One factor in a program focused on Impact and Social Sustainability can never be left out: People. We can never forget all the Entrepreneurs who decide to give the fruit of their work to others who need it and those who deserve a better life and more accessible, representative, and inclusive conditions. Others have many faces and many different voices.

We have the privilege of being part of a century-old institution whose purpose since day 1 has been to be there for these many people, to bridge the gaps in a system, generation, or context, to be there, on the ground, to understand the challenges, listen to the calls for help, find solutions and make them happen. Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa knows the most sensitive communities and users well and works on several fronts to address the difficulties and deficiencies they may experience, often without anyone knowing. We can’t waste knowledge and experience like this, and we are fortunate to use it to inspire, motivate, and teach others whose purpose is the same and who cannot and will not stand still. 

With this motivation in mind, we set a challenge to the ten projects that made it through to the RISE for Impact Capacity Building phase: to take a change of scenery and get to know one of Santa Casa’s many facilities inside out during a day dedicated to one of the most eagerly awaited topics: Theory of Change. We were welcomed with open arms at the Lóios Neighborhood Community Development Center by Director Maria João Teixeira and the entire Team that makes the Center tick. The “Lóios,” as we affectionately call it inside the Santa Casa, is a multipurpose facility, a Day Center, and a Digital Inclusion Space that promotes Educational Animation, movement expression, Boccia, Hiking, Choir, Meditation, and Gymnastics for the various age groups, which fosters a sense of belonging and cohesion in the neighborhood. It’s a place as alive as the energy transmitted by those who go there.

Few things are as inspiring as seeing the work in the field up close, the contact with people, and the immediate return that comes from them feeling fulfilled and happy. Regardless of how an Entrepreneur makes his work happen, the solutions he creates, or how he gets them to the public, people are always the focus, goal, and motivation.

With this visit, we feel we have changed the “chip” of our entrepreneurs, our Team, and how we run RISE for Impact. We want to get even closer to the work that SCML does on the ground; we want to be inspired by the many teams that work for others every day, and we want to include those who have experience and add so much value. We want to witness the fundamental changes in people’s lives and the positive Impact that is possible and made every day.

“At the Community Development Center of Bairro dos Lóios, the intervention is based on fundamental principles such as Solidarity, Community Participation, promoting Inclusion, and improving Quality of Life. Through projects and activities with the Community, the Center favors integrated, collaborative, and participatory actions that support the local development process, aiming to encourage Communities to become agents of their Sustainable Development. In this context, Social Sustainability emerges as a concept that transcends the economic place and directly links to collective Well-Being. It is closely related to creating support networks that function without relying exclusively on external resources. It manifests through engagement, creating a continuous cycle of support and collaboration. CDC Bº dos Lóios cultivates an environment of non-imposed solutions that emerge from a collective construction process. In this vision, we generate Social Impact visible in success stories, creating opportunities where there were challenges and building a fairer and more equal future for all.

Welcoming DEES and its Entrepreneurs is an opportunity that aligns a future of sharing capable of leveraging a new dynamic in intervention.”

– Maria João Teixeira, Director

Thank you to Maria João Teixeira, who already played a vital role in the Bootcamp as a Juror and continues to add so much with her generosity in opening her doors to us. Thank you to the entire Lóios team for their friendliness, support, and the multicultural lunch they prepared for us, which we could share in an authentic community atmosphere, as they only know how to do there.

The training session promoted by our Impact Manager, Lourenço Nogueira, had a different motivation because it served as a blueprint for the goal. It was done by looking directly into the eyes of everyone we want to impact. The Theory of Change became a reality, and we all changed a little that day.

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