Hello and welcome to our website!
We are a nonprofit in Alcobaça, Portugal, founded by the local Baptist church in 1993 to serve all people in the region. Our name means “new life.”
We currently provide child care to over 60 children ages 6 and younger, and run a family support centre, where parents in acute conflict come together to discuss the issues that matter to their children.
We are an operational foundation, not a grant-awarding foundation: we carry out our own work using funds we receive from several different sources, such as private donations, service fees, and government contracts.
Photo: The church hall, and next to it our preschool and head office (in the building with the green balconies).
Our vision
Our vision is: People educated and transformed, cooperating for the common good.
Our mission
Our mission is very broad: to develop any projects with a positive social impact in the region of Alcobaça, Portugal, according to Christian principles and values.
Our values
Our main value is transformation. We don’t simply want to help people, or do them a service; we want them to change for the better. Better relationships, better education, better choices, better life. They themselves must want this, as true change must come from within; we just want to be there to help them along. Meanwhile, we ourselves must change as well. We are not perfect, and neither do we have all the answers. We are willing to grow and change along with the community.
Cooperation
We work in partnerships, whenever possible. We have agreements in place with the Portuguese ministries of Education and Welfare. We are members of:
- CNIS – the Portuguese Social Nonprofit Confederation
- EAPN Portugal – European Anti-Poverty Network
- EurECA – European Educators’ Christian Network
We are a volunteering receiving and coordinating entity with the European Solidarity Corps (see our profile at the ESC).