The family URANI, Italians from TORINO (the head of the family, FRANCO was the President of the FIAT in Brazil from 1971 to 1975 and responsible to the various and great initiatives FIAT achieved in the State of Minas Gerais during the same period), finally settled to live in Rio de Janeiro in 1977 in the São Conrado section where entered in contact with a small “favela” (slum) named VILA CANOAS that occupied some private and public lots by the side of his house.
At the beginning the Urani maintained strong ties with their mother land, Italy, succeeded in obtaining some help to the favela during mid 1989 in building a Center for Children that teaches classes of pre-school, helping students with poor grades, teaching artisan knowledge to small boys, all in collaboration with a NON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION (NGO) from Torino, the COME NOI ONLUS and also from Italian families sponsoring badly needed children.
In Brazil the city of Rio de Janeiro supplied what is called “merenda escolar” school lunch to these children and also various municipal works fixing hills nearby. The ASSOCIAÇÃO SÃO MARTINHO, specialized in needing children, organized and managed these classes.
At the end of five years of intense activity, that is mid 1994, results were extraordinary and as before only 20 percent of the pupils had good grades therefore unabling them to go to a Upper-class, now approval reached 90 % ! Gradually more than 2500 square feet of new classes were built with a total investment of US$ 500.000 (five hundred thousand dollars) from Italy and Brazil sources, 50/50.
Franco Urani and Giuliana Urani with the children of the center Parati – March 2009
