The Coroado Community
The Coroado Community is located in Vargem Pequena, west of the city of Rio de Janeiro, at the end of Mazzaropi's street.
The Community lacks many basic services, as it is typical from urban poverty in Rio de Janeiro. Not all of its residents have access to clean water and appropriate sewage for example. The general state of the houses is also very poor.
Health posts and nursery are of difficult access and there are no cultural activities for children and adults in the Community's surroundings. The river which cuts through the community is extremely polluted and apart of being an environmental problem, it is also often the cause of deseases for children and adults in the community
Our plan and strategy
Our strategy to provide support to the Community of Coroado based in 9 stages. Since the identification of the community until the coordination of the activities which give true support to the positive development of the community we aim at leveraging all resources that are available to bring exactly what the community needs and wants.
The 9 stages are illustrated in the model below:
Click on the model to enlarge
Step 1 - Choosing the Community
Choosing Coroado as the pilot project for MAIS UM was quite easy. Coroado is a a community with obvious needs but which also has a basic administrative structure that we can support. The community leader was our first contact in the community and is our main partner for all activities.
Step 2 - The first one!
So any community project works well, we must have a social entrepreneur on the ground directly dealing and supporting the community and a point of leadership to all MAIS UM volunteers (the so called "MAIS UMs"). Marcela was our choice because of her experience, availability and willingness to make it happen. It has also been a perfect choice!
Step 3 - Plugging in (the second and the third!)
"MAIS UM" in portuguese means "ONE MORE" or "PLUS ONE". So as the name lets clear, MAIS UM is made of MAIS UMs. "MAIS UMs" are volunteers who make a positive impact through giving their time, experience, contacts or their resources. Very close to Coroado or literally in the other side of the planet, over 50 MAIS UMs are plugging into the community and are already making a difference!
Step 4 - Getting to know the community (Community Assessment)
So we are sure that our efforts are going in the right direction, getting to know the community is key. In this way, at this stage, we realised a series of events, interviews and surveys so we can have a better idea of who are the people of Coroado, how they see their problems and how they would like the problems to be solved. The result of this stage is an Assessment report which serves as basis for future actions and plans.
Step 5 - Problems?
It is at this stage that MAIS UM gets to define what are the most pressing problems of the community. Using the Assessment report as basis we can then start thinking of how to get those problems resolved using the potential of the community members and leaders.
Stage 6 - Generating Ideas!
After the problems are identified with the community we can then use our innovation techniques.Through MAIS UMs from inside and outside of the community, in Brazil or abroad, we expose the problems in the most detailed way possible. After that, through events, surveys and workshops we use our professional knowledge to generate innovative and efficient ideas. It's at this point that the power of "MAIS UM" (or PLUS ONE) will make the difference. The more people, more and better ideas will come to make a better community.
Stage 7 - Finding Solutions
Generate ideas is one thing. Choosing the best way to implement them - or making of them "real solutions" is a step further. For that reason we must be directly engaged with the community and its leaders so that we can choose together what ideas are realistic, what is viable and of course desirable by the community.
Stage 8 - Plugging in!
Ideas generated, solutions found, it's now time for the "plug in model" to start working. With ideas at hand we now make good use of our great social network to tap on the necessary resources for their implementation, together with the community leader. We then plug in institutions, companies, government and any other organisations willing to add to the idea and resolve the problem which it addresses.
The so called "MAISUMs" inside and outside the community make the whole difference. We are particularly attentive to potential for entrepreneurial ideas involving the community and activities which promote education for children and teenagers. But the problems identified with the community are defining our priorities.
Stage 9 - Coordinating, Monitoring and Evaluation
Once projects are plugged in to the community (started by MAIS UM or other organisations), we then make sure that they are appropriately managed, monitored and evaluated as this is a key task for them to reach their goals.
As our intention is to promote the sustainability of the project we will be training and coaching community members to substitute external MAIS UM volunteers. Our primary goal is that the community can develop on its own. When they are completely independent and on their chosen path, we will feel our mission is accomplished!
So everything works out well, each of our activities is permeated by "community sprit". The major feelings of altruism and love play a key role which we intend to promote in all MAIS UM activities!
What have we done so far?
We have already accomplished our assessment through a series of activities and publish our report about the Coroado Situation (here only in portuguese - for now!) and we are now working with the community's leaders to get the best ideas implemented! Look out for our latest activities on our blog here (www.maisum.org)
