Leve, Leve - Nursery in Ribeira Afonso, São Tomé and Príncipe

The nursery kitchen is unusable, without connection to electricity and with severe infiltrations; there is no outside shelter either to guarantee the safety and well-being of the children. Let's change that!

Improve the Ribeira Afonso Nursery with us!

The Santo Isidoro Nursery in Ribeira Afonso, São Tomé and Príncipe, is a place of development and hope for 90 preschool-aged children from the community. However, damages in the infrastructure impact directly the safety and well-being of the children, as well as the staff who work there.

Atual cozinha da creche de São Isidoro. A época de chuvas é causa da grande deterioração da madeira.

Interior da atual cozinha. A estrutura é frágil e permite a entrada de chuva e animais. Apesar de ter electrodomésticos, não tem eletricidade.

Fogão que é por vezes utilizado pelas funcionárias para confeccionar as refeições. É utilizada lenha, o que representa risco de incêndio e de problemas de saúde por inalação do fumo.

The Need

The nursery's kitchen is in poor condition, making it impossible to prepare nutritious and safe meals for the children. Without a proper kitchen, the staff faces daily difficulties in preparing food and with the consequent cleaning of the day-to-day running of a kitchen. Washing the dishes is a challenging task, as is preserving food that needs to be kept in a refrigerated environment.

Quando as condições meteorológicas permitem, as funcionárias cozinham no espaço exterior.

A opção para lavagem da loiça é no exterior.

Furthermore, the outdoor space does not offer protection from the elements, whether from the scorching sun or heavy rain, limiting outdoor activities and compromising the health and overall children development.

Espaço exterior da creche que sofre inundações frequentes, especialmente na época de chuvas..

Exemplo do espaço exterior da creche inundado.

The impact of your support

With your contribution, we will rebuild the kitchen and build a shed at the Santo Isidoro Nursery in Ribeira Afonso. These improvements are not just about infrastructure – they are also essential to providing a safe, healthy and stimulating environment for children. A well-equipped kitchen with basic hygiene and food safety standards will allow staff to prepare nutritious meals, ensuring that every child has access to at least one quality hot meal a day. The shed will provide a sheltered space for mealtimes, playtime and educational activities, regardless of the weather conditions.

Why do we need your contribution?

This project is essential for the healthy development of the children of Ribeira Afonso, but we cannot do it alone. Each contribution will make a significant difference in the lives of these children and in the efficiency of the work of the nursery staff. Your support is essential to ensure that the children have a safe and welcoming space where they can grow and learn.

ORBIS has already sent some funds to its partner in Ribeira Afonso to start the work - it is urgent that it be completed before the heavy rains. A local contractor has been hired, who has already submitted the respective budget, which can be found in the supplementary documentation. 

Together, we can change the world.

Join us in our mission to improve Ribeira Afonso Nursery. Together, we will create an environment where children can thrive. Your support is an investment in the future of each child and of the entire community.

About the author

Hello, supporters!

We are Tatiana, Márcio and Liliana and we are volunteers at ORBIS - Cooperação e Desenvolvimento, a Non-Governmental Organization for Development based in Aveiro and with 17 years of experience. We are the team responsible for implementing this project in São Tomé and Príncipe.

Membros da equipa do projeto, voluntários da ORBIS: Tatiana, Márcio e Liliana.

ORBIS exists to promote cooperation, human rights and the empowerment of the most vulnerable communities, contributing to their integral sustainable development. We see education and training as the fundamental pillars to break the cycle of poverty.

We govern our actions by the principle of social equity, promoting fairer and more inclusive societies. We are transparent in our actions, aware of our commitment to all of our stakeholders, and collaborative because we believe in the power of networking, teamwork and partnership.

We develop projects that enable access to education, food security and professional training, and we promote fair trade, giving visibility to the life stories of producers and ensuring that they have, through their art, a way os supporting their families and break the cycle of poverty.

Volunteering is in our genesis, with our projects and initiatives being driven by committed and proactive volunteers who believe in the transformative potential of a team passionate for a cause.

We currently operate in Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe. We maintain close relationships with partners in these countries to ensure community engagement and reliable project monitoring.

Budget and due dates

The total budget for the project is €7,227.00 (corresponding to 177,225.00 Db of São Tomé and Príncipe), as indicated in the attached budget, prepared by a local contractor, Mr. José da Costa, and confirmed by Friar Gilson, from the Parish of Ribeira Afonso and our local partner.

The money raised will be used exclusively to purchase construction materials and pay for labor.

The ORBIS team has already raised around €2,187.00 through other initiatives (sale of biscuits and fundraising dinner). This money, as well as some internal funds, has already been transferred to the partner on the ground so that the first steps of the construction work can be started.

It is essential that the construction is completed as quickly as possible and before the heavy rains, which not only would make the work difficult but also have a major negative impact on the conditions of the nursery and the daily lives of the children and staff. Therefore, it is important to complete the work by mid December.

Images

Documents

• orbis_ribeira_afonso_orcamento_signed.pdf

  pdf • 310.91 KB