovani
and Estrellita share something in common: all three
are part of the group of 34 teenagers and children 17 girls and 17 boys - who live in three homes on the
same street in Mexico City, where they receive help
to build a future that is far removed from the troubles of their early childhood.
They are all enrolled in public schools and sponsored by Ayuda a Niños y Adolescentes en Riesgo
(Aid for At-Risk Children and Adolescents; ANAR),
a private charity of Spanish origin founded in 1970
that is active in Mexico, Peru and Colombia, and financed by a group of private companies.
Children are considered to be at risk when they
come from family environments where their physical, mental or emotional wellbeing is under threat,
either because their parents have died or are in jail,
or are battling alcoholism or drug addiction. When
government agencies find at-risk children, they refer them to ANAR. Present in Mexico since 1995,
the association receives donations in order to provide underage children with housing, food, clothing
and assistance.
The three homes in the Santa Cruz Acayucán
neighborhood rely on the work of a staff paid by
ANAR and the missionary work of two Colombian
nuns who are also educators, María Perpetua
Hernández and María Rocío Fuerta. In February this
year, the ANAR team got a valuable boost from the
wives of members of Odebrecht expats in Mexico,
who started the Dame la Mano (Give me your Hand)
project.
Like a single flower
The project’s name could not be more fitting.
It was inspired by the words of the Chilean poet
Gabriela Mistral: “Give me your hand and we will
dance/Give me your hand and you will love me/
We will be like a single flower/Like one flower and
nothing more.” Tereza Weyll, the wife of Luís Weyll,
the Odebrecht CEO in Mexico, explains: “I felt the
need to develop a social outreach project, so I talked
to the wives of expatriate Odebrecht and Braskem
members and we started a group that is independent of the organization’s corporate social responsibility programs and investments. We started helping disadvantaged children to give them a chance
at a better future. That is how Dame la Mano was
born.” Its logo is green and red, referencing the colors of the Mexican flag and symbolizing children
holding hands in a circle. It was designed by one
of the volunteers, Lara Solis, the wife of Guillermo
Solis, the Legal Affairs Director for Odebrecht
Mexico.
Communication and People team member
Gabriela Passano has been with Odebrecht for seven years. She did some research and came up with
the names of institutions that the group of wives
could work with, and they decided to lend a hand to
ANAR. “As soon as we made that decision, we got
together to assess how we would support ANAR and
establish our action plan,” says Wanessa Faria, who
is married to Odebrecht Mexico Administration
and Finance Director Gleiber Faria. “I’m a treasurer,
along with Ivani Galvão and Louise Gordilho,” she
explains. “We provide support for ANAR’s kids in
two ways: monthly donations and volunteer work,
which involves paying weekly visits to spend time
with the children, helping them with their homework, reading books, making handicrafts and giving
music lessons, providing tips on personal hygiene,
and so on. The money we raise is deposited in a
separate bank account set up for that specific purpose, and it’s used to meet the children’s education
and health needs.”
Odebrecht Informa visited all three ANAR homes
and saw how joyfully the children respond to the
Brazilian women’s affection. In compliance with
Mexican law, the photos on these pages do not show
the faces of the minor children at that institution.
“We are a family”
As soon as the door of the Juan Pablo II home
opens, eight children rush up for a hug. The youngest, Estrellita, smiles and jumps into the arms of
Ivani Galvão, who cheerfully hugs her back. “We
are a family,” says Ivani, the wife of Antonio Galvão,
from Braskem. This home is for children up to the
age of 7.
Odebrecht informa
13
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Clockwise from bottom left, Helena, Wanessa, Ivani and Tereza, with kids and their toys:
protecting and celebrating childhood
Helen Baldi, who is married to engineer Eduardo
Rozendo, the Odebrecht Project Director for the
Ethylene XXI project, joins the boys in singing several
English-language songs she has taught them. “In Brazil,
I taught English to business executives. Here, my students are children. It’s been wonderful,” she says.
The home next door is for children between the
ages of 8 and 10. The third is for teenagers. There,
Helena Liberatore, who is married to Rodolpho
Scheefer, the Project Control Engineer at Braskem,
invites José Antonio to play the piano. He tackles
the keys like a true artist. Helena approves: “José
Antonio is creative. He has a gift for music.”
Nearby, Giovani displays his colorful drawings on
a table. “He wants to be an architect. We will help
pay his tuition,” says Tereza Weyll. “Today, Dame la
Mano is more than just about volunteer work done
by people who want to do some good. It is our mission in life,” she says.
Besides the five volunteers who visited the ANAR
homes on August 19, Dame la Mano’s membership
includes 11 more expatriate volunteers who were vacationing abroad at the time. They are Leila Bischoff,
14
Carolina Lepecki, Louise Gordilho, Liziane Ramos,
Adriana Aiala, Maryângela Negrão, Aline Enck,
Janeide Machado, Ana Maria Schimmelpfeng, Sílvia
Pires Migueles and Lara Solis.
Silvia Santillán, the General Director of ANAR
Mexico, says: “I had never received support like this
from a group of volunteers before. They are like angels who came to our home, donating time, attention and loving care to our children and adolescents.
Previously, all the donations we received from foreigners were financial.”
Tereza Weyll observes: “The Odebrecht Group’s
operations in Mexico are growing, so we will certainly be getting the support of more expat wives to
strengthen the Dame la Mano Project even further.”
Two days after their visit, an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale jolted Mexico City in the
early morning and all the tall buildings were evacuated. There were no casualties; people were just shaken
up. But the residents of the ANAR homes didn’t feel
a thing: they slept right through it. Dame la Mano’s
volunteers hope that this is a good sign for the future
of the young people they are dedicated to helping. ]
π Children at a day-care center in Lima’s Manchay community: their eyes say it all
FRIENDS JOIN THE GOOD FIGHT
Written by João Marcondes | Photos by Celso Doni
Franklin Delano Roosevelt School. Lima, Peru, 1997.
Two girls, aged 6 and 8, are chatting in the schoolyard. Passing by to fetch her son, a Brazilian woman,
Marilene Silveira Luna, recognizes the language the
two youngsters are speaking: Brazilian Portuguese,
with a slight regional accent. Where could they be
from? Bahia? “Who is these girls’ mother?” she asks
in amazement. Their mother is just a few yards away,
in the principal’s office, enrolling her children in the
city’s American school. Ready for a new life, she has
come to stay. Her name: Sara Barata.
That first meeting between Marilene and Sara led
to much more than a beautiful and firm friendship. It
has become a story of dedicated community service
and made history in Peru. Although both women live
in comfortable neighborhoods in Lima, the nation’s
capital, the main routes they travel every week are
not at all glamorous. They jolt along the dusty and
winding roads to Huaycán, a district of Lima where
you can hardly say that the houses even have walls,
just thin layers of plywood. Its residents are impoverished, most of them refugees who fled the highlands and Amazon when the Shining Path guerilla
group was spreading terror in those regions.
Breathing the desert air under a blazing sun, they
arrive at the neighborhood community center, an oasis
of joy and knowledge for that community, and meet up
with Elba Eufrásio, who is revolutionizing the lives and
behavior of women in Huaycán. Elba is 35 years old
and bears the marks of suffering on her face. When the
Odebrecht informa
15
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π The Luisa Marilac Nursing Home: the building was refurbished as a result of volunteer work
Odebrecht Informa photographer asks her to pose and
smile, she balks. “I don’t smile very much,” she says,
with warmth and resignation. She spent three years
enduring domestic violence inflicted by her ex-husband. At the time, she was not sure why she was being
beaten. After she managed to escape her violent home,
she wanted her story to serve as an example. But how?
The answer came through Damas Amigas del Peru
(Women Friends of Peru), led by Sara, its president,
with Marilene as its vice president. They built the
center, which has a computer room and a library/
playroom with a 42-inch plasma TV and a popcorn
machine for informal movie sessions. More importantly, it is a place where women can attend talks by
psychologists and experts on women’s rights and issues related to civil rights and citizenship.
With proper training, Elba became an important
leader in that region. Women like her and her friends
Maximiliana Machquai, 39, and Leonza Quique, 50,
hold meetings at the center, but they also use it to make
a living: they produce and sell handicrafts there. “We
used to feel abandoned. We had this problem, which
16
is very common here, of violence against women, but
thanks to the strength and warmth of these Brazilian
ladies, we are getting back our dignity,” says Elba.
Aid is a two-way street. “I feel better in Huaycán
than I do on Javier Prado [a tony street in Lima]),”
says Sara Barata, the wife of Jorge Barata, for many
years the CEO of Odebrecht Peru and now the CEO
of Odebrecht Latinvest. “It is very rewarding. It gives
meaning to my life,” Marilene affirms.
As a child, Sara saw social problems first hand.
When her mother, Lucia Borges, was the mayor of
the town of Conceição do Almeida, 171 km from
Salvador, Bahia, she used to take Sara to visit kindergartens, schools, nursing homes and wherever else
there was a problem to be solved. As Lucia used to
say, “What the trousers won’t do, the skirt will.” Sara
has never forgotten those words.
Working on several fronts
Damas Amigas del Peru is an informal, voluntary, non-profit organization formed by the
wives of expatriate Odebrecht members and some
special guests. They include Manaura Marilene,
who founded the organization along with Sara, and
is married to a Peruvian physician, Víctor Luna.
The group is made up of more than 20 women
(the number varies) who work on several fronts in
Lima. In Huaycán they are building the area’s first
brick-and-mortar school. They have renovated two
nursing homes and are helping provide food for
their elderly residents. They have also donated beds
and equipment to a children’s hospital and a hospital for cancer patients, and built a cafeteria and a
day-care center in Manchay, another disadvantaged
area of Lima, in addition to organizing several lectures and festivities for needy communities. They
help over a thousand people directly and just as many indirectly, like the mothers who can drop off their
kids at well-organized day-care centers before going
to work.
“The most important thing here is the ethos of
giving and commitment. You learn to share your
intelligence, your smile, with those in need,” argues
Maise Guimarães, a newcomer to Lima who just
joined Damas. Her husband, Ricardo Boleira, is the
current Odebrecht CEO in Peru.
Damas Amigas del Peru’s main fundraising event
is the Annual Feijoada at the Brazilian Embassy in
Lima. That traditional “bean feast” will mark its
10th anniversary in 2014. There are already more
than 2,000 people on the guest list whose admission fees finance social outreach projects. Damas also has the institutional support of the Brazil Group
(in Peru), whose members include over 50 companies from several countries that encourage volunteering and social work. Jorge Barata is the group’s
president.
Thanks to this joint effort, the volunteers from
Damas manage to coax a rare smile from Domitila
Truero, 92, a patient at the Luisa Marilac nursing home, which has been completely refurbished
thanks to the group’s efforts. Alone in the world,
without any contact with her only daughter, who
married and moved to the UK, this former seamstress only gets out of bed when Sara and her team
arrive at the home in Lima’s Surquillo district,
which houses 21 seniors. “You know what I like
about these Brazilian women? They’re affectionate.
They love hugging and kissing,” says Domitila, who
never takes her eyes off Sara. ]
π Sara Barata and nursing home resident Domitila Truero: when caring is the most precious gift of all
Odebrecht informa
17
V o l u n t e e r i n g
FOR THAT EXTRA SMILE
Written by Eduardo Souza Lima | Photos by Guilherme Afonso
Tichaona means “we will see what happens” in the
Shona language. Born in Zimbabwe, Tichaona José
Xavier was renamed “Teacher” when he moved
to Mozambique as a child. Today, that AngloMozambican name is a kind of answer to his original one: at the age of 19, after living at the São José
Orphanage in Tete since he was 12, he rolled up
his sleeves to help volunteers from the Moatize
Expansion Project (PME) renovate the playground
and build a playroom at the institution. His ethos of
service garnered him the opportunity to get a job as
a workshop assistant at Odebrecht. Because the philosophy which directs the Partilhe (Share) Program includes the premise that volunteering means spreading
knowledge and experience, Teacher now dreams of
teaching his craft to the four siblings he left behind in
his homeland. “I want to do for them what people who
weren’t even from my own family did for me,” he says.
Claudia Andrade, from the Brazilian state of Bahia,
is the officer Responsible for Social Responsibility at
the PME. After five years in Mozambique, she has her
own mantra: “Volunteering is a virus; it is infectious.”
Voluntary work at PME has already mobilized almost
200 members in more than 20 programs, benefiting
approximately 6,000 people since 2011.
Quality Manager Fabio Jaramillo, and Control and
Quality Coordinator Sérgio Salazar, both Colombian
members of the Odebrecht PME team, were “infected” while still in the United States, when they were
working on the Miami Metro expansion project.
While there, they helped renovate houses for disadvantaged people in the vicinity. In Tete, they engaged
in renovation work at São José, which is home to 70
children and young people, and “infected” Teacher.
“The idea came from Sergio, who came back from a
visit saying that the children didn’t have anywhere to
play,” Jaramillo remembers. “The toys and equipment
in the old playground were in a terrible state. It was
dangerous for the children,” confirms Sister Maria
Rafael, who runs the institution. The virus spread
around the world: “We received donations from eight
different countries,” Jaramillo adds. “The women
played with the children while the men did the heavy
work,” explains Paula Bertasi from São Paulo, the
Quality Management Coordinator. The little playground was ready for use on June 1st.
π Tichaona José Xavier, or “Teacher”: “I want to do something for them”
18
π Children in Tete: at the orphanage, they get attention that can make all the difference for their future
Odebrecht informa
19
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Joelma Soquisso: inheriting Grandma Teresa's mission
In the United States, Jaramillo and Salazar worked
with the Project Director, Paulo Brito from Rio de
Janeiro, who is now their leader on the PME. Brito,
who has also got stints in Iraq and Libya on his resume, is enthusiastic about volunteer work: “The
example comes from the top. When you manage to
take time out from your daily schedule to help others, your team members feel inclined to do the same.”
Volunteer work at the PME has reached epidemic levels. “When we hold breakfast get-togethers on
Sundays, 30 people show up, at most. But when we
held the Mission Possible Activities to fundraise for
the orphanages, we got almost 200 people to take
part,” he says.
The playground and library in Cateme, a district of
Moatize, where residents that lived in the coal mining area were resettled (carried out by Vale through
the PME), opened in October 2011. They both rely on
work from Odebrecht volunteers who, in turn, have
access to surplus construction materials donated by
the company.
“The children didn’t have any contact with books,”
Claudia Andrade recalls. “You need to understand
how the local culture operates. Children’s playful,
motor and cognitive development at pre-school age
20
was precarious, as they spent practically the whole
day carried around in capulanas [a colorful piece of
cloth which has a thousand and one uses], on their
mothers’ backs,” explains Adriana Brito, a psychologist from Rio de Janeiro who coordinates Corporate
Social Responsibility programs in Mozambique.
Rebuilding the orphanage
Activities at the Mundo dos Mais Pequenos
(Children’s World) Orphanage also began in Tete at
that time. Founded in 1994, the facility was maintained by occasional donations and the stubbornness
and boundless love for others of Grandma Teresa,
the orphanage’s owner. The situation was difficult:
blocked septic tanks and outbuildings that were almost in ruins. The PME volunteers renovated the
kitchen and built a new sewer system. But Grandma
Teresa, who died in April this year, was thankful for
another reason. “She said that she had already received
a large number of donations of goods and money, but
hardly ever any donations of people’s time. Very few
people were prepared to visit the orphanage to play
with the children and talk to them,” Adriana reports.
Joelma Soquisso, Grandma Tereza’s granddaughter,
inherited the task of taking care of 90 residents at the
institution. She confirms: “They come and play with
the children, and that makes the kids very happy.”
Claudia Andrade emphasizes: “It is important
for volunteers to focus or they’ll get frustrated, because they will never be able to solve all the problems in the world.” The Partilhe Program was organized to coordinate these activities, which had been
taking place on a sporadic basis since 2009. “We set
out to identify needs, and we set up the Volunteer
Menu at the start of this year. We did it after realizing that a lot of people wanted to help but didn’t
know how,” explains José Lages Magalhães, the
Administrative and Financial Manager. A native
of São Paulo, he has been in Mozambique for four
years. “My role in the Partilhe Program is liaising
between the institutions and volunteers,” explains
social worker Renata Koerich, from Santa Catarina,
Brazil, who is Responsible for the Volunteer
Program. She arrived in Tete two years ago.
A couple from Salvador, Bahia, Roberto Veiga,
the Coordinator of the People Department, and
Bruna Veiga, from the Documentation Control
team, actively took part in the Mission Possible
Activities and visit the orphanages whenever they
can. “We always leave there with renewed energy
after seeing those little smiling faces,” she says.
Learning through teaching
One of the greatest challenges at the moment in
Mozambique is combating HIV/AIDS. The volunteer virus has proven to be one of the most efficient vaccines against it, as the Mozambican PME
members well know. Psychologist Rita Henrique
spends her free time taking her “warmth, affection and kindness” to the orphans. Two teachers
from the Acreditar (Believe) Professional Education
Program, Flávio Moisés João and Vicente Abílio
Correia, recruited their former students to help
them build a playroom at the M’Padue Agricultural
Association in Tete.
“When I do social work, it’s like it is my responsibility,” Flávio comments. Flávio, Damilio Fazenda
and Patrício Saope have created the Green Generation
Association, which uses theater to teach the basics
on health, hygiene and respect for the environment to
communities in the region. And Moisés de Azevedo,
a graduate of the Acreditar Program and currently a
member of the Project Management team, has lost
count of how much he has done – such as helping
to set up the Mozambican Heroes Secondary School
library in Moatize. “Being a volunteer means learning
through teaching. It means studying, studying and
more studying in order to study,” he explains. ]
π Flávio Moises João (left) and Vicente Abílio Correia: mobilizing people to build a playroom
Odebrecht informa
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V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Prayer house: a place for reflection and guidance on a variety of issues
HERE, WE ARE STRONGER
Written by Eduardo Souza Lima | Photos by Guilherme Afonso
Ezequias’s odyssey deserves its own chapter
in the saga of volunteer work done by members of the Moatize Expansion Project (PME)
in Mozambique. A new verse is written on each
visit to a community assisted by the Missionary
and Social Assistance Agency (AMAS - an organization he founded and directs), and each conversation with a volunteer that he has won to
his cause.
“He uses his own money to feed the children,”
confirms Eusébio Hale Marques, a resident of
District 4, in Moatize. Ezequias Samuel da Rosa’s
work has already benefited more than 16,000
people. The Production Supervisor at the PME
for the last five years, he was born in Alegre,
Espírito Santo, Brazil, and now spends his time
in the backlands of Africa and Campos, Rio de
22
Janeiro. He underscores the human dimension of
what he does: “Many of these people had lost the
ability to dream. How can you dream of flying if
you can’t even walk?”
The heat (which reaches 50ºC in summer),
torrential rain in winter, 13 languages spoken in
the region and long distances: none of this holds
Ezequias back. As PME Project Director Paulo
Brito observes: “He disappears into the middle of the forest, finds a small village and helps
someone.”
Visiting the village of Gola in Malawi (yes,
AMAS’s work has gone beyond the borders of
Mozambique), almost 100 km from the PME’s accommodations, is an experience which borders
on transcendental. The Odebrecht Informa team
did just that. More than a hundred women and
children emerged from the forest, following our
cars and singing cheerfully. AMAS now assists
85 villages in Mozambique and the neighboring
country, spanning 700 km. It is usually the residents who contact Ezequias. “The news travels
along the grapevine,” he explains.
Prayer house
The welcome we received on the dust-paved
streets in District 4 was equally unforgettable.
As in Malawi, the meeting took place in a prayer
house built by volunteers with the help of the
community, where the beautiful singing continued. The gospel is just one way to communicate
other messages. “We go to the schools and give
talks on the basics of hygiene and preserving the
environment,” comments the Mozambican PME
Team Leader and volunteer, José Conforme. “We
say that diseases are not always caused by evil
spirits but by flies that land on feces and then
on food,” Ezequias explains. There are replicas
of prayer houses that also have secular uses in
Gola. “When we build a prayer house, we use it to
teach the local people a trade, grooming builders,
painters and furniture makers,” explains Luís
Roce, also from Mozambique, a PME Team Leader
and a volunteer.
Today, AMAS has 20 volunteers on its permanent team, such as the nutritionist Paula
Marques, from São Paulo, who decided to stay on
in Mozambique after her contract with the PME
had ended. Created last year, the organization
has also socially adopted 200 children, renovates
schools and libraries, builds playgrounds, and
distributes 3 metric tons of flour every month to
the communities it assists.
“Our work has grown a lot; we founded the
NGO for transparency reasons,” says Ezequias.
It has grown so much that they have opened a
branch in the Brazilian city of Campos. It is run
by his son Felipe Samuel Rosa, who also works
at Odebrecht as a Workplace Safety Assistant on
the Happy Living (Morar Feliz) project: “We’ve
raised funds for Mozambique by collecting donations or selling AMAS t-shirts,” he explains.
“AMAS’s main objective is educating people to
help others,” says Ezequias. A mission that starts
at home. ]
π Ezequias da Rosa: walk before you fly
Odebrecht informa
23
V o l u n t e e r i n g
SAYING NO TO NEGLECT
Written by Carlos Pereira | Photos by Holanda Cavalcanti
“Some need food – food and clothing. But others need affection, attention, someone to listen
closely to their story. Our main goal is to make
this kind of contribution, to give love,” says
Andrea Rabello, a representative of Esposas en
Acción (Wives in Action), formed by the wives
of expatriate Odebrecht members in Panama,
who have mobilized to engage in voluntary social outreach activities in that country while
helping bring members of the organization closer together.
When they got started seven years ago, there
were just six women in the Esposas en Acción
group. Driven by the desire to give something back
to the country that had welcomed them with open
arms, they started doing volunteer work at shelters for the blind, nursing homes and orphanages.
“Solidarity is one of the most beautiful qualities a
person can have. It’s a must. Helping people who
are suffering helps you forget your own pain,” says
Andrea, who is married to André Rebello, the CEO
of Odebrecht Panama.
The group has grown steadily since then, becoming more organized and diversified. Today, with
90 women actively involved, Esposas en Acción
uses social networks to organize meetings and
fundraising activities. The group is divided into
teams, each with its own leader, to make the best
use of the varied skills of the people engaged in its
programs and enhance the results.
π From left, Patrícia Bittencourt, Patrícia Lobo and Andréa Rabello with young women aided by Hogar Rosa Virgínia:
support and affection help overcome abandonment
24
π Maritzia Grifo: good will and commitment
Young victims of violence
One of the institutions that Esposas en Acción
assists is Hogar Rosa Virgínia, a shelter for teenage
mothers. Despite the daily challenges she faces, or
perhaps because of them, Sister Candida, the institution’s director, conveys the serenity typical of a
nun who devotes herself to charity when discussing her work and the lives of the young women the
shelter supports.
Aged between 10 and 18, they are the victims of
sexual abuse and other violence. “When they arrive
here they are malnourished, sometimes sick, but
there is always a great deal of anger in their hearts,”
explains Sister Candida. As an example, the nun
tells the distressing story of M.
At 13, M. arrived at the Rosa Virgínia shelter with
a baby in her arms and shattered soul. She had spent
her childhood being routinely raped by her father,
who threatened her in all kinds of ways to keep her
quiet. When M. got pregnant, her rapist acted like a
concerned and dutiful parent: he took her to her prenatal appointments and told everyone that she had
gotten pregnant because she was sleeping around.
“M. didn’t have a chance to reveal her secret until the
baby was born,” says Sister Candida. Believing that he
would get away scot free, the father went to the hospital to see his son and was arrested on the spot.
M. and her baby left the maternity ward and
went directly to Hogar Rosa Virgínia. Both were underweight and malnourished. “The other girls took
turns nursing the baby. A month later, both mother
and child were much better,” recalls Sister Candida,
observing that M., like the other girls, insists on
raising her son. “Maternal instincts blossom, even
in adversity. They want to move forward, study, and
work, because they love their babies.”
According to the leader of the group that assists the shelter, Patrícia Lobo, who is married to
Fernando Lobo, the Production Manager for the
Coastal Beltway Project, Esposas en Acción contributes USD 600 per month to Hogar Rosa Virgínia
in the form of food, in addition to providing medication when necessary. They also donate clothes
and toys. The constant presence of the volunteers
at the shelter has a therapeutic effect on the bruised
hearts of the young mothers, building up bonds of
affection and respect. “Even when they can’t come
around in person, they say in touch. They are like
our angelitos [little angels],” says Sister Candida.
The young women also recognize the volunteers’
dedication. Last year, they spontaneously danced
for them to express their gratitude.
Patrícia Bittencourt, the wife of Eduardo
Bittencourt, the Administrative and Financial
Manager for the Coastal Beltway and Historic
Heritage projects, is a member of the group who
always takes the time to check how things are going at Rosa Virgínia. She points out that Esposas en
Acción’s priority is to ensure that the young women have a chance to be self-supporting in the future.
Odebrecht informa
25
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Lis Saldanha: “We wanted to help raise these kids”
“We are selecting professional education courses
and will decide how we are going to sponsor them.
Some girls are about to graduate from secondary
school and want to go to college and become lawyers,” she says proudly.
“We want to help raise these kids”
Social psychologist Maritzia Grifo climbed the
career ladder in the civil service until she became
General Director of the Panama Prison System.
Now she runs Hogar Divino Niño, a nonprofit foundation created as a Catholic youth ministry, using
her vast experience to help 28 children, from newborns up to the age of five, to find a home.
After visiting Divino Niño and getting to know
the good work being done at the orphanage, six
members of Esposas en Acción, led by Miriam
Prato, who is married to Gonzalo Prato, the officer
Responsible for the Costs Program on the Panama
City Metro Line 1 project, developed a project with
specific goals and a work schedule, and have partnered up with the institution. “It may not seem
like it, but in addition to goodwill, volunteer work
26
requires commitment,” emphasizes Maritzia, praising the group members’ behavior.
At least twice a week, they take part in educational, cultural and recreational activities at Divino
Niño, such as reading stories, playing educational
games and drawing - and help out with other regular
activities. Lis Saldanha, the wife of Paulo Saldanha,
the Health, Workplace Safety and Environment
Manager for the Panama Metro Line 1 project, has
been an expat for 10 years. She tells the visitors that
her nine-month-old grandson, who lives in Brazil
with his parents, is staying with her, but even so she
makes a point of going to the orphanage. “This is a
serious commitment for me.”
Fully committed to Esposas em Acción and
its objectives, Lis displays impressive energy and
good humor in Divino Niño’s busy playground,
which is full of children running from one end
to the other. “More than just providing financial
support for this institution, we want to help raise
these kids by sharing values, stimulating their
imaginations, and literally embracing them. And
that’s what we’re doing.” ]
A CAUSE CALLED PEOPLE
Written by Ricardo Sangiovanni | Photos by Kamene Traça
The belief that everyone is capable of helping improve the lives of individuals and communities
led Luciana Arce (see her interview in the “Final
Word” section of this issue) to create the group
Kambas do Bem in 2008. The group (kambas
means “friends” in the Kimbundo language) brings
together some 80 expat wives of Odebrecht members in Angola and currently offers classes and
services to the disadvantaged in three localities on
the outskirts of Luanda.
The Kambas make the best use of the skills of
volunteers who want to use their talents to help
others. Many of them teach cooking and computer
classes, among other subjects.
The lack of job skills is a major challenge for
many Angolans in a country that has been rebuilding itself for a little over a decade. “It’s impossible
to look the other way, and this country gives us
opportunities to help those who need it most,” argues Luciana, who is married Ernesto Baiardi, the
CEO of Odebrecht Infraestrutura (Infrastructure)
for Africa, the UAE and Portugal.
The Kambas’ first move was to organize fundraising events to finance a public standpipe in the
Mussende community in Viana, Greater Luanda,
where there was no water supply available. After
that first step, Mussende began to undergo a transformation. The next step was to build a school
complex in the community in partnership with
Odebrecht. It opened in October 2009.
Their success in Mussende encouraged the
Kambas to extend their activities to other communities. As a result, in April 2010, they started
running a professional education course, a daycare
center and a clinic in a church in Honga. In 2011,
the Kambas began working in Zango, where they
set up the Zango Social-Vocational Assistance
Educational Center (CESA) with the help of the
Angolan government and Odebrecht. They handed
over the running of these complexes to religious
institutions to ensure their sustainability. A fourth
project, which is even more audacious, is underway in Zango. The Kambas are contributing USD
500,000 to build a secondary school equipped
with four vocational training labs (for IT and electricity classes).
“I had heard about the Kambas do Bem before I
went to live in Angola. They were an extra reason
π Luciana Arce at the CESA: a constant presence in initiatives supported by Kambas do Bem
Odebrecht informa
27
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Kambas do Bem: spreading knowledge to groom Angolan professionals
to move here,” says Kamba Shirley Gonçalves, the
wife of Marcos Torres, Project Director for the
Luanda Roadways Project. She has taken charge of
the classes taught at Honga and also helped plan
the waiter training course. In fact, the classes take
place in her home.
For the Kambas, their reason for volunteering
is summed up in a single word: God. “We are instruments for bringing hope to others. I’m not just
changing things; the change happens in me,” says
Kamba Maria Eugenia Pérez Ferrer. The wife of
Javier Chuman Rojas, the Project Director for the
Catata-Lóvua highway, she gets together with her
fellow volunteers in her home every week for ecumenical Bible study meetings.
π Etevalda (left): words of motivation
28
Believing in people
Faith – religious or in humanitarian values – is
also the driving force behind the volunteer work
that Odebrecht members are doing individually in Angola. The Angolan metalworker Etevalda
Fernandes, who is working on the Zango low-income housing construction project, distributes
gifts to children in public hospitals in Luanda every month. It all started three years ago when she
took a present for a nephew who was in hospital
and realized how happy that small gesture made
him and the other children in his ward. “I took the
idea to the church of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the
World, and now we collect donations and organize
visits to give the kids presents and words of motivation.”
Educator Gerri Vissapa, the officer Responsible
for the People Development Program in Angola,
has his own way of giving back. For 10 years, he
has led a group of Boy Scouts aged 12 to 16, which
has had about 400 young participants so far. He
wants to instill values like charity and a communicative attitude. “I’ve taken in young offenders
with brothers who got into crime and got killed.
Nowadays these boys have gone back to school,”
says Gerri, clearly proud. “We can’t go on blaming everything on the civil war forever. If we don’t
help people who are on the margins of society, we
aren’t doing anything.”
Helping is the motto of the Brazilian engineer Alice Ponciano, the officer Responsible for
Environment on the Laúca Dam project, 300 km
from Luanda. When she needed her four assistants to do more demanding tasks, she realized
that they were functionally illiterate. “I consulted
fellow educators, put together teaching materials,
and started a literacy course a month ago. Doing
our jobs is not enough. We have to do something
for others.” ]
π Gerri Vissapa: encouraging communication
π Alice Ponciano with Odebrecht members at the Laúca project: “We have to do something for others”
Odebrecht informa
29
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Charles Stubbs with Stephanie Carvajal, the Coordinator of the AmeriCorps Programs, the organization that supports
the Rebuilding Together initiative (left) and Jacqueline Contney: “What touched me most were the unexpected gestures.”
30
A BOOST TO REBUILD
Written by Thaís Reiss | Photo by Stephanie Meyer
Miami’s fierce summer sun is punishing the newly
planted flowers and palm trees beside the entrance
to Charles Stubbs’s home. Stubbs, 65, is a military veteran who served for two years during the
Vietnam War. A resident of Coconut Grove since
1960, he has seen major changes take place in his
neighborhood and remembers the time when all
the houses there were built in the shotgun style –
narrow, rectangular homes with an average width
of 3.5 meters, at most, and the bedrooms arranged
one behind the other. This was the most popular style of building in the southern United States
between the end of the Civil War (1861-1865) and
the mid-1920s.
But Charles Stubbs’s community is not all
that has changed. Over the years, he has seen
his own house get more and more run down
because he could not afford the maintenance
costs. It needed a great deal of work. Today,
thanks to the volunteers from the Rebuilding
Together organization, his home has received
a fresh coat of paint, electrical repairs, a new
ventilation system and new hurricane-resistant
doors and windows.
“What touched me most were the unexpected
gestures, like getting a new bed,” says Stubbs. “I
used to have a lot of back pain, but now I can get
a good night’s sleep and rest.”
Originally called “Christmas in April,” Rebuilding
Together is a nonprofit organization founded 30
years ago in Midland, Texas. Started by a group of
volunteers who organized joint efforts in April of
each year to rehabilitate homes in the Midland area,
its main objective is to fix up the homes of veterans, seniors, disaster victims, people with disabilities, and disadvantaged families whose homes need
urgent repairs. Rebuilding Together has over 200 affiliates across the United States and a historic total
of 3.4 million volunteers who have rehabilitated over
100,000 homes, representing an estimated market
value of USD 1.3 billion.
“There is a dwindling supply of affordable housing in the United States, especially in Miami,” says
volunteer Bob Miller, the chairman of Rebuilding
Together in Miami-Dade for the past 10 years. “We
need to preserve this inventory for future generations.”
Three generations living in the same home
“Often times we come across houses where
people from three generations are living together.
The grandparents are usually the owners, but the
daughter also lives there with her small children,
and the seniors take care of the kids while she
goes to work,” says engineer Jacqueline Contney,
an Odebrecht member who is Responsible for
Cost Control on the Port of Miami project. “The
houses are old and small, and they’re not designed to accommodate so many people.”
Jacqueline found out about Rebuilding Together
two years ago through an Odebrecht initiative carried out during the Miami Metrorail project. Today,
in addition to taking part in collective efforts and
charitable events with her husband, Ross Contney,
and daughter Jordyn Contney, 6, Jacqueline is the
treasurer of the Miami affiliate.
“It is very gratifying to know that the work we
are doing has a direct impact on our community,”
says Jacqueline. “Just in the area where Mr. Stubbs
lives, we have rehabilitated almost 100 homes.
As a result, we’ve revitalized the entire neighborhood, and not just one house.” Bob Miller adds:
“Aside from renovating homes, we are also involved
in other projects that make sense and benefit the
community. For example, we’ve demolished a crack
house, painted a church and built playgrounds.” ]
Odebrecht informa
31
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π From left, rear, Luís Romero, Aracelis Villegas, Getsy García, Asdrúbal Zuleta and Yemina Lorenzo; foreground, Grisell Martínez,
Crisbely Irisme, Elenitza Berrios and Carmen Viva: Odebrecht volunteers in Venezuela are active in several areas
32
DECLARATIONS OF LOVE FOR LIFE
Written by Edilson Lima | Photos by Andrés Manner
It is 7 am at the construction site for Tamanaco
Station, on Line 5 of the Caracas Metro. The
workers are arriving to start their shift, but one
activity in particular has changed their morning
routine since July: calisthenics. Led by volunteer
monitor Willian Carvajal, the teams do warm-up
exercises to stretch their legs, arms, chests and
even the muscles in their heads. “I tried it out first
and realized that calisthenics makes a difference
to our well-being. Then I decided to become the
class monitor,” says Willian, 42.
He is a Workplace Safety Technician at the
same jobsite. “Here at the site, my job is to conduct inspections, monitor the team members’ activities, improve work procedures, and provide information on workplace safety. When I found out
about the Calisthenics Program, I was curious and
realized that it had everything to do with my activities. So I got some training and now I have the
pleasure of following up on the group’s day-to-day
exercises.”
The program was introduced by Dr. Ana
Colmenares, the officer Responsible for Health on
the Line 5 Project, with the help of the Management
Team. Because there are eight work fronts, she
decided to mobilize people inside and outside the
company to act as volunteer monitors. “They all
received training and are helping create a culture of
prevention. We give the workers tips on how to go
about their daily activities. For example, the best
way to lift heavy objects. The wrong posture could
lead to severe muscle injuries,” explains Ana.
Besides Willian, the program now has 23 volunteers, and the results are plain to see: “People
are telling us that they are enjoying a better quality of life, and complaints about muscle pain have
decreased,” says the physician.
A team that’s willing to help
Whether on the construction fronts or in support offices, voluntary projects have sprung up in
various ways. In 2010, members of the central jobsite for the Metro project, located in Miranda Park,
organized a campaign to collect supplies for the
victims of the Haiti earthquake, which devastated
part of that country. Asdrúbal Zuleta, the officer
Responsible for General Services, was one of the
most dedicated volunteers. “Everyone got together and we were able to do something rewarding
in aid of the Haitian people,” he recalls. “Projects
π Warming up at the jobsite: investing in workers’ wellbeing
Odebrecht informa
33
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Reforesting Galindo Park in Caracas: a joint effort spearheaded by the community and the company
like these make us grow as human beings. It was
a unique experience,” adds his co-worker Aracelis
Villegas, the officer Responsible for Costs.
They and their fellow volunteers raised nearly
500 kilos of non-perishable food, water and toiletries during that campaign. “We set up collection points in offices and work areas,” explains
Corporate Social Responsibility Coordinator
Elenitza Berrios. The campaign also donated boots
and workplace safety pants to the professionals working in Haiti. They were delivered by the
Caritas Organization of Venezuela and the nation’s
Civil Defense Service.
In 2011, the group made further donations,
this time to the victims of a flood that hit 10
Venezuelan states at the end of that year. The volunteers collected 300 kilos of food and personal
hygiene products. In 2012, they gathered donations for the families of people who were injured
or killed in the blast at the Amuay Refinery in the
north of the country.
Yermina Lorenzo, from the Engineering team,
says: “Whatever we do, it will never be enough,
but we must always do something.” Carmen
Vivas, from the Mail Area, observes: “These campaigns have made us even more united as a team.”
The group’s next step is to donate clothes and
baby items for disadvantaged families in the La
Dolorita community, with the help of Metrocable’s
social outreach projects. “Activities like these are
34
based on company values that are fully identified
with our family values. This magnifies the ethos
of service tremendously,” argues Getsy García,
from the Planning team.
Reforestation
In addition to organizing campaigns and making donations, part of the team from the main office is helping reforest Galindo Park in the town
of Petare. During a visit to Caracas, the Odebrecht
Informa team got a chance to see one of their activities, which involved company members and
children and adults from the communities near
the park.
Led by engineer Nexys Ramírez, the officer
Responsible for the Environmental Program on the
Line 5 construction project, the volunteers planted 225 seedlings that day. A week earlier, they had
planted about 100 seedlings, and by the end of
2013, the total number of new trees will surpass
400. “For every tree removed within our project’s
sphere of influence, we have planted eight seedlings. We have partnered up with the National
Parks Institute to reforest this public space,” explains Nexys.
To ensure that the seedlings are well tended, Nexys can count on the support of María
Luisa Fernandez, 56, a resident of the Alcabala
community. In 2010, María Luisa founded the
Urimare Environmentalist Front along with other
residents, and has since started taking care of the
park. “Because the park is a public place, that
means it is ours, and we realized that we need to
take care of it,” she says.
Small but hugely significant steps
Volunteer work can be done in groups or individually. Sofia Peña, 27, a member of the Quality
and Risk Management team, did something that
might seem like a small gesture: she cut off 33 cm
of her hair and donated it to the SenosAyuda institution, which is working to prevent breast cancer and help women get through chemotherapy.
“For a woman, losing her hair to chemotherapy
is very painful. So I decided to do what I could to
help,” she says.
Influenced by Sofia’s bold move, Johana Camargo,
33, decided to help out too, and donated 40 cm of
her hair to the institution. “When I saw what Sofia
had done, I realized that I could help out too. Doing
something for women who are going through chemo
is very rewarding,” says Johana. The donated hair is
made into wigs for patients.
Edwin Medrano, 54, and his wife, Ana Spadaro,
50, are on the Odebrecht Planning team. They decided to donate their seventeen-year-old son Jesus
Enrique’s collections and books to the Simoncito
Educational Center, a school with 240 students
aged 6 months to five years. “Through education,
we can influence people to build a better world,”
says Edwin. “Reading should always be cultivated
π Ana Spadaro and Edwin Medrano: education for
a better world
to learn more about the world and expand our
horizons,” adds Ana. In addition to taking that
initiative, the couple has sponsored five children
in a project supported by St. Monica Church,
where they are both catechists.
Antonio Tavares, the Project Director for Line 5
of the Caracas Metro, observes: “An entrepreneur
comes up with solutions and responds to problems. Volunteer work strengthens this ethos in
the people who do it.” ]
π Sofia Peña (left) and Johana Camargo: an exemplary act of solidarity
Odebrecht informa
35
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π “Uncle” Sérgio Koch: developing leadership skills and cultivating human virtues
SOMEONE TO COUNT ON
Written by Fabiana Cabral and Renata Meyer | Photos by Ricardo Chaves (RS) and Paulo Fridman (SP)
“I used to be very rational, like ‘one plus one always
equals two.’ But when I started volunteering, I realized that it is possible for that equation to make three.”
After donating money to several NGOs for over 10
years, mechanical engineer Roberto Ferraboli Júnior
decided to see for himself how his contributions were
making things better. "I decided to give the gift of myself," says the Braskem member, who works at the ABC
Petrochemical Complex in São Paulo State. That is how
he started working with the Support Group for Children
and Adolescents with Cancer (GRAACC), which maintains the Pediatric Oncology Institute, a hospital that
treats 3,000 children per month in the state capital.
“My first day was amazing, because I had no idea
what I would find,” says Roberto. In August 2012, he
was invited to join the Cantinho da Paz (Small Corner
of Peace) group. Three Saturdays per month, Roberto
spends an afternoon with children and their families
in several wards of the hospital. “They need to talk
and be heard, and our team has to be emotionally
prepared for everything,” he explains.
36
According to Roberto, his time has been better spent since he started doing volunteer work for
GRAACC a year ago: “Being open to it is a personal
value. I’ve learned that I can’t complain about anything, because I have a home, family, friends and food.
I’m not sure I would have the strength that these people find, and that’s just what I want to share - strength.”
Ricardo Serbaluki is also a mechanical engineer
at the ABC Complex. He helped several institutions
before discovering GRAACC. He and his wife began
making donations and attending events at an organization for underprivileged children in the East Zone
of São Paulo. “One had leukemia, and I came across
GRAACC when I was keeping an eye on his progress,”
he says. Ricardo has been working with the group
for six years now: “The best times are when a family leaves the hospital after successful treatment.” He
emphasizes: “Doing good does you good,” and adds:
“I’ve discovered that the work I was doing was good
for them and for me. You understand your limits and
realize how much you can do.”
Needs and availability
Roberto and Ricardo are just two of the 460
GRAACC volunteers working in 20 sectors of the
hospital and the Ronald McDonald Support House created in partnership with McDonald’s to house 30
families of children undergoing long-term treatment.
The first step in becoming a volunteer is to schedule
a monitored visit, which takes place weekly.
“We show how each sector works and assess the
backgrounds of the candidates according to our needs
and their availability,” says GRAACC Public Relations
Coordinator Gilda Bezerra. Everyone goes through
the recruitment, training and internship process before being put to work. “Our program is different because the volunteers do everything,” she says.
According to Gilda, GRAACC has become a benchmark in Brazil. “We’ve received ISO 9001 certification
for Volunteer Work for the fourth consecutive year.”
She believes that volunteering has changed in that
country in recent years. “In the past, most volunteers
were elderly. Today, people of all ages are getting involved. They are more committed, and participants
try to focus on what they enjoy doing in these programs. That makes all the difference.”
Legal guardian
In his office at the Ação Social de Fé (Social Work
of Faith) NGO in Porto Alegre, Ricardo Ruschel reads
the affectionate messages in Father’s Day cards he
received from the children the organization helps. A
Braskem systems analyst at the Triunfo Petrochemical
Complex in Rio Grande do Sul, he has chaired the
NGO since March 2012. That means that he is the legal guardian of 32 minor children who have been abandoned or were victims of domestic abuse and are now
living in four homes run by the organization after the
Juvenile Authority terminated their parents’ custodial
rights. Ruschel is responsible for running the homes
with funding received mainly from the city government through the Foundation for Social Welfare and
Citizenship (FASC), ensuring that the children receive
comprehensive care, including food, health, education,
leisure, sports and cultural activities.
The NGO also runs the Socio-Educational Support
Service (SASE) School of Life, which offers educational workshops, recreational activities and tutoring for
about 60 children aged 6 to 14 who are in a socially vulnerable situation. Ruschel has the support of a
team of educators, administrators, a social worker and
a psychologist: “The work we do seeks to give new
meaning to the children’s life experiences, encouraging their autonomy so that they are able to go their
own way in the future.”
Cooks on Call
In 1998, Nelson Tschiedel, a chemical engineer at
the Triunfo Complex, got together with some friends
to do volunteer work, helping the people who sleep
at the Monsignor Felipe Diel public shelter in Porto
Alegre. The goal was to provide people – most of
whom are homeless – a good meal cooked and served
by the group. That marked the beginning of an initiative which was later named Cozinheiros de Plantão
(Cooks on Call).
π Ricardo Ruschel: encouraging the pursuit of independence
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π Volunteer cooks: the group serves up to 140 meals in one night
Currently run by Ana Bárbara Maldaner, Kátia
Hirt and Cinthia Coelho, the group has attracted
new members and today at least 20 Braskem are taking part in the monthly project. The volunteer cooks
serve 140 meals in one evening, subsidized with
money collected from the participants. The menu includes rice, beans, meat, vegetables, salad, juice and a
dessert.
“The great thing about volunteering is that people pitch in. They don’t wait to be asked. Every volunteer wants to change the world, no matter what.
Most times, just a smile makes all the difference,”
says Nelson.
Values of a religious upbringing
At 6 pm on a Sunday in São Paulo, Vanessa Santos
da Cruz de Souza tries to hold the attention of children between the ages of 9 and 12 who are cheerful,
talkative and – due to the presence of an Odebrecht
Informa team in one of the rooms of the Baptist
Church Ministry of Reconciliation – curious. “The
thing about this age group is that they no longer accept being more like children and want to act like
adults. They are mature for their age and know what
they want,” says Vanessa, 26, a secretary at Braskem,
smiling and asking the kids to quiet down so they can
get started.
Along with two other counselors, Vanessa has
been teaching Sunday school at the church once a
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month for a year and a half. A team of counselors –
or “aunts” and “uncles,” as the kids call them – is responsible for a full day of activities, including music,
dance, theater and recreation. “Every time I teach a
class, I learn more and realize I still know nothing. It’s
never routine and it is very rewarding,” she explains.
Vanessa began doing volunteer work at the age of
12 at a Catholic church, teaching catechism classes for
children aged 3 to 10. “When I was going to Sunday
school, I wanted to be just like my teacher. So I pursued that goal,” she says. Caught up in a routine involving her career, study and social work, she almost
gave up, thinking that she couldn’t spare the time:
“You have to devote yourself to it body and soul. You
have to do it with heart, managing your time and
tasks.”
Just 22 years old, Maila Cardoso is a chemistry technician at the Triunfo Complex. She became
a community leader through her role in the Youth
Leadership Course (CLJ), which is dedicated to teaching the gospel to young people aged 13 to 18. The president of the CLJ in the Diocese of Novo Hamburgo,
Rio Grande do Sul, her home town, she belongs to a
youth group that meets weekly in São Luiz Gonzaga’s
Cathedral to discuss current issues and organize volunteer work.
Giving affection and attention to children living
in a shelter is one of their monthly activities. The
young visitors entertain the kids with a morning
π Vanessa de Souza: “I learn more with every class I teach”
π Maila Cardoso (right, seated): an impactful
experience
of games and activities. “It is a very impactful experience that makes us reflect on the importance
of family,” says Maila. The group also pays monthly
visits to a city hospital, which include prayers and
songs for patients. “You always think you’re doing a
good thing for others, but actually we are doing it for
ourselves,” she says.
In Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul, 55 km from
the state capital, Porto Alegre, Braskem maintenance
technician Sérgio Koch is one of the coordinators of
the New Apostolate (ONDA) movement based in St.
John the Baptist Parish, created to bring young people aged between 10 and 14 closer to the Catholic
Church. ONDA, whose acronym means “wave” in
Portuguese, organizes classes, lectures, social activities and outings at weekly get-togethers. “More than
just getting youth in touch with Christian values,
ONDA prepares them for life, awakening the spirit
of leadership and the cultivation of human virtues,”
says Sérgio, who has participated actively in the
movement for the last eight years
Every Saturday afternoon, he joins the other
“aunts” and “uncles” – as the kids call the ONDA
mentors – to carry out the scheduled activities.
Sérgio also helped build the facility where activities
are currently carried out, located on the premises of
the parish headquarters. In addition to helping build
it, he has furnished the rooms with tables, desks and
chairs provided by Braskem. ]
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PLEASED TO MEET – AND HELP – YOU
Written by Andressa Saurin | Photos by Geraldo Pestalozzi
We are in Mineiros, southwestern Goiás, Brazil.
Coming from major cities in that country along
with their husbands, the wives of Odebrecht
Agroindustrial members based at the Araguaia Hub
arrived in the Brazilian Midwest to live in a region
where, five years ago, there was nothing but cane
fields. Today, two of the company’s units are operating there.
“We’ve been together for 10 years. I’ve lived
in Maceió, Salvador and São Paulo, where we had
been living for seven years when we got the invitation to come here. I say ‘we’ because it is a family undertaking. We embraced the invitation as an
opportunity for all of us,” says Paula Baracho, 35,
the wife of Erico Baracho, the officer Responsible
for People and Administration in Araguaia. One of
the women who belong to the Companions group,
Paula has a law degree and is the mother of Isadora,
who is nearly two years old. She has the Odebrecht
Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO) on the tip of her
tongue and views it as inseparable part of her everyday life – at work, at home and during her leisure time.
“Sometimes I find myself talking to my friends
about delegating responsibility,” says Paula. Along
with other wives, she went through an acculturation program that discussed the importance of the
group’s unity and involvement so they could tackle the challenges of their new lives together. They
exchanged information about doctors, schools,
nannies and activities for their children. The program made two points very clear: they needed to
organize to help the women who would go through
the same situation in the future, and to support the
community. Imbued with their role as citizens and
ready to get to work, they formed two teams.
Support for existing projects
Ação para o Bem de Mineiros (Working for the
Good of Mineiros; ABEM) is headed by Liliani
Mazzarioli Baldini Pires, the wife of Vinícius Jacob,
the officer Responsible for Crop Management
at the Água Emendada Unit. They moved to that
town eighteen months ago. “I realized that we
would have an opportunity to grow together, and
now I’m putting a lot of things that I’ve always believed into practice.”
40
π From left, standing, Francisca de Araújo, Lilian Cruvinel, Fernanda
Amoroso, Karim Koch, Michellini Kabbas, Liliani Pires, Alessandra
Rodrigues and Jaqueline Marzinotto (holding her daughter, Ana
Eduarda); foreground, kneeling, from right, Gislaine Maia, Paula
Baracho and her daughter, Isadora: a warm welcome to the community
π Michellini Kabbas (left) and Fernanda Amoroso: helping newcomers get their bearings
Through interactions with the local government
and the Department of Social Action, Liliani and
other ABEM members have identified opportunities for volunteer work in their community, and
started working on existing projects on a daily basis. “It’s no use starting new projects when some
are already underway and need our help.”
Accompanied by her children Vitória, 11, and
Guilherme, 5, and the Odebrecht Informa team,
Liliani and Paula delivered leftover mattresses from
Odebrecht accommodations to the Rescuing Lives
association, a shelter for drug addicts. “Everything
that happens here is done by volunteers: from the
admission of young people to the food prepared
daily. The ABEM aims to support projects, not only with donations but by helping people grow and
rebuild their lives in the best possible way,” says
Liliani.
On the other side of town, Fernanda Amoroso
and Michellini Kabbas are approving the final version of a guide for newcomers produced by the
Ombro Amigo (Friendly Shoulder) group. The
manual contains information about hospitals, physicians, schools and other tips, which will help
newly arrived families get their bearings and adapt
more easily and quickly to their new home.
“The project arose from the need to reach out to
others and make things smoother for new arrivals.
The guide is a compass, providing the kind of information we needed when we first got here,” says
Fernanda (the wife of Rodrigo Amoroso, the officer
Responsible for the Agricultural Area at the Água
Emendada Unit), who coordinates those activities
while tackling the challenges of motherhood.
While their kids are at school, Fernanda and
Michellini, the wife of Marco Amaral, the officer
Responsible for Health, Safety and Environment in
Araguaia, rush to get the guide finished. “We have
responsibilities and goals to meet, like any other
job. The difference is that, as volunteers, we are always doing good: for others and for ourselves,” says
Fernanda. ]
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π Rogério Tadeu Ramos Sarro, Director of the Foz concession in Limeira (first from left, foreground), with directors
of Bolsão da Cidadania and representatives of Nosso Lar: aid for disadvantaged children
REACHING OUT TO OTHERS
Written by Bruna Paulino | Photos by Bruna Romaro and Holanda Cavalcanti
It’s Christmastime. A large tree, part of the themed
decor, stands on the ground floor of the Bourbon
mall in the Pompeia district of São Paulo. In addition to baubles and lights, the tree is trimmed
with another important feature: bits of paper with
names on them hang next to the bows. Customers
who shop at the mall pick one and deliver wrapped
packages. At that moment, they are choosing the
child who will receive the gift. The team of volunteers from the Lions Club of Brazil collects the gifts
and delivers them to disadvantaged children.
Nicanor Florença, a member of the engineering
team at Odebrecht Ambiental (Environment), has
been a Lions Club member for eight years. As the
president of 11 districts, he encourages and organizes social outreach programs. He discovered the club
through Freemasonry and identified with its mission: to promote the principles of good governance
and good citizenship and create a spirit of understanding among the nations. “I grew up poor and
42
got help when I needed it. Being a member of the
Lions Club is a way to give back,” says Nicanor. One
day, he heard a child who received a gift through the
Lions Club’s program at the Bourbon mall remark:
“Who says there is no Santa Claus?”
Nicanor joined Odebrecht Ambiental three years
ago and has organized projects within his own
team. On his birthday, he swapped the traditional “kitty” to buy him a gift for the collection of 40
liters of cooking oil. This type of activity is part of
their daily lives. On August 24, Children’s Day, he
and some fellow Lions visited Amparo Maternal, an
institution that helps disadvantaged young mothers in Vila Mariana, São Paulo. Ana Paula Siqueira,
27, was there, holding her daughter Rebecca. The
little girl wore a purple ribbon in her hair and never took her eyes off Nicanor as he handed out personal hygiene kits. That stuck in his mind, along
with the remark from the child who received the
Christmas gift.
“These donations always come at the right time.
They are good for us when we need help just then,
and great for the development of our babies. We are
very grateful,” says Ana Paula, the mother of three,
who has lived at the shelter for seven months. The
Lions Club’s motto is “We Serve.” That means that
one of the characteristics of an Odebrecht Partner
was already on Nicanor’s list of personal values.
Pocket of Citizenship
The same spirit of assistance and solidarity drove
Zenides Gomes to volunteer to participate in Bolsão
da Cidadania (Pocket of Citizenship), which depends entirely on the commitment of volunteers. It
is a social outreach program run by Foz – Odebrecht
Ambiental’s water and sewer subsidiary – in Limeira,
São Paulo. “It’s terrific to be able to help people in
need. I feel great,” says Zenides, who has been involved in the program for eight years. Bolsão da
Cidadania helps institutions registered at the Center
for Social Promotion, a city government agency
whose goal is to develop social assistance programs
for the needy residents of Limeira. Every year, the 13
directors of the Bolsão program, all of them members
of Foz, get together and choose the four institutions
they will help throughout the year with collections
of food, personal hygiene products or cash donations,
according to their needs.
The director of the concession, Sandro Stroiek,
extended the program to other Foz units in Rio
Claro, São Paulo, and Blumenau, Santa Catarina, after seeing how well it worked in Limeira. According
to Sandro, there is a tremendous need for active,
committed involvement in the community due to
the company’s long-term concessions, which last
for at least 30 years. Foz members, many of whom
are deployed, move to the city, live there for a long
time and build a life there. “Being a concession company means that we have to live in the city and interact with the community and civil society,” he argues.
At the end of each fundraising campaign, the directors of Bolsão get together and deliver the products collected, interacting with the program’s beneficiaries. They also make occasional donations
on special dates. This year, to celebrate National
Volunteer Day in August, Bolsão collected 100 kilos of groceries that were delivered to the Nosso Lar
children’s shelter and will contribute to the health
and nutrition of 35 children in a socially vulnerable
situation.
The positive feedback does not just come from
people who receive the donations but from the
volunteers themselves. “It is gratifying work,” says
Zenides. She recalls that the most memorable donation she was involved with was made to the CREN
(Center for Nutrition Education and Rehabilitation),
which cares for malnourished children and adolescents. “It was very moving to see the needy, underfed children who needed our help.” ]
π Nicanor Florença (center): “I grew up poor and got help when I needed it”
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THE FUTURE AWAITS
Written by Thaís Zanchettim | Photos by Almir Bindilatti
A sign on the blue house on 7627 Tarciana Abreu
Street, in the JK II neighborhood of Porto Velho,
Rondônia, reads: “Semear Educational Center.”
Semear means “to sow,” in Portuguese, but the elementary school’s name does not fully reflect its
aims. There are clearer signs in the words written
beside it: “The dream has just begun. The future
awaits us.” This institution, which serves 237 disadvantaged children, became a reality when seven friends started it in 2008 as a social outreach
project aimed at educating youth. But above all, it
aims to build a better future that is worthier of the
hopes that youth inspires.
Earlier that year, all the group had was an idea
and a vacant lot donated by their church (the
Quadrangular Evangelical Church). They had to
come up with everything else. To raise funds, they
organized charity events. Several parties and raffles
later, the school was equipped with four air-conditioned classrooms, a cafeteria, an office and a covered playground. Once the infrastructure was ready,
they got teachers, meals, uniforms and school supplies with the aid of the government.
The purpose of Semear goes beyond teaching the
basics from textbooks. “We prioritize values, character, the importance of family,” says Daise Carvalho,
the school principal and one of its founders.
In its first year, Semear managed to serve 120
children. Today, the number of places has risen to
over 1,100 students from six underserved neighborhoods in the state capital of Rondônia. However,
the number of beneficiaries is much higher. Its
programs also help the students’ families – many
come from broken homes headed by single mothers
π Daise Carvalho and Almério de Brito at the Semear Educational Center in Porto Velho: “The dream has just begun”
44
π Maurício Mendes: people need
attention and someone to talk to
or young couples who had not planned the pregnancy – by allowing parents to entrust their little ones to the school’s care while they go to work.
In fact, this is a familiar situation for Almério
Rodrigues de Brito, another founder of Semear.
The third of four siblings, Almério was raised by
his mother on the outskirts of Porto Velho. While
working two jobs, she taught her children the power of values early on. “You have two paths: good
and evil. Man is the agent of his own destiny,” says
Almério, recalling his mother’s words.
After going to public school, he took free professional education classes offered by associations and
NGOs. Officially employed since age 14, he worked
his way through college, where he earned a degree in
Accounting: cashier, tutor and office boy were some
of the jobs he did before he joined an accounting
firm, from where he went on to work at Odebrecht.
He has been a Group member since 2008.
Today, at age 30, Almério is the officer Responsible
for the Tax Program of the Santo Antônio Civil
Consortium (CSAC), led by Odebrecht Infraestrutura,
and considers himself a winner. “My life has always
been based on opportunities, and that’s what I try to
provide.” At the end of each year, during the students’
graduation ceremony, Almério relives some of that
story. “It is very gratifying to see myself in the life
of each graduate. I want them to be capable of transforming society.”
Channels of solidarity
Almério and Daise believe that volunteer work
requires joining forces. “Seven people came up
with this project, but it is the work of the entire
community,” says Almério. “Projects like Semear
are a hub of good will,” Daise stresses.
Another initiative organized by members of
the consortium responsible for the civil construction of the Santo Antônio Dam is serving
as a channel for solidarity. Since 2009, Maurício
Mendes and Raimundo Nonato Bentes da Silva
have been running an annual fundraising campaign. The money they raise is used to buy food
and clothing that are donated to charities in Porto
Velho. “We realized that lots of people wanted to
help but they didn’t know how, or didn’t have
time,” says Maurício, the Administrative and
Financial Manager of the CSAC.
Their campaigns have benefited institutions
like the André Luiz Spiritist Nursing Home,
serving 40 seniors, and three projects of the
Santa Marcelina charity (two schools with over
3,300 students and the Dr. Marcelo Cândia
Hospital, a benchmark for the treatment of leprosy, with 100 beds). Maurício and Bentes keep
a close eye on work being done at these institutions throughout the year. To ensure accountability to donors, they produce a report after delivering the donations.
However, there are no metrics for their most
valuable contribution. Nor is it described in the
report. “We can see that, especially at the hospital and nursing home, people need attention,
someone to talk to. They may have health problems, but they are extremely lucid and miss that
personal contact,” says Maurício. That exchange
is the fuel of solidarity: “We know it’s a small
contribution that could be more structured, but
each visit motivates us to keep going.”
Moving forward is also in the plans of Almério
and his friends: “We intend to grow,” he emphasizes. Because of its limited space, the school only offers preschool through the 2nd grade. Paulo is
a second grader who has been enrolled there since
preschool. When the principal tells the class that
next year they will have to change schools, Paulo
says: “I want to stay here.” Almério wants him to
get his wish: “We want to leave a legacy.”
After that brief interruption, Paulo’s lesson
continues. In chorus, the children go back to
reading “The Basic Rules of Citizenship”: be supportive, be respectful, be forgiving... The seed is
sown. ]
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V o l u n t e e r i n g
π From left, José Renildo Correia, Laysa Costa Ferreira, João Victor Moreira, João Victor Cruz dos Santos, Samuel Melo,
Rafael Moreira Alves and Patrícia Nascimento: as members of the Youth Protagonism group, they share their knowledge
wtih the community
A MAJOR TRIUMPH
FOR THE COMMUNITY
Written by Gabriela Vasconcellos | Photos by Élcio Carriço
The idea came suddenly, in a dream, and stuck in José
Renildo Correia’s head. The nineteen-year-old resident of the São Benedito community in Nilo Peçanha
county, Bahia, understood it was time to start a volunteer project to contribute to the development of
his home region. But he couldn’t do it alone. “I contacted some young people so we could build it together,” he says.
That is how the Youth Protagonism project was
born, bringing together eight young students from the
Agroforestry Family House (CFAF) – a teaching unit
connected to the Development and Integrated Growth
Program with Sustainability for the Southern Bahia
Lowlands Environmental Protection Areas Mosaic
(PDCIS), supported by the Odebrecht Foundation in
partnership with national and international private
and public institutions. The group’s main environmental awareness initiatives include lectures, seminars
and reforestation projects for degraded areas.
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“We know that our county has a vast expanse
of forests. Oftentimes, the community doesn’t use
natural resources as well as it could, and that is our
goal: to help them practice sustainable management,” explains volunteer João Victor Moreira, 15,
who also lives in the area.
According to Rafael Alves, 16, the knowledge the
volunteers are applying and sharing with the project’s target audience was acquired at the CFAF.
“We always discussed the need to carry out projects in the community. The Family House taught
us that it is our duty to help others. Previously, I
couldn’t speak in public. Today, I give lectures,” he
says.
During their first year together, they have involved more than a thousand people, planted 210
acacia seedlings and cleaned up the Peixe River,
which runs through the São Benedito community.
To achieve all this, they needed to get partners on
board. They already have seven supporting the initiative, including a radio station and the local government, as well as the CFAF itself. “We invite people who can make a contribution. With their help,
the project can grow, develop and expand,” observes
Laysa Ferreira, 15.
They are already thinking about expanding.
According to Samuel Melo, 15, the aim is to set
an example for other communities. “We want to
garner recognition for our work throughout the
Southern Lowlands,” he says. José Renildo adds:
“We are starting to work towards that goal. We are
already active in the urban area of Piraí do Norte,
a nearby county. It is a way to take care of the environment we live in, while spreading knowledge.”
The third location they chose is the São Francisco
community, also in Nilo Peçanha, which is home to
Juliana Neves, 15, the only group member who does
not live in São Benedito.
“We seek to encourage young people to stay in
the countryside. It’s vitally important because that’s
where we grow our food. We want to help stop the
rural exodus,” adds João Victor dos Santos, 14.
According to Patrícia Nascimento, 15, the group
is motivated by the good their work is doing for the
region. “We don’t worry about making a profit, and
we don’t just think about ourselves. Our priority is
the community.”
After taking part in this process, José Renildo,
recognized as one of the group members who keep
the project running smoothly, could not have imagined where a simple dream could lead. Today, he is
sure that dreams are meant to be acted on. “The São
Benedito community was the first step. Our expectation is that everyone will keeping giving their all and
doing their best. That way, we’ll go far,” he says.
π Luciene de Souza: the most important thing is knowledge
π Jamiles Souza: workshops for children
Encouraging volunteer work
To encourage volunteer work in the Southern
Bahia Lowlands, the Rights and Citizenship Institute,
which is also part of the PDCIS, organizes the
Treading Paths project. Its participants, who must
be between 14 and 18 years of age, have a chance to
expand their knowledge about themselves and other
social issues and develop leadership skills, as well as
to learn and master the tools of information technology. The conceptual basis of this initiative was partly inspired by the book Juventude, Solidariedade e
Voluntariado (Youth, Solidarity and Volunteering) by
Vilma de Souza, published in 2004 with the support
of the Odebrecht Foundation.
The educational process lasts two years, and
youth protagonism is encouraged from the start.
The young people have to identify a need in their
local community and help minimize it. For example,
Jamiles Souza, 17, and her group decided to conduct
playful workshops with children in a daycare center
in Tancredo Neves, Bahia, where she lives. “The aim
is to address important issues for the school environment, such as bullying, through games and recreational activities. We have brought together over
200 children,” she says.
Luciene de Souza, 15, decided to alert her community about the dangers of dengue. “At first we
thought about mobilizing a neighborhood, and in
the end, we worked with three. We did it in partnership with health clinics, explaining the risks for
local residents,” she says. Luciene, who dreams of
becoming a pediatrician and taking care of children
in her community, believes that she will never forget her experience with Treading Paths. “In life, you
can take everything away from a person except the
knowledge they have acquired.” ]
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V o l u n t e e r i n g
π From left, Michael Hudson, Luciana Marques, Michelle Califfe and Silvia Souza: generosity
and the ethos of service
AN OVERWHELMING EXPERIENCE
Written by Alice Galeffi | Photos by Mário Grisolli
“Inexplicable” seems the best way to describe the
feeling of volunteering during World Youth Day
(WYD) in Rio de Janeiro. The joy the members of
SuperVia expressed when they told the Odebrecht
Informa team about the tasks they performed inside and outside the commuter rail company during
WYD infected everyone in the room. Suddenly, the
city seemed less chaotic, and the future more hopeful.
They played an important part in the success
of the event that brought together more than 1.5
million people in Rio de Janeiro to strengthen and
spread the Catholic faith among the world’s youth.
WYD was the largest event ever held in Rio de
Janeiro. It not only broke records for the number
48
of people who attended and the number of days it
lasted (seven) but also for the complex logistics of
transporting pilgrims who came from all over the
world. What’s more, the program for WYD changed
several times, right up to the last minute, and the
SuperVia team had to redo months of planning
to adapt to those changes. “After WYD, the FIFA
World Cup and the Olympics will be a breeze,”
says Amanda Braga da Silva, the Coordinator of the
Commercial area at SuperVia.
There were no problems with the trains or stations during WYD. For example, the litter collected was only a quarter of the estimated amount.
There was a climate of responsibility, cooperation,
and above all, joy. “You couldn’t stay in a bad mood.
Their energy was so good that even our regular customers, who at first seemed bothered by the ‘pilgrim invasion,’ succumbed to the festive spirit of
the faithful,” recalls Julia das Neves Dias, a member
of SuperVia’s Operational Planning team.
The role of volunteers
The WYD spirit helped spread the climate of
peace and harmony on and outside the commuter
trains, but without volunteers, the event would not
have been the same. The act of pilgrimage, characteristic of WYD, is implicitly linked to the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ, and the act of welcoming pilgrims
into one’s home and giving them food (without receiving anything in return) is part of the Christian
teaching of loving your neighbor as yourself, and
giving them food and shelter. “Our heart is our
home, and we open it up,” says Communication
Coordinator Silvia Souza, who volunteered at the
event.
Julio César Diniz Costa, the Power System
Supervisor, “donated” a week of his vacation time
to host and look after two Venezuelans, Sky, 18, and
Roxangel, 17. “I took them to events and picked them
up. They were very affectionate and ran up to hug
me whenever they saw me. My daughter was green
with jealousy.”
Michael Hudson, the Financial Officer at SuperVia,
attended the previous WYD in Madrid, and was so
delighted with the warm reception he received in the
Spanish capital that he wanted to give back. Michael
was part of the group that visited and inspected the
homes that accommodated the pilgrims, and hosted
two Argentine women in his own home. He was also
responsible for guiding a group of 45 pilgrims.
Luciana Marques confesses that she was not
thrilled about hosting people in her home, but at the
insistence of her sister, who is a missionary, she eventually took charge of a group of six people. She was
pleasantly surprised: “It was great to see that these
young people are polite and united by the same goal:
to help improve the world. What’s even better is
knowing that my sister is not alone in this endeavor.”
Everyone says that volunteering at WYD was
a unique, historic and transformative experience.
Regarding the SuperVia team’s work during WYD,
inside and outside the company, Branch Leader
Michelle Teixeira Califfe says: “Nothing is more
rewarding than seeing that the event is going well.
And, to be honest, we were spectacular.”
“You're beautiful, and you are not alone”
The volunteer work done by SuperVia members goes beyond participating in WYD. Security
Supervisor Lúcio Corrêa was on vacation when
π Lúcio Corrêa: “I’m part of the company and I am here to do my bit”
Odebrecht informa
49
V o l u n t e e r i n g
π Carmem Dutra: suddenly having 80 children to look after
Odebrecht Informa interviewed him about his social
outreach project. “I love what I do. If I had my way,
I’d never take a vacation, ever,” he says. Lúcio collects
10 “baskets” of basic food staples (meat, milk, beans,
rice, cassava flour, potatoes, tomatoes, bread, coffee,
bananas, sugar, oil and butter) every month through
SuperVia, and another five on his own. He distributes them to needy families in the community in
the sphere of influence of SuperVia’s railway lines.
“Because I take the trains all the time, I come into contact with the families in the area and am familiar with their needs,” he says. In addition to distributing food staples, Lucio invites families to have
breakfast with him once a month, when he explains,
among other things, the importance of not littering
the tracks or throwing stones at trains. “I’m part of
the company, and I am here to do my bit,” says Lúcio.
Administrative assistant Carmem Aparecida Dutra
always wondered why God had not given her children.
50
Eight years ago, when she entered the St. Vincent de
Paul Children’s Support Home – a private institution
that cares for children with cancer – she understood
why: “At that moment, God had given me 80 children
to look after.”
Since then, Carmem has supported the establishment and taken care of the children as if they
were her own. She started out by donating food
and visiting the kids, and went on to create the
SuperVia Super Friends Team, which has the support of more than 100 members who donate food,
clothing, toys and money. But Carmem does more
than contribute material things. “When mothers get
overwhelmed by it all, I take care of their children.”
When one of the girls had to have her head shaved,
Carmem shaved her own to show support, and told
the little girl: “Hair is the least important thing in
life. It grows back. The important thing is to know
that you’re beautiful, and you’re not alone.” ]
USA
MAP OF
VOLUNTEER
WORK
> Getting together to refurbish
the homes of military veterans, seniors,
disaster victims, people with special
needs and low-income families
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC
> Donating
computers, books
and other items to
charities, schools
and hospitals
ANGOLA
PANAMA
> Helping young
victims of domestic
violence (many
of them, teenage
mothers) and
homeless children
MEXICO
> Helping at-risk
children and
adolescents
See where volunteers are
active and the kind of work
they are doing. In addition to
working in groups, individual
members contribute to
society by doing volunteer
work on their own
> Providing services for the disadvantaged
population of Luanda and its metropolitan region,
and offering professional education to include the
city’s residents in the formal job market
> Visiting children in Luanda’s public hospitals
> Literacy classes for workers
> Bolstering civic spirit through Scouting
BRAZIL
> Support for young mothers
in low-income communities
VENEZUELA
> Support for charitable
institutions that help low-income
communities
> Organizing
activities
that improve
people’s bodies
and minds
> Organizing educational activities
for disadvantaged children
> Helping children and adolescents
with cancer and their families
> Donating
food and toiletries
to victims of natural
disasters and
disadvantaged
families
> Reforestation
projects
> Donating books
> Donating hair
to cancer patients
> Assisting and offering
educational activities to socially
vulnerable children
> Good meals for the homeless
PERU
> Activities that
improve civic spirit
and generate
income for women
who are victims of
domestic violence
> Building a school
and supporting
nursing homes,
daycare centers
and hospitals
> Lectures, seminars
and reforestation projects
> Encouraging the development
of leadership skills among
youths aged 14 to 18 through
Christian teachings
> Support for families of newly
arrived members in Mineiros,
Goiás, including the publication
of a guide for newcomers
MOZAMBIQUE
> Aid for homeless
children
> Refurbishing
libraries and
public parks
> Educational
activities
and social and
spiritual aid
> Support for social outreach
projects
Odebrecht informa
51
ENERGY FOR
THE FUTURE
We transform the present
to build a better future.
Odebrecht Agroindustrial will invest over BRL 1 billion
during the 2013-2014 harvest to produce clean,
renewable energy in Brazil.
We already number 17,000 members. Every day,
we convert sugarcane into ethanol, sugar and electricity
produced in sustainable and innovative ways.
In just 6 years, we have built 9 Agroindustrial Units
in 4 Brazilian states and brought about positive change in
the communities where we have established Production
Hubs, investing BRL 5 million per year in professional
education for local residents and benefiting over 10,000
people with our social outreach projects.
BRL 9 billion invested by 2015;
6 Production Hubs in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso
do Sul, Mato Grosso and São Paulo;
Planting over 100,000 hectares per year with
100% mechanized farming methods;
Installed capacity to produce 3 billion
liters of ethanol;
Cogenerating 3,100 GWh of electricity, enough
to supply 4.5 million families;
700,000 tonnes of VHP sugar.
We believe in a more renewable Brazil.
Our energy renews the future.
www.odebrechtagroindustrial.com
52
Odebrecht informa
53
A R G U M E N T
THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING OTHERS
gen é sio
“WE GET CONCRETE RESULTS
FROM VOLUNTEER WORK THAT HAVE
MOVED US AND TRANSFORMED US
INTO BETTER HUMAN BEINGS”
The basic principle of volunteer work is the desire to embrace
a social cause without any interest in financial reward. For us,
as Odebrecht members, that impulse is part of our capacity to
serve, framed by humility and simplicity, which are essential
characteristics for us to be culturally engaged in the Group.
Within the families that accompany each Odebrecht
member in their professional challenges in Brazil and other
countries, growing legions of volunteers are leaving important legacies for individuals and communities. In my personal experience, I have witnessed how volunteer work helps
people grow through the act of serving others.
It came to my attention during the 1990s in Ecuador that
my co-workers’ wives were dedicated to helping our children adapt to a culturally diverse environment as volunteers at the American School in Guayaquil. They overcame
that challenge by providing emotional support at a time
c outo
when the facilities of digital communication did not exist,
and homesickness and distance from familiar surroundings
caused further pain to the heart and soul.
Our entrepreneurial calling appears to have infected the
families who accompany us on our daily challenges. Today we
get concrete results from volunteer work that have moved us
and transformed us into better human beings. This observation has been heightened over the course of my 25 years with
the Group. Acts of charity that were once done sporadically by individuals have now taken organized form. Volunteers
from Odebrecht members’ families have honed their skills,
and social causes have become a mission. That way, we will
build a legacy of humanitarian actions, structured to achieve
sustainable results.
Our volunteers win smiles, ease pain, and maintain hope
among those in need. They carry out projects which are linked
to the wellbeing of their fellow man, motivated and inspired
by a belief in social causes and the conviction that life will get
better when likeminded people join forces – people who have
the privilege of wanting to serve others instead of being served.
We are Odebrecht. Odebrecht is us, in the four corners of
the world. We are united by the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial
Technology (TEO), which tells us: “Those who want to do
something in this world will find a way; those who do not
want to do anything will always find an excuse.” ]
Genésio Couto is the officer Responsible for People, Sustainability and Communication at Odebrecht Agroindustrial
54
U R B A N
D E V E L O P M E N T
π Barra da Tijuca: the scene of new residential trends in Rio de Janeiro
NATURE IN DAILY LIFE
A PARK DESIGNED BY THE BURLE MARX LANDSCAPING
FIRM IS THE HIGHLIGHT IN THE ILHA PURA DISTRICT
Written by Júlio César Soares | Photos by Carlos Júnior
The architect of the Pilot Plan for Brasília and one
of the pioneers of Modernist architecture in Brazil,
Lúcio Costa, called Barra da Tijuca the “geographic
center of the city of Rio de Janeiro.” A quick glance
at a city map confirms that the architect’s observation could become a reality. When the great city
planner thought of Barra da Tijuca as a new option
for Rio de Janeiro residents in the 1960s, roads providing access to the area from the Center and South
Zone, and important routes in the district, such as
Avenida das Américas, were under construction.
Fifty years later, Barra has grown and continues to
make progress, preparing for a landmark in its history: it is one of the main hubs for the 2016 Olympics.
“The Olympic Games have made use of cities on some occasions. In others, the cities have
made use of the Games.” This saying, which is attributed to Pasqual Maragall, the former Mayor
of Barcelona, the host city for the 1992 Olympics,
is etched in the mind of Antonio Pessoa, the CEO
of Odebrecht Realizações Imobiliárias (Real Estate
Developments). He believes in the city’s new interconnection through projects like the BRT (Bus Rapid
Transit), a corridor exclusively used for buses, built
by Odebrecht Infraestrutura (Infrastructure), together with high-level developments, such as the
planned district of Ilha Pura, which will house the
Athletes’ Village on one-third of its area during
the Olympic Games as part of Barra’s continuing
growth. “Thanks to high-quality public transportation and a major investment in infrastructure, which
we are keeping pace with, Barra is now the best place
to live in Rio de Janeiro,” says Antonio Pessoa.
A new district is born
Flanked by a lake on one side and a mountain
on the other. This is the setting where Odebrecht
Realizações Imobiliárias and Carvalho Hosken are
building the Ilha Pura project. “We are next door
to Pedra Branca State Park, opposite a lake, and
Odebrecht informa
55
π Building the Ilha Pura district: methodological and administrative innovations
five minutes from the beach,” emphasizes Carlos
Fernando de Carvalho, President of Carvalho Hosken,
the company that has built the majority of the residential complexes in Barra and which therefore has
years of experience in the region.
“Barra has already embraced the concept of the
consolidated club-condo housing development, but
our venture is the first to go beyond that,” highlights
Maurício Cruz Lopes, the General Director of Ilha
Pura. Comprising 31 apartment buildings and one
commercial tower, the district will include full service infrastructure for residents, which is already
the standard in that region. “We will have language
schools, restaurants and other service establishments within the development,” says Maurício.
The “going beyond” Mauricio mentioned is a
72,000-sq.m park, with the landscaping design undertaken by the Burle Marx firm. “Our idea is to
56
bring back the childhood of yesteryear, so that children can play in direct contact with nature,” comments Maurício. With sports and leisure facilities,
as well as running and walking lanes and a 5-km cycle path connecting all of the development’s towers,
the park will also include a 3,000-sq.m artificial
lake (which, in turn, will link all the housing developments in the district, also passing through woods
and business and service areas).
Sustainable construction
The project team has set up two concrete batching plants inside the jobsite to reduce the flow of
trucks around the development, producing approximately 350,000 cu.m of concrete. “We will cut
back on traveling the equivalent of 1.5 million km by
truck by installing batching plants at the site,” observes Maurício Cruz. He adds: “In addition to not
impacting traffic in the region, we will avoid 700
metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.”
Recycling water is a priority during construction,
and will continue to be prioritized when the district
is completed. The system installed to reuse greywater (leftover water from hand basins and showers,
for example) will also be part of the development
when it is completed.
The results of these measures are already starting to be felt, such as the Aqua Bairros (High
Environmental Quality) certification issued to the
Ilha Pura district by the Vanzolini Foundation. The
first certification to take Brazilian specifics for environmental management in buildings into account, it
evaluates 17 objectives divided into three themes: integration and consistency with the district; the district’s natural resources and environmental and sanitary quality; and social life and economic dynamics.
At the moment, 2,500 members are building
seven of the 31 towers that will form part of the
Ilha Pura district’s first stage. With the handover
to future residents envisaged for 2017, the work is
being done in a decentralized manner. “We have
delegated responsibility for building each of the
apartment towers to its own entrepreneur [project
manager] and team to meet the engineering challenge and timeframe that we have here,” explains
Antonio Pessoa. According to Antonio, this was only possible thanks to the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial
Technology (TEO). “We are prepared to carry out a
project of this size thanks to the planned delegation of responsibility in our team,” he says, adding:
“We are overcoming challenges that the Odebrecht
Realizações Imobliárias and Carvalho Hosken teams
are well equipped to meet, and will deliver a sustainable and high-quality product.” ]
Odebrecht informa
57
H Y D R O E L E C T R I C
D A M
WORKING IN VAST
OPEN SPACES
SOME OF THE NUMEROUS (AND IN SOME CASES,
IMPRESSIVE) CHALLENGES OVERCOME TO BUILD
THE SIMPLÍCIO COMPLEX IN BRAZIL
π A lovely and complex setting: planning and logistics were key to making the Simplício project a reality
58
Written by Edilson Silva | Photos by Américo Vermelho
Anyone who visits the Simplício Hydroelectric
Complex on the border between the Brazilian states
of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro and sees the quiet waters that flow along a more than 30-km circuit
between the Anta and Simplício plants, could never
imagine the type of challenge that the 4,500 members who worked there needed to overcome during a
six-year period. And for the team that built it, every
part of that challenge was complex and rewarding:
from engineering, excavating tunnels and opening
channels to logistics for the equipment and supplies,
moving on to food, safety and aligning the 35 simultaneous work fronts.
Attempts to build a hydroelectric plant in the region date back to the 1970s but it was only in June
2007 that Furnas Centrais Elétricas and the contracted companies broke ground for the project. Odebrecht
Infraestrutura (Infrastructure) and Andrade Gutierrez
formed the Simplício Joint Venture, which was responsible for civil construction.
Equipped with two Kaplan turbines (14 MW each),
the Anta plant is located in the county which bears the
same name. Water from the Paraíba do Sul River is diverted from there to the water supply system formed
by 10 dikes, 15 channels and 7 tunnels, through which
it flows to the Simplício plant. There, three pipes
make use of a 115-m fall to drive three Francis turbines
with a total capacity of 305.7 MW. After it has passed
through Simplício, the water returns to the Paraíba do
Sul River. The drop between one plant and the other is
115 m, allowing the complex to produce energy all year
round and making Simplício the Brazilian hydroelectric complex with the lowest ratio between flooded
area and power generated: 0.05 km2/MW.
Odebrecht’s Project Director Reinaldo Lins de
Freitas explains: “We set up six large jobsites along
the 30-km stretch, each equipped with offices, workshops, restrooms, a cafeteria, a first aid station and
other facilities to guarantee both total support to
the work crews and a steady supply of materials and
equipment.”
Approximately 600 pieces of heavy equipment
were used during the project, such as computerized
jumbos, dump trucks and backhoes with a capacity
for 35 and 40-tonne loads.
The teams found several different soil types, ranging from more sandy areas to a wide variety of rocks.
Of the total 30 km length, 12 km corresponded to
seven tunnels, with Tunnel 3 being the largest of any
Brazilian hydroelectric dam built to date: 6,040 m.
Odebrecht informa
59
π Andréia Borges: trust and encouragement from her leaders
The excavated material was reused to construct the
dikes and channels.
Flávio Martins, who is now the Engineering,
Environment, Projects and Development Installation
Director at Furnas, was closely involved in the project between 2011 and 2012 as the Construction
Department Chief at Simplício: “My most important task was getting the contractors’ teams on the
same page, which involved extensive conversations
to ensure that we had a single channel of communication,” Flávio recalls.
According to Flávio, the Simplício Complex represents a strategic boost to the nation’s energy supply. “When it went online in June this year, Simplício
made a major contribution to the Brazilian Electric
System. The plant is an important boost at a time
when the country is using thermal plants to guarantee power supplies, which means higher costs,”
he says. According to Flávio, Furnas, in partnership
with investors, will allocate BRL 1.5 billion per year
in the next 10 years to increase the reliability and
efficiency of Brazil’s power supply.
People development
Furnas complied with a number of social and environmental conditions before the complex went
online, such as installing 40 km of sewer systems
60
in the towns of Sapucaia and Anta, and building
three sewage treatment plants, a landfill and District
21, which got its name because 21 families were rehoused here after being relocated from the hydroelectric complex’s sphere of influence.
Due to the project’s complexity, there was no lack
of opportunities for professional growth. Marlano
Ribeiro, 29, is a company member from the state of
Goiás who started working on the project as a Young
Partner in the Financial Program in 2008. He was
promoted to Responsible for Finance and then to
Administrative-Financial Manager for the project
between 2008 and 2011. “A number of people seized
the opportunities this project offered, especially local people, who made up 70% of our work force,” he
emphasizes.
Andréia Borges, 43, is a good example. A resident
of the town of Além Paraíba, Minas Gerais, located
on the banks of the Paraíba do Sul River and approximately 15 km from the Simplício plant, she started
working for the joint venture as an Administrative
Assistant at the beginning of the project. She worked
hard and took on increasing challenges. Now she
is the technician responsible for the Commercial
Program and is in her second year of business school.
“The trust and encouragement of my leaders were
fundamental for my growth,” she confirms. ]
MILESTONES OF A CHALLENGE
THE NUMBERS THAT HELP EXPLAIN
THE SUCCESS OF A UNIQUE PROJECT
INFRASTRUCTURE
2 Kaplan turbines (14 MW each)
10 dikes
15 channels
7 tunnels
ANTA
PLANT
CONSTRUCTION
600 pieces of heavy
equipment, such as
computerized jumbos
and dump trucks
35 and 40 tonnes
SOCIAL/ENVIRONMENTAL
40 km of sewer systems
3 sewage treatment plants
1 landfill
1 district
– load capacity
of backhoes
TEAM
4,500 people
working on the project
6 years to build it
Minas Gerais
LAYOUT
30 km between plants
7 tunnels totaling 12 km
6,040 m the size of Tunnel 3,
Rio de Janeiro
SIMPLÍCIO
PLANT
the largest in any Brazilian hydro
INFRASTRUCTURE
3 Francis turbines with
a total capacity of 305.7 MW
115 m fall
Odebrecht informa
61
I N T E R V I E W
LOYALTY LEADS
TO VICTORY
ANTONIO GAVIOLI, FROM THE CORINTHIANS ARENA
Written by Cláudio Lovato Filho | Photo by Wanezza Soares
As a young engineer, Antonio Gavioli faced
what he considers to have been one of his
greatest leadership challenges to date. Before
starting at Odebrecht in 1985, he was the
operations manager on an offshore platform
used to build the foundations for the Ponta
da Madeira pier in the northern Brazilian
state of Maranhão. The general foreman of
the platform, an extremely experienced and
capable professional, did not accept Gavioli’s
leadership. They had a stormy relationship until
a problem arose in the foreman's personal life
and Gavioli helped him out.
62
As a result, Gavioli ended up becoming
godfather to one of the foreman's children.
“A leader can’t just give orders to his team
members, complain about their performance
and then walk away. It’s really good to know
that someone cares about us,” says Antonio
Roberto Gavioli, 59, the Project Director for
the Corinthians Arena. In this interview, he
explains why team spirit and the constant
pursuit of synergy are among the most
distinctive characteristics of day-to-day work at
the construction site, which, as a Corinthians’
supporter, he runs with joy and passion.
π Team unity is one of the trademarks of the Corinthians
Arena project. People really feel that they are all part of
a single team. This is clear everywhere – from the more
operational to the more strategic areas. How did you get
to this point on a project of this size, and with so many
people at the jobsite?
To start with, I’d like to say that everything we have done
here at the Corinthians Arena is the result of the work of a
team that I’m proud to be part of. To answer your question,
it doesn’t matter how many people there are. There could
be extremely small teams of four or five people without
any synergy among them. Then there’s our team at Corinthians, which came to 2,500 members [at peak construction]. I believe that the secret is not seeing a team member,
whatever level he may be, as just a work registration or ID
number. That person, who is there, in front of you, has his
individualities, characteristics, aspirations, problems and
insecurities. He is a human being, just like you. So, it is
important to be “all there,” 100% available to listen during a
conversation with each team member. And really listen. Did
we do this with 2,500 members? No. But every individual
who is really listened to will be a multiplying factor. He will
certainly tell another four, five or six of his co-workers that
the leadership treated him well. That multiplier effect can
reach all 2,500 people.
π What role does communication play in this context? What
do we need to do to design and implement an efficient
communication system between people on a project of this
magnitude? Which tools are the most important for you?
Communication is the main tool. Let’s look at it from
another angle. How would the members organize a strike?
Organizing a strike isn’t easy; it takes time and needs communication and a quick and convincing argument. So, why
not use effective and quick communication to mobilize the
members in our favor? I always say to the managers: “I am
going to be very hurt if a trade union’s car parks outside the
jobsite and in just 10 minutes manages to ‘win’ the trust of
the workers we spend 10 or 12 hours with every day.” We
have held Daily Safety Dialogues (DDS) at 7:20 am every
day since the first day of the project. All projects do the
same thing, but the difference here is that all the managers are present. These daily meetings express the idea
that “we are in it together,” “we start the day together.” The
DDS opens a channel of communication. If a team member
has something to say, he can use that time, as many have
already done and continue doing to this today. There are
other activities along those lines as well, such as the Breakfast with Members meeting. It’s called “Breakfast with the
Directors” at other places. The workers give me a chance to
have breakfast with them and not the other way around. It’s
a time to find out about people’s backgrounds, a little about
their lives, families and each individual’s aspirations. They
also ask me a lot of questions. They want to know about my
professional and personal life.
π To what extent has the correct understanding of the
importance of the relationship between leaders and team
members been important for generating this level of unity
and synergy?
A leader can’t just go up to a team member and give orders,
complain about their performance and walk away. Taking a
genuine interest in the personal lives of the people you lead
directly or indirectly has an extremely strong and positive
impact. It ranges from fewer accidents to an improvement
in the quality of the work and increased productivity. The
fact that you are aware that a team member has a sick child
on a given day, and when you meet him again the next day,
you ask, “Is your son better?” is very positive for everyone.
I confess that sometimes I even use my diary to help me
remember. Knowing that someone takes an interest in us is
very beneficial. When we completed the concrete structures, we were going to have to lay off a lot of people, so we
started a program to train the people who might be laid off
to put the finishing touches on the arena.
"Opening a channel
of communication between
a leader and his team members
and really listening is what
'creates' the programs"
π The collective wedding held at the jobsite, the Brasilei-
rinho (internal soccer championship along the lines of the
Brazilian Championship), the presence of members’ children studying and working at the jobsite and family visits
to the site are examples of activities which strengthen
workers’ relationships with the project and the company.
How were these initiatives conceived?
One day a friend, who is a top business executive and a
Corinthians’ supporter who keeps a close eye on everything
that happens on this project, asked me: “Do you have a team
or person who is locked in a room just thinking up these
motivational programs?” I thought his question was funny
but the reality is completely different. Opening a channel
of communication between a leader and his team members and really listening is what “creates” the programs. The
programs we’ve developed resulted from the demand that
came from the field. I must not forget Frederico Barbosa,
Odebrecht informa
63
Supervisor Pará, Domingos Savio, Ricardo Corregio, Valentim Valeretto, Gilson Guardia, Maria Isabel Rodrigues and
so many others who are always attentive to these demands,
who listened and implemented the programs. For example,
the collective wedding was the result of a Breakfast Meeting
with Domingos and me. During the meetings with members,
I always ask: “Are you married?” And the answer is almost
always the same: “No I’m not, sir, but I have a wife and children and we’ve lived together for 10 or 15 years.” Then I ask:
“But don’t you want to get married, have a real marriage?”
The answer: “We do but we can’t afford the wedding rings,
the registry office, clothes and reception and we need to
get the right papers, and so on.” So we decided to conduct a
survey at the jobsite on who would like to get married and
120 couples signed up. I would like to stress the key role
of Maria Isabel, the social worker who asked for donations
and managed to get all the paperwork taken care of for each
couple. We managed to officialize the unions of 63 couples
after a six-month battle, including a total of 64 members,
because one couple worked together here at the jobsite. It
was a beautiful party, on a Sunday. We had 53 Catholic and
10 Neo-Pentecostal couples, with different ceremonies for
each group. We couldn’t get the paperwork done in time for
the other couples – the rest of the 120 who signed up.
π Is a feeling of belonging a determining factor for the
quality of the relationship between a member and the
company? To what extent have you been able to reduce
the turnover on this project?
I believe that the feeling of belonging, engagement, commitment or, as we say on the project, “wearing the company
shirt,” comes with the quality of the leader-team member
relationship. We don’t have separate canteens here at the
Corinthians Arena. We all eat our meals in the same place.
Frederico [Barbosa] created a banner right at the beginning of the project, showing a photo of some managers
having lunch with assistants, carpenters and builders and
highlighting the following phrase: We sit at the same table
here; we eat the same food and we all wear the same shirt.
Nothing is more striking and significant for all of us than
this phrase. Shaking a worker’s hand and saying “good
morning” when you meet up with him on the jobsite makes
all the difference. That team member feels valued. A feeling
of belonging blossoms.
π In your opinion, what could all these accomplishments
with people management mean in the future? How can
the concepts and practices developed here be shared,
adapted and replicated?
Of course, working on a project which is so charismatic and
enthralling, the setting for the opening game of the 2014
FIFA World Cup, an event that will be seen by 3.5 billion
people, which is half the world’s population, has contrib-
64
uted to both motivation and synergy, but having people who
like people on the Management Team is the first step. It is
hard to introduce programs like these without that basic
prerequisite.
π Considering the aspect of a quality working environ-
ment and team unity, which moment or episode has
touched you the most so far?
The moment which touches me the most is when a member
is laid off because we have wound up one of the various
work fronts. Getting laid off is usually traumatic. Here, the
members come and say thank you, cry, some take lots of
photos with the managers and promise to come back, and
they really do. One day, I was in the middle of the jobsite
with Supervisor Pará and six laid off workers came up to
us. I thought: “Holey Moley, now we’re in for it” [laughter].
Nothing of the sort. They just wanted to say thanks, take a
photo and make sure we bring them back at the next opportunity. It was really moving.
π In Brazil, it is said that soccer is the perfect metaphor
for life. If the construction of the Corinthians Arena was a
match, which one would it be?
It would be a match between the Brazil team, with the
majority of the players being from Corinthians, and Argentina. The final score would be Brazil 6 - Argentina 0. Pure
joy. That’s us, brother! ]
Corinthians Arena
Location: Itaquera district, East Zone of São Paulo
Ground broken: May 30, 2011
Number of workers at the jobsite: 2,500 (at peak)
Capacity: 48,000 seats (for the 2014 World Cup there will be
68,000, thanks to temporary seating installed for 20,000 fans)
π Sônia Cruz with students from the Villa Padre Nuestro School in the Dominican Republic
Celso Doni
click
C O M M U N I T Y
π Saraiva Adolfo: studying to become a teacher
THE FUTURE WRITTEN
THE RIGHT WAY
TEACHING CHILDREN TO READ AND WRITE IN ANGOLA’S LUNDA-NORTE
PROVINCE BOLSTERS UNITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Written by Carlos Pereira | Photos by Kamene Traça
The Catata-Lóvua Highway, under construction in
the Angolan province of Lunda-Norte, is helping
boost social development in the region before it is
even built. Since May, the Itinerant School Program
(Xicola Ya Kututukuca, in the Tchokwe language)
has enabled children between the ages of 7 and 13
to read and write in Portuguese. Planned in partnership with the Provincial Government, with a view
66
to ensuring its sustainability, the program involved
the participation of the Sobas, or local chieftains,
the traditional authorities in the region.
Project Director Javier Chuman Rojas says that
the Catata-Lóvua Highway, built under the responsibility of Odebrecht Infraestrutura (Infrastructure),
will be 101 km long and is part of a plan to build
more than 500 km of roads to connect the towns
of Xá Muteba and Dundo, replacing a rural trail.
The aim of the project is to integrate six counties in
the province of Lunda-Norte, in the far east of the
country, near the border with Congo. “The region’s
climate and topography are well-suited for the creation of farming and ranching hubs. This is also an
opportunity to diversify Angola’s economy, which
is now highly concentrated on oil,” says Rojas.
The Education Director of Lunda-Norte Province,
Bartolomeu Sapalo, is celebrating the arrival of the
new highway. Its route passes through remote, almost isolated communes that have never had any
schools or other public services. Literacy is a priority
for the Angolan government, but the lack of housing
in these remote areas used to make it impossible to
send out teachers to live there in the long term.
“This situation has improved significantly through the partnership with Odebrecht,” says
Sapalo. The company will provisionally provide
teachers with accommodations, meals and transportation. This decision has accelerated the process
of sending teachers to live and work in those areas.
Subsequently, the Angolan Government will provide permanent facilities. There is also a government program called “200 Fires” that includes the
construction of homes for those professionals.
π Joaquim Carvalho: “Literacy nurtures
dreams”
When observing the activities of Mario Gabriel,
49, one of 10 teachers who are already part of the
project, it is hard to tell who is having more fun,
him or the more than 50 clapping and singing children. Gabriel explains that his main goal is to keep
them away from the perimeter of the jobsite, which
is a magnet for curious kids. With the help of a
translator, called Friend of the Village, the teacher
teaches the children word games and jokes and tells
stories and anecdotes. “That way, they can start to
recognize the sound of the Portuguese language and
stay away from the highway,” he explains.
Gabriel reports that some of his students already understand sentences and are able to communicate. This is the case with Saraiva Adolfo, 10,
who, in still rudimentary Portuguese, says that he
wants to become a teacher one day. “I told a story
about a poor student who went to the city to study
and returned to help his community. He was very
enthusiastic, and his progress has been amazing,”
says the teacher.
Joaquim de Carvalho, 34, specializes in Education.
He left his family behind in Luanda to commit himself to the project. He uses the Cuban “Yes I Can”
method (employed by the Government of LundaNorte in the public schools) to help his 112 students
learn to read and write in Portuguese. For now, classes
are being held in three shifts in a house in the village.
Joaquim takes examples straight from real life
in that community. “First, we work on handwriting, and before long, they can already spell syllables.
Literacy nurtures dreams, and the presence of the
highway has shown them that they need to prepare
themselves for the future,” says the teacher.
The Sobas play an essential role in the social organization of traditional communities in Angola, centralizing decision making, organizing events, acting
as judges and forming a bridge between the community and the Government. They are also responsible
for their communities’ physical and spiritual welfare.
Soba Txitangia Mualucano, 60, from the Bumbatempo community, has three wives and 27 children,
all living under the same roof. He does not speak
Portuguese and has never lived outside the community. In the past, he experienced the trauma of war.
But the present is a time for optimism. He recalls
that the children “used to walk in the tall grass,” running the risk of being bitten by venomous animals.
“We’re not going back to that,” he says, reiterating the
request that the school continue to teach the children. “When the highway is built, the community
will need that. And afterwards, let there come a hospital, water and power,” says the leader. ]
Odebrecht informa
67
H I G H W A Y
π The Carhuaz-San Luís Highway: a transport solution, tourist attraction and engineering benchmark
THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS
A NEW HIGHWAY IN PERU IS CHANGING LIVES
IN ANDEAN COMMUNITIES
Written by João Marcondes | Photos by Celso Doni
Who says there’s no magic in engineering? Or that
civil construction workers can’t have feelings similar to those of the great champions, such as the
Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, or Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva? Building a tunnel at an altitude
of almost 5,000 m above sea level in weather conditions involving temperatures of -15ºC at night, thin
air and heavy snow, and excavating through rocks in
the Andes mountain range with constant landslides
68
requires knowledge and determination worthy of
people who can see beyond what is right in front of
their eyes, use their imagination and, above all, have
a passion for overcoming challenges.
These efforts provided inspiration for the tunnel’s name: Punta Olímpica (Olympic Point). Located
at a height of exactly 4,738 m, it is the cherry on a
cake with white, snowy icing, forming part of the
100-km Carhuaz-Chacas-San Luís highway, built
π The Punta Olímpica Tunnel: built nearly 5,000 meters above sea level
by Odebrecht in the Peruvian state of Ancash. The
Andean people are anxiously awaiting the official
opening ceremony, which is scheduled for September.
Before Odebrecht broke ground on the project
in February 2011, the route was a narrow dirt track,
considered one of the most dangerous stretches in the world, responsible for a large number of
deaths in recent years. The road, where drivers had
to maneuver on the edge of colossal chasms in certain sections, was so bad that it was included in the
History Channel’s Deadliest Roads series.
What was once a dangerous route has become a
two-way, highly accessible road, tourist attraction
and engineering masterpiece. “We have to praise
everyone who worked on this highway. They deserve a major shout out,” says the Peruvian engineer Winston Lewis Diaz, the Production Manager
for the project. He keeps an article from Odebrecht
Informa in 1990 at home, which calls him the “The
Man of the Andes.”
In order to achieve this Olympic feat, the people
working in the tunnel had access to thermal clothing
to keep them warm during the night shift and heating equipment for food all the time they worked on
the project, as well as having medical services and
oxygen tanks available around the clock. The construction phase created more than 3,000 job opportunities (directly and indirectly) for residents of
towns like Huaraz, Carhuaz and Chacas. And, more
importantly, it will give great visibility to this region,
which is home to approximately 200,000 people
and has huge untapped tourism potential. A section
that previously took a minimum of seven hours to
traverse now takes less than two.
The region also has tremendous mystic energy.
Both Quechua (an ancestral Andean language) and
Spanish are spoken there. There you find the ruins
of religious ceremonial structures which date back
3,000 years, back to the Chavin civilization, the
oldest known in Peru, before the famous Incas.
Odebrecht informa
69
π Worth more than a thousand words: this photo gives an idea of the challenges the construction team overcame
“This road changes everything”
The highway could be considered one of the
most beautiful in the world, as it runs between two
mountain ranges (both in the Andes), called Negra
(Black) and Blanca (White), which got its name because it is covered in snow. When taking the highway from Carhuaz, you drive up the winding mountain road, go through the Callejón de Huaylas valley
and Quebrada de Ulta and come face to face with
Mount Huascarán, the highest mountain in Peru at
6,768 m, as well as several jewel-like lakes encrusted
in the mountain. It is impossible not to be moved.
On leaving the Punta Olímpica tunnel, which is
1.3 km in length, 7.2 m wide and 6.5 m high, you
drive on to the village of Chacas, a charming little spot where the most beautiful wooden Catholic
saints in Peru are produced by the Dom Bosco cooperative, founded by Italians. The statuettes are
exported to Europe, the United States and Chile.
“This road changes everything. It used to be impossible to leave and come back here on the same
day. We were often stranded on the road because of
landslides. We used to spend the whole night at a
standstill, cold and hungry,” recalls Alejandro Tafur,
the cooperative coordinator, who has 60 people on
his team carving sacred wooden images.
70
The road also runs through Huascarán National
Park and therefore required careful environmental
safeguards. Special procedures were put in place to ensure the workers’ safety and protect the environment.
Fernando Cáceres, the Commercial and Engineering
Manager on the project, observes: “We worked more
than 8.5 million hours without a single serious accident. And even though just 100 trees were removed,
we replanted more than 13,000 native trees.”
The natural splendors of the region can be seen in
its plant life, such as the exotic queñua tree (Polylepis
genus), which has a type of “skin” covering its trunk
that is reminiscent of Egyptian papyrus, and Andean
wildlife, like hummingbirds, rabbits, condors and pumas. A mountain bear has even been spotted there.
In addition to the natural heritage, there are also archaeological remains in the area, including Chavin,
Inca and Quechua pottery, which has been found and
catalogued at the construction site.
After completing the 100 km Carhuaz-ChacasSan Luís highway, which literally takes one’s breath
away (due to the altitude of almost 5,000 m), a traditional Quechua saying that is heard in those parts
has never been so true: “Waray ewakupti ya pavaman qiran.” In other words: “Tomorrow, when you
leave, you will remember me”. ]
100 km
the length of the
highway that
Odebrecht built in the
Peruvian state of
Ancash
ANDES
MOUNTAINS
at night
PERU
State
of Ancash
Lima
BETWEEN TWO MOUNTAIN RANGES,
NEGRA AND BLANCA
(both in the Andes)
altitude:
The team members working on the tunnel project
wore thermal clothing to keep their bodies warm
equipment for food all the time they worked on the
project, and had medical services and oxygen tanks
available around the clock
4,738 m
7 hours - the driving time
between Carhuaz and
Chacas, now reduced to
under 2.5 hours
PUNTA OLÍMPICA
TUNNEL
1.3 km long
7.2 m wide
6.5 m high
In addition to natural
heritage there are also
archeological remains,
such as Chavin, Inca
and Quechua pottery
A mountain
bear has even been
sighted there
3,000 work opportunities
(directly and indirectly) created by
the construction phase
over 13,000
native tree
seedlings planted
Odebrecht informa
71
f o l k s
Written by Eliana Simonetti
FAMILY
An accountant with a specialist
qualification in Human Management,
Wanda Dorville Garcia started working
at Odebrecht Dominican Republic
ten years ago and is now the officer
Responsible for People. Married to
Francisco Lozano, who works on
the Commercial Program for one of
Odebrecht’s projects in the country,
Wanda is mother to three children:
Albert, 18, Walner, 14, and Almy, 11.
Wanda and her husband practice
the principles of of the Odebrecht
Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO) at
home to raise their children. “Bringing
up children is a difficult task, and what
we learn from TEO is a big help. We have
developed good communication and an
environment of trust in our family. We
set them an example and encourage our
kids to be good people, with a sense of
responsibility,” Wanda observes.
Edu Simões
Practicing TEO within the family
π Wanda and her husband, Francisco, with their children Albert
(left), Walner and Almy: good communication
TRAVEL
Personal Archives
Equatorial diversity
π Katherine with her husband, Jorge Cifuentes, and son, Raphael:
a passion for the country where she grew up
72
Katherine Calle was born in the United States but has
lived in Ecuador from a young age. She started working at
Odebrecht 20 years ago as a Young Partner. She has a degree
in Economics, and has worked on the Materials Program for
the Santa Elena Project in Guayaquil and on other projects
in the country. Today she is part of the Quito Metro Study
team. She never misses a chance to learn about the regional
diversity that characterizes Ecuador, her parents’ homeland.
The Galapagos Islands and their natural wealth; Riobamba, a
city located in the so-called Volcano Corridor; the Historic
Center of Cuenca, which was declared a World Heritage
site by UNESCO, and the city of Quito, the nation’s capital,
which contains the ruins of an ancient Inca city, as well as
colonial Spanish architecture - they are all places that have
very special meaning for Katherine. “Ecuador combines
the modern and historic. Visiting it is an unforgettable
experience," she says, extending an invitation for travelers.
ARTS & CULTURE
Mathias Cramer
SPORTS
Soccer at work and play
A fan of Santos, a team from
Baixada Santista, he naturally
started to like Corinthians and root
for that team. In fact he is a fan
of Brazilian soccer and full-time
enthusiast. Fred was responsible for
building the synthetic grass pitch
and organizing the “Brasileirinho,”
an internal soccer championship
held at the Corinthians Arena
jobsite along the lines of the
Brazilian Championship. “There
were 40 teams, 1,232 goals and 412
matches, with referees from the São
Paulo Federation,” Frederico reports.
“A sporting spirit and unity were at
the forefront,” he adds.
Personal Archives
Holanda Cavalcanti
Frederico Barbosa, from the Brazilian
town of Pedra Azul, Minas Gerais, has
worked at the Group for 32 years. He
was still very short when he became
fascinated by soccer. He reached his
current height as a teenager: 1.96 m.
Teachers and friends were sure that
he would start playing basketball.
Not at all. “Soccer is my passion,” he
confesses. The Fluminense club, from
Rio de Janeiro, is his pride and joy,
but he also supports Clube Atlético
Mineiro in his home state and
Grêmio in Rio Grande do Sul. He has
been the Operational Manager for the
Corinthians Arena in São Paulo since
the start of the project.
π Frederico then and now: sporting spirit
π Freire: a career closely linked to the
promotion of the arts
Cultural chemistry
Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the
chemical engineer João Freire started
working at Companhia Petroquímica
do Sul (Petrochemical Company in
the South - Copesul), which would
later become part of Braskem, thirty
years ago. He took on the challenge
of revamping the company’s cultural
programs with planning targets,
strategies and budgets in 2002. From
2003 to 2006, he coordinated the Brazil
Cycle, a series of seminars, exhibitions,
music festivals and book publications.
In 2007, his team began organizing
Frontiers of Thinking, an annual cycle
of lectures by intellectuals, scientists
and leaders from various areas.
Frontiers became sustainable in 2009,
sponsored by Braskem and partner
companies and held in the cities of
Porto Alegre, São Paulo and Salvador.
“Cultural initiatives need to develop
and grow all the time,” says João Freire,
who always has new projects in mind
and enjoys his work.
Odebrecht informa
73
I N T E R N S H I P S
π Karina Vieira: “I would do it all again”
EVERYBODY ON THE SAME PAGE
THE GROUP CONSOLIDATES HIRING PROCESSES
FOR INTERNSHIPS, WHICH OFFER KEY
OPPORTUNITIES TO YOUTH
Written by Júlio César Soares | Photos by Paulo Fridman
Karina Beatriz Vieira works on Braskem’s People
and Organization team. She was an intern at the
company for two years before becoming a permanent team member. She lives in Diadema, on
the outskirts of São Paulo, and used to commute
from her home to the office in the city on a daily basis, and then go from there to school at the
Methodist University in São Bernardo do Campo.
All told, she traveled a total of 30 km and seven
hours per day. A long commute indeed. Despite
74
the effort involved, she affectionately remembers
her time as an intern.
“From the very start, I identified with the
company’s values, such as confidence in people
and the ethos of service,” Karina, 26, recalls. She
competed with almost 15,000 students in the
selective process for interns in 2010. “Today I
welcome candidates at the Capuava Complex in
Mauá, SP, to show them the installations and explain how the company operates. I remember my
time as an intern and tell them that I would do it
all again.”
Karina is one of the large number of young
people taking part in Braskem’s Young Partner
Program, which received applications from
17,000 young people this year. The program was
advertised in several ways. “In addition to the
campaigns at universities and on social networks,
we have a site that helps us get the word out
about the program (www.jovensbraskem.com.br),”
Daniela Panagassi from Braskem’s People and
Organization team points out.
Unlike Karina, Alexandre Fantato de Oliveira,
a student who is in the fifth year of Civil
Engineering school, passed a one-off selective process in 2011 at Odebrecht Realizações
Imobiliárias (Real Estate Developments; OR).
A member of the team working on the new
Odebrecht building, which is being constructed
in São Paulo, he was able to get his start with the
Group because of the high demand for professionals at OR and its developments at the time.
He went through the interview stage a little later and was accepted. “I was already familiar with
Odebrecht and knew that it was one of the largest
companies in the Engineering and Construction
sector. I had a tremendous desire to work here,”
he recalls. His leader on the project, engineer
Polyana Biondo, confirms the 22 year-old student’s willpower. “He always shows a keen desire
to learn and tries to do his best. His interest and
responsibility are steadfast.”
A consolidated process
“Starting this year, with a view to hiring at the
beginning of 2014, candidates can get a realistic idea
of the diversity and size of the Odebrecht Group
through a consolidated process,” explains Juliana
Uchinaka from the Odebrecht S.A People and
Organization team. However, the activities in the
process will remain the same. “The Young Partner
Program will include the following stages: registration, an online test, group activities, a panel and interview,” Juliana observes.
“Gone are the days when an intern’s biggest responsibility was making photocopies. Now they take
on responsibilities in their area and play an active
role in projects that are important to the company,”
says Karina Vieira. Karina and the student Alexandre
Fantato both have the feeling that a door was opened:
they are both examples of young people who sought
an opportunity for professional growth at the Group
before getting their undergraduate degrees.
The Brazilian Intern Association’s (ABRES) most
recent surveys show that there were one million
internship vacancies available throughout Brazil in
2011. The number of college students was 6.7 million, according to data from the Brazilian Institute
of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) during the same
period. Despite the disparity between the number of
places and students, specialists believe that young
people are fully able to choose where they would
like to work as an intern. “They select companies
according to a personal affinity,” observes Felícia
Duarte, Project Manager at Cia. de Talentos. ]
π Alexandre Fantato: “I had a tremendous desire to work here”
Odebrecht informa
75
teo
“The value of people
accounts for the
greatness of their
achievements”
S A V V Y
LEARNING CURVE
AT THE RIGHT TIME
ACCORDING TO THE INDUSTRIAL DIRECTOR OF ESTALEIRO ENSEADA DO
PARAGUAÇU, LEADERSHIP SKILLS COME FROM EDUCATION AND UPBRINGING
Written by Alice Galeffi | Photo by Ricardo Artner
antonio
c i z ino
Antonio Cizino Sanchez fulfilled his father’s dream: seeing
his son graduate from engineering school. “My father was
the great engineer of my life,” he says. Coming from a modest family in which work and education were the main tools
for growth, as a child, Cizino walked barefoot 18 km per
day to go to school. On his return, he had lunch and went
straight to the fields to do the weeding, cut sugarcane and
operate equipment. Today he is the Industrial Director at
Estaleiro Enseada do Paraguaçu (EEP), a company formed by
Odebrecht, OAS, UTC and Kawasaki.
Cizino, who joined the Group in 1979, talks about how
his knowledge of equipment and willpower were decisive throughout his career in an exclusive interview for
the Savvy series. In 1991, having completed a program in
Chile, he was transferred to the UK. “My family became
san c he z
more united in each new place. We were our children’s best
friends.”
Following a series of difficulties faced in foreign schools,
such as low performance and bad grades, Cizino and his
wife sat down with their children to establish an Action
Program (PA) for them with specific challenges and targets.
They overcame bullying “for being Brazilian,” gained a good
grasp of the English language and became some of the best
students in the school.
“Serving, grooming and educating people at work and
for work” is the greatest lesson that Cizino shares with his
team members. He believes that there is no such thing as
a born leader. “There is a learning curve at the right time.”
His father passed core values down to him, such as simplicity, humility, honesty and dedication. ]
The rest of the interview includes stories of natural growth resulting from these principles. You can watch the entire interview at:
www.odebrechtonline.com.br/videos/category/projeto_saberes/
Odebrecht informa
77
π Odebrecht members working on the Corinthians Arena jobsite in the Itaquera district of São Paulo.
Almir Bindilatti
click
IDEAS
Written by Emanuella Sombra
AN INSIDE LOOK
AT PVC
Have you ever been in a house made
of plastic? A real house that is durable and comfortable, with bedrooms,
a living room, kitchen and bathroom?
Organized by Braskem in partnership with the Brazilian Institute of
Architects (IAB), a competition set the
following challenge: designing a house
whose main features are made primarily of plastic, particularly PVC. The
winning design will be announced in
October.
Milton Pradines, Braskem’s Institutional
relations Manager in Alagoas, explains
that PVC is a durable, recyclable material with ideal properties for insulating
homes. “Furthermore, it is important to
showcase the new technologies being
used in civil construction, incorporating
the concepts of sustainable housing.”
The contest is part of the celebrations marking the official opening in
1998 of the first PVC unit in Alagoas,
a Brazilian state that is now the leading
thermoplastic resin producer in Latin
America. Prizes will be awarded to the
top three designs. The contest will result in an exhibition that will be open
to the public.
ORGANIC IDEA
What if the company where you work
started including organic food in the
cafeteria’s menu? And what if, in addition to improving quality of life for you
and your co-workers, the company was
bolstering the incomes of small farmers? Working through its Social Energy
Program, Odebrecht Agroindustrial has
taken this initiative at its Alcídia and
Conquista do Pontal units in the company’s São Paulo Hub. This program
is a partnership with the Porto Feliz
Cooperative, which produces the food
and sells it to the production hub’s units.
STYROFOAM
EMBANKMENTS
A Norwegian construction method is
speeding up work on an overpass on
Engenheiro Constâncio Cintra Highway
(SP-360) in Jundiaí, São Paulo – a project being carried out by the Rota das
Bandeiras concession company. Called
the Ultralight Embankment method, it
uses Styrofoam blocks – officially called
Expanded Polysterene Blocks (EPS) –
instead of conventional fill materials.
Because it is lighter, the Styrofoam can
be used in soft soils.
Odebrecht informa
79
1973
2013
COMMUNICATION
A COMUNICAÇÃOISÉ ESSENTIAL
ESSENCIAL
ESSENCIAL
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www.odebrechtonline.com.br
P R O F E S S I O N A L
E D U C AT I O N
WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION
IN PANAMA, THE CONSTRUDAMA PROGRAM ENCOURAGES WOMEN
TO WORK IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Written by Carlos Pereira | Photo by Holanda Cavalcanti
Cecilia Franco liked fashion as a teenager. She wanted to make the dresses she saw in fashion shows on
television, but life took her along a different path,
marked by adversity. At 38, divorced and with three
children to raise, the sewing machine that should
have made her dreams come true was just a tool
for meeting their household expenses. That was
when she decided to enroll in the Construdama
Program, created to ensure that women are included in Panama’s booming construction market. Her
life has changed, because now she is able to provide
for herself and her children and give them everything that they need, especially health and education – in short, she has fully assumed the responsibilities of head of the household in the most rewarding way.
The program, the result of a partnership between Odebrecht Panama and the Institute for
Professional Education and Training for Human
Development (INADEH), arose following a social-environmental impact study of the second phase of the Clean Water Project, which
will provide a steady supply of treated water to
650,000 people. Carried out under Odebrecht
Infraestrutura’s (Infrastructure) responsibility, the
study revealed that there were a large number of
women heads of households in the communities
near the project, with a very specific profile: about
30 years old, with a low level of formal education,
children, and no fixed employment.
Márcio Accioly, the Administrative and Financial
Manager at Odebrecht Infraestrutura, explains that
this finding encouraged the company to organize a
program to promote gender equality in the country, this being one of the United Nations’ eight
Millennium Development Goals. “That is how
Construdama came about. Today Panama is one
big construction site, and only 8% of construction
workers are women. We are helping to change that.”
82
Accioly adds that the women’s performance is the
same as the men’s on the tasks which are assigned
to them on the jobsite.
Housewives become builders
Leonardo Betegon, the officer Responsible for
Construdama at INADEH, informs that 50 women enrolled in the first course module (bricklayers and steelfixers) and 44 of them graduated. “We
established a ranking, taking academic performance, punctuality and other criteria into account,
which is being used as a reference when hiring new
members,” he explains, adding: “We have managed
to transform housewives into builders in just three
months. It is a big change.”
Cecilia left her sewing machine behind and
graduated with honors. She received her diploma
amid huge celebrations on June 26. Then she was
hired to work on the Clean Water project. Today,
her productivity is higher than that of the men on
her team, and she is already in line for a possible
promotion – as crew supervisor – all in less than
a year. “I have a brother who is a bricklayer and he
said that the work was too heavy for me. Today
we compete to see who can build a wall faster,” she
says.
Ana Maria Jimenez, 33, is the mother of three.
She was another of the 28 heads of households selected to work on the project after going through
the Construdama program. Ana says that her children laugh when she leaves home wearing the construction project’s uniform. “They say that I look
like a man, but I don’t care. I know how important this new life is to me. I have friends in loveless marriages who stay in them to raise their children. I don’t need to do that,” she observes, adding: “Today I can invest in improving my family’s
quality of life, something which used to be a faroff dream.” ]
π Ana Maria Jimenez (left) and Cecilia Franco: overcoming challenges and achieving independence
Odebrecht informa
83
F I N A L
W O R D
THE BENEFITS
OF FRIENDSHIP
LUCIANA ARCE, THE LEADER OF THE KAMBAS DO BEM GROUP
Based in Angola for five years, Luciana Arce is
devoted to volunteer work and discovering the
value of giving the gift of herself through that
initiative. The wife of the CEO of Odebrecht
Infraestrutura (Infrastructure) for Africa,
Portugal and the United Arab Emirates, Ernesto
Baiardi, she has formed the group Kambas do
Bem (Friends who Do Good), which encourages
the wives of Odebrecht expats to help others. In
this interview, Luciana talks about what their
work is all about.
Written by Ricardo Sangiovanni | photo by Kamene Traça
π What led you to start
π How do you keep the group
π What is the most important
volunteering?
I was extremely moved by the children’s living conditions during an
official visit to the community of
Mussende, which is home to war
refugees. At the time, an Odebrecht
member encouraged me to help
turn that situation around. It was
a reality that seemed impossible
to change but it was also a major
challenge and an opportunity that
allowed me to be an instrument of
God.
motivated?
As project leader, I believe in the
importance of setting an example;
the pedagogy of presence, as it is
called at Odebrecht. Our motivation comes from the awareness that
we can change the lives of young
people and children in some way,
offering them new opportunities. It
is a virtuous cycle where we help to
change others and we are changed
in the process.
thing you have learned from your
five years in Angola?
Angola allows us to grow as human
beings, reflect on our values and
learn to believe in a better future
for these always smiling and happy
people.
π There are people who criticize
π How did “Kambas do Bem” arise?
After that visit to Mussende, I
invited the expatriate members'
wives to a meeting to discuss a
possible project. It was a way of
bringing the group together, using
their skills and putting social work
into practice.
84
volunteer work, saying that it will
always be a drop in the ocean,
given a complex and challenging
social reality. How do you respond
to this type of observation?
I usually say that it is possible to
make big changes with small gestures, which are done with love.
π What does the future hold for
“Kambas do Bem”?
God willing, we will extend this
example to other African countries.
I am happy to know that everyone
who has done volunteer work here
has taken a positive seed with
them, multiplying their love of their
fellow man. ]
Odebrecht informa
The Odebrecht Group is made up of:
Businesses
Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial
Odebrecht Infraestrutura – Brazil
Odebrecht Infraestrutura – Africa, Emirates
and Portugal
Odebrecht Infraestrutura – Latin America
Odebrecht Realizações Imobiliárias
Odebrecht Ambiental
Odebrecht Latinvest
Odebrecht Óleo e Gás
Odebrecht Properties
Odebrecht TransPort
Braskem
Estaleiro Enseada do Paraguaçu
Odebrecht Agroindustrial
Odebrecht Defesa e Tecnologia
Investments
Odebrecht Energias Brasil
Africa Fund
Latin Fund
Support Companies
Odebrecht Comercializadora de Energia
Odebrecht Corretora de Seguros
Odebrecht Previdência
Social Program
Odebrecht Foundation
RESPONSIBLE FOR COMMUNICATION AT
ODEBRECHT S.A.
Márcio Polidoro
RESPONSIBLE FOR PUBLISHING PROGRAMS AT
ODEBRECHT S.A.
Karolina Gutiez
EDITORIAL COORDINATION
Versal Editores
Editor-in-Chief José Enrique Barreiro
Executive Editor Cláudio Lovato Filho
English Translation H. Sabrina Gledhill
Photo Editor Holanda Cavalcanti
Art/Graphic Production Rogério Nunes
English Edition Coordinator & Electronic
Publishing Maria Celia Alves Olivieri
Printing 600 copies • Pre-Press and Printing Pancrom
Editorial offices: Rio de Janeiro +55 21 2239-4023
São Paulo +55 11 3641-4743
e-mail: [email protected]
Also available in Portuguese and Spanish editions
85
Américo Vermelho
contribution
Simplício. Built in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. The two plants that make up the hydroelectric complex are
over 30 km apart. Over 4,500 workers at peak construction, 35 simultaneous work fronts, 6 jobsites and an entirely new neighborhood
created to house the families that lived in the area directly influenced by the project. District 21, 21 families, and Brazil is stronger during
this second decade of the 21st century. Welcome, Simplício. Your arrival will give a fundamental energy boost to the nation and your
inauguration will crown an effort that has been both a learning experience and a benchmark.