About Us
What is SER Alzira de Aleluia?
SER Alzirade Aleluia is a small NGO based in the Favela Vidigal in the south of Rio de Janeiro. It is located in the western half of the Favela on the Rua Major Toja Martinez. Despite its proximity to two of Rio’s wealthiest neighborhoods, Leblon and Sao Conrado, Vidigal is one of the poorest areas of the city. Where until not so long ago, there were few opportunities and resources for education for the youth in the area. Due to the lack of government educational institutions in the region, more and more non-governmental projects (NGO’s) have emerged to fight against the lack of education and support.
SER is one such organization that provides free education to the people of Vidigal. Their mission is to work with the community to promote citizenship and provide professional educational and sports training in Vidigal. However, the project is more than just an educational center, it helps everyone who needs social support and motivation. The motto of the project is “SER”: “Serve, Educate, Rebuild”.
Poverty does not result from lack of money, but from lack of education.
António Carlos Aleluia — Founder
The history of SER Alzira
António Carlos Aleluia grew up in Vidigal with his sister Shirlei, his mother Maria da Conceição Faustino and his grandmother Alzira Alleluia. António experienced a very hard childhood, as he had to constantly support his mother, who worked day and night, to provide money for the family. When he wasn’t helping his mother, António locked himself in his room and dedicated his free time to study. Ultimately, this dedication paid off, and António was accepted into the Universidade Federal Fluminense, where he continued and earned a distinction in Oceanic Engineering. At that time, he was the first resident of Vidigal to study at a university.
After this amazing achievement, António dedicated much of his time to his work before returning to his birthplace of Vidigal in 2003 to initiate the development of the social project that is ongoing today. Together with his wife Elma Maria Alleluia and his daughter Quenia Alleluia, they have created something very magnificent. António himself says today that “poverty does not result from lack of money, but from lack of education.” He proved this by breaking the boundaries of the favela through study and determinism, founding this project to help and support others to achieve what was so difficult for him at the time.
Today, António and his family continue to build and construct their vision. Starting from a single floor, the NGO is now housed in a three-story building and they are working to triple that. Although construction is slow, as the project receives very little financial support, what has been achieved so far is amazing and looks more promising by the day. Each new building is converted into more classrooms and assigned to specific subjects. The increase in capacity will enable the project to accommodate more students and run different classes at the same time.