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The Final Feliz Cultural Association was founded in July 2001 by Wilton “Moreno” Cruz. At the time, Moreno, a citizen of the Final Feliz community, worked as a security guard at a health insurance company. He observed the children of his community hanging around without organized activities. This situation worried him because he knew that a lack of activities could lead to delinquent behavior. Moreno´s conscience would not allow him to stand by and let the futures of his community’s children waste away, so he started the Final Feliz Cultural Association.
The Association offers classes five days a week in social circus, dance, capoeira and other disciplines, as well as tutoring in academic subjects for nearly 70 youths. A sixth day is reserved for additional weekly training for educators and bi-monthly meetings with the families of the project participants.
The family meetings have had an extremely important impact: ten parents have returned to school to further their education and many others have learned how to preserve their local environment through recycling and selling of trash.
Another important result of the project has been the creation of a student delegation for the Association. This group of student representatives was initiated by the students who continue to have an active role in making decisions about the project. These students are responsible for organizing events and for creating a library at the Association.
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