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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

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- 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

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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

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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

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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

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URBAN DEVELOPMENT The Ilha Pura project makes Rio’s Barra da Tijuca district even trendier

FOLKS

INTERVIEW

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A snapshot of the lives of Wanda Dorville, Katherine Calle, Frederico Barbosa and JoĂŁo Freire

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COMMUNITY Literacy: the company joins forces with the public sector to build the future

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INTERNSHIPS

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FINAL WORD

Antonio Gavioli: the leader of a team whose victories are down to appreciation and respect

ARGUMENT

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Youths seize the chance to enter the professional world

Luciana Arce and the transforming experience of volunteer work

GenĂŠsio Couto discusses the commitment of Odebrecht members and their relatives to social causes

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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

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Celso Doni

LIBERATING GESTURES ODEBRECHT MEMBERS ARE HELPING CHANGE COMMUNITIES AND THEMSELVES THROUGH VOLUNTEER WORK

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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.

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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

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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

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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. ]

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V o l u n t e e r i n g

Ď€ From left, Wanessa Faria, Ivani GalvĂŁo, Helena Liberatori, Helen Baldi and Tereza Weyll with children aided by ANAR in Mexico City: helping kids who had a difficult start in life

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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.

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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,

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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

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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

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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

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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”

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Ď€ Children in Tete: at the orphanage, they get attention that can make all the difference for their future

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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”

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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.”

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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.” ]

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.”

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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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V o l u n t e e r i n g

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

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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”

Odebrecht informa

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V o l u n t e e r i n g

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”

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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. ]

Odebrecht informa

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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.” ]

Odebrecht informa

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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

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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”

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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.

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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

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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 GoiĂĄs, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso and SĂŁo 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.

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Odebrecht informa

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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

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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

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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

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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.” ]

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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,

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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-

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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

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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. ]

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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

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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.

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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.

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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 OLĂ?MPICA 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

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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

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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.

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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

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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”

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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/

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Ď€ Odebrecht members working on the Corinthians Arena jobsite in the Itaquera district of SĂŁo 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.

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1973

2013

COMMUNICATION A COMUNICAÇÃOISÉ ESSENTIAL ESSENCIAL ESSENCIAL

Since its inception in October 1973, Odebrecht Informa has published the Desde que foi foi criada, criada, em outubro de 1973, Odebrecht Informa Desde que em outubro deour 1973, Odebrecht Informa publica que most important news about the work teams are doing in theirpublica local ooque de mais relevante nossas equipes realizam nas comunidades em que estão de mais relevante nossas equipesour realizam emethos que estão communities, always spotlighting unique nas waycomunidades of being and our presentes, destacando o de oocontinuing nosso presentes, destacando sempre o nosso nosso modo modo de ser, ser, is nosso espírito espírito de de of service. As it marks itssempre 40th anniversary, the magazine servir.

Aoitself completar 40on anos, revista continua aa se para servir.

Ao completar 40 anos, revista continua se renovar renovar paraseguir seguirem em to renew to carry withaathat mission.

Because, now more frente nessa missão. Pois Pois aaiscomunicação, mais than ever, communication essential. frente nessa missão. comunicação, mais do do que que nunca, nunca,ééessencial. essencial.

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.”

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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.” ]

Ď€ Ana Maria Jimenez (left) and Cecilia Franco: overcoming challenges and achieving independence

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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.

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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: versal@versal.com.br Also available in Portuguese and Spanish editions

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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.