Mount Carmel Association, Brazil

EDUCATE A CHILD

About Mount Carmel Association

Mona Partner Since 2021

For over 30 years, Monte Carmelo Association (MCA) has pursued its mission of supporting the material, human, and spiritual education of children and junior youth living in situations of social vulnerability in Porto Feliz. Its programs include educational enrichment and empowerment classes that incorporate the arts and care for the environment.  All students attend public school in the morning or afternoon and go to Monte Carmelo either before or after school. The institute currently serves 90 students, ages 6-14

The Challenge

Brazil has been severely impacted by COVID19. Although MCA has diverse sources of funding, 45% of their income was from the federal government.  These monies have not been able as usual due to the economic impacts of the ongoing global health crisis.

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The Solution:  Mount Carmel Programs

School of Virtues

Living virtues and human values are an integral part of Monte Carmelo's educational material. This includes study, reflection, and practice of human virtues and values related to the life and development of children and youth, covering: my life, my city, environment, citizenship, and work. On a daily basis, students participate in activities as an opportunity to experience the virtues so  they may become upright, conscientious citizens with a spirit of service and determined to develop their own talents and abilities and to contribute to the betterment of their community.


Other programs include Digital Inclusion (computer literacy), Planting with Affection (vegetable gardening), and Uniao faz a vida (collaborative citizenship).

How we help

Mona Foundation stepped in to support this organization as it goes through financial difficulty brought by the pandemic. This has enabled the continuing education of its students.

2025 Achievements

With your help:

  • 90 students enrolled with daily meals provided 
  • Theater, music, and dance presentations reached 4,249 people across public schools, with students performing sketches about virtues and moral values

2026 Plans

Mona's commitment: $17,575

  • Increase enrollment from 90 to 130 students 
  • Begin construction of a new building to accommodate increased enrollment and provide dedicated space for student presentations
Support MCA's 2026 Plans

Impact Stories

Kimberlyn participated in Monte Carmelo's (AMC) activities as a student from 2017 to 2024 and became an educator in 2026. She now shares the same values she learned through the program with her students and family. 


The lessons of respect, responsibility, empathy, and service have shaped the way Kimberlyn approaches education. She has seen the impact of these values in her classroom and at home, including the positive changes in her younger brother, who also attends AMC programs. 


Kimberlyn shares: 

"I have found that I have had a positive influence on others. Through conversations, example, and work with virtues, my brother learned values such as respect, responsibility, empathy, and overcoming. Today I see in him a real change, of a more patient boy who thinks more about others." 


"My family is very proud. They saw me as a student at AMC, and now they see me as an educator, passing on everything the institution taught me."

Lucas Otávio is 14 years old and has been attending MCA's activities since 2017, when he was 6 years old.  Lucas was recently honored by the Porto Feliz City Council with the "Young Talent" award for standing out in the artistic field. It was through the MCA art workshops offered to him since he was 8 years old that he discovered his gift for dance. ​


Today, he is part of a dance company and participates in festivals and workshops, where he has had the opportunity to improve his technique in urban dance. "When I dance, I feel peace and joy, and I know that my art inspires other children and young people both inside and outside Monte Carmelo. In one of the presentations at schools, approximately thirty children stopped me and asked me to teach them the dance steps I had performed. I was very happy."

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