Associação Tempo de Mudar

About

ATM – Associação Tempo de Mudar para o Desenvolvimento do Bº dos Lóios (Association ‘Time to change for the development of the Neighborhood of Lóios) - is a Local Development Association, since 1998, a non profit organization that brings together residents, local businesses, and other local organizations, such as cooperatives. It’s a IPSS (private institution for Social solidarity) intervening in Neighborhood of Lóios, parish of Marvila in Lisbon.

The Neighborhood is primarily residential, with economic activity, basically small local shops, small businesses or warehouses. Comprises mainly for social housing (with relocation carried out between 1977 and 1984), by cooperative housing and a few free market sell housings. The social composition of the neighborhood is diverse, both as regards their origin, the socio-professional and economic strata.

The intervention of the ATM with the population is to promote social participation and active citizenship, social inclusion, community integration and the improvement of the quality of life of the community in the neighborhood.

VISION

The entire community of Bairro dos Lóios with quality of life and the protagonist of its personal and social development. A "time to change" community, empowered and living in solidarity.

MISSION

Be a local development association that creates and strengthens partnerships, which involves and empowers the community to a sustainable change, improving quality of life on personal, community and urban development levels. Be a reference as a local development association beyond its area of influence. Be a channel by which the community participates in an active and democratic way.

PURPOSES

  • Promote the quality of life of the residents of the Lóios neighborhood;

  • Participate in the creation of conditions for the social integration of the most underprivileged;

  • Promote social and community integration;

  • Contribute to the social and urban development of the Lóios Neighborhood;

  • Promote social participation and active citizenship;

  • Promote cultural activities, recreation and sports;

  • Collaborating in the promotion of employment and training.


Creche e JI Tempo de Crescer (“TIME TO GROW” Creche and Kindergarden)

Is responsible, since 2003, the management of the equipment of nursery school and kindergarten Time to grow, following the invitation formulated by the Lisbon City Council, an organization that owns the equipment. This was one of the claimed equipment by the Association, for being a need in the community, resulting in the decision to accept the challenge, having become one of his major projects. This was a challenge shared with the community and seen as opportunity to work all aspects of active and participatory citizenship in early childhood.

In 2005 were signed cooperation agreements with the Social Security and DREL for nursery and Creche (60 children subsidized) and pre-school (48 subsidized and 17 children awaiting allowance from Social Security and Education Ministries). Of 125 children attending the equipment only 108 are included in the cooperation agreement with the Social Security. Because we're a IPSS, families contributions are calculated according to their income. Being located in a social priority intervention territory and taking into account the situation of economic crisis, which has contributed to the worsening of the economic conditions of families, also the financial effort of the Association has been increasing, leading to deficient results, to ensure the support to children and their families, since the real cost per child is much higher than the average of the contributions of families.

We have taken our social responsibility, replacing the government in it’s present insufficient response in the promotion of access to a quality education for all, as a way to eliminate the inequalities and combat situations of vulnerability. The ATM remains the only IPSS in the neighborhood, bridging the gap left by the public network whose social response in the Creche and preschool is shortage, leaving many children without reply.

The educational model and curriculum that we implement - the Modern School Movement (MEM) - promotes the acquisition of skills autonomy, self development, civic and environmental awareness, helping children become active an participatory citizens, inclusive and open to the world.

GOALS

  • Contribute to a positive family dynamics – supporting in situations of unemployment, declining of living standards, or in the need for other social or health support;

  • Ensure quality in the services we provide;

  • Ensure families the access of their children to Creche e pre-school education, on an equal and equitable way in relation to their income;

  • Combating inequalities and situations of vulnerability (gender, economic, social) through access to education;

  • Provide children with positive experiences that promote the acquisition of skills of self development and welfare;

  • Promote the participation and partnership of civil society and local government in solving the problems of the community.


WORK WITH CHILDREN

Meetings in Council

The Council opens and closes the working times of the day and week. In large group, kids and educators share ideas, doubts, experiences, feeding the group culture and fostering the social and educational development of each.

Morning meeting

At the meeting in the morning, the group plans the day of work on the basis of proposals already entered in the Diary or with emerging ideas of want to tell, show or write.

Communications

Communication of work, learnings and/or discoveries made during the morning, the Group expands their knowledge and develops the ability to reflect on the processes experienced. This work of reflection does emerge new alternative symbolic representations. This reflection goes in addition but far behind the work performed. Focuses on social interactions, through the dialogue established on positive occurrences (liked) and negative occurrences (we didn't like).

Class diary

By registration of cases positive and negative, of the work done and ideas for future work, the journal takes a leading role in the life of the group. This record of positive or negative occurrences allows children to learn and develop different ways to express the lived. The time to register and wait for the dialogue allows you to decrease the tension created by the situation and provides greater rationalization about what happened. In a final stage, the Group reflected on possible ways of repairing the damage caused by the action under discussion. From this debate new rules emerge for the life of the group, and promoting the social skills in social solving problems.