History
On a very sunny and hot day in 1969, at a very poor area in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, the Swedish missionary Erick Gunnar Eriksson, founder of the Star of Hope, came to know a nearly homeless boy named Paulo. His father had died, and his mother was now alone with the baby. They faced serious financial problems. Their home had no electricity, no sewer, and no running water. The mother could not continue taking care of him anymore. Missionary Erick was shocked with this scenario. When he returned to his native Sweden, he started a campaign to raise funds to help that poor and needy region he had visited in Brazil. That was the beginning of a great cause, in the city of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Internationally known since then as Star of Hope, with its World Headquarters in Sweden, its mission is geared to children from needy homes providing day care, pre-school, and day-schools, nutrition, medical assistance, and rehabilitation programs.
To have this mission accomplished, the Star of Hope established its programs on very basic key values:
Christian: Life with high biblical ethics and morality combined, which are fundamental to promote and maintain essential individual and collective attitudes which characterise a healthy society.
Equal Opportunity: Proper knowledge and information are the essential ingredients for a better quality of life and health of individuals in the communities where each deserves the same treatment.
Humanitarian Principles: The development of justice, personal dignity, solidarity and respect are fundamental to exercise power to change the local society and surrounding areas.
