Social Work

The work developed by Obra Social and Cultural Sílvia Cardoso in Paços de Ferreira is spread across such areas as education, occupational activities, leisure and athletic activities and the care and formation of people carrying disabilities. Having in mind that we work in an environment where we have sometimes serious social and economic problems, like poverty, illiteracy and insufficient education and access to information, fighting against poverty as well as social exclusion are also one of our main priorities.

We have working for our Institution near 40 employees, among them educators, auxiliaries of education, administrative workers, a psychologist, a social service worker, 2 cooks, kitchen staff, 2 drivers and other auxiliaries. All of these workers barely cover all the service that has to be done, in an Institution who servers 200 people on a daily basis and extends its services to all of Paços de Ferreira and nearby areas.

To improve the standards of our work we have tried to establish cooperation protocols with several entities such as the Regional Social Security Centre for the North, and other private and public Institutions like the Town Hall and the Association Paços 2000. We also benefit from the generous contributions of many of our local business men and women.

It's part of our policy to search support whenever possible from local structures, establishing protocols that will enable us to find formation and job training for the disabled person, as well as further integration in the workplace.

Institutional Partners

As to this moment we have not yet established credited formation actions, but we are making contacts and studying possibilities. We have already established a cooperation with the Associação de Municípios do Vale do Sousa (an association of municipalities from the North of Portugal) in a project regarding integrated and balanced development, a crucial issue in an area with high levels of growth and expansion.

"It's part of our policy to search support whenever possible from local structures, establishing protocols that will enable us to find formation and job training for the disabled person, as well as further integration in the workplace."

We also work with hospitals, local health care centres, The Oporto Centre for Cerebral Paralysis, the job centre and the APPACDM (an association of parents and families of children carrying mental disabilities). We have joined the European network against poverty and participated in the Helios Program II.

An Essentially human and Person Centered View

But the essence of our work isn't circumscribed to institutional work. Historically the OSCSC, has a strong tradition of field work, influenced no doubt by the work and personality of D. Sílvia Cardoso. We are proud of saying that in spite of the rapid growth of our city in the last few years and still have the time to know our students and their families personally, remembering their names and knowing and caring for their specific problems.

As an example of this practice we have our Annual Christmas Party in which not only we have invited the community and the children from the kindergarten to offer toys for some of the less fortunate children, but where we also prepared baskets containing presents and treats that we offered some of these children, and the youth from the C.A.O to offer them to the families more fortunate. This gave this children an enormous happiness. No doubt these are only small gestures, but still small gestures can make quite a difference.

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