Dara Institute (former Saúde Criança Renascer) is a civil society organization that works to promote health and human development by implementing and fostering an integrated approach to fight poverty.
Pioneer in cross-sector work with social determinants of health in the world, the organization was founded in 1991 by Doctor Vera Cordeiro, alongside a group of professionals from Lagoa Hospital, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Because poverty is multidimensional, Dara believes that the social transformation of vulnerable families is only possible when different areas of human development are addressed simultaneously and in an integrated manner. For this reason, Dara developed the social technology Plano de Ação Familiar (PAF – Family Action Plan), designed based on to the needs of each family.
To implement their mission, the institute assists vulnerable families directly, fosters the knowledge on human development, works to influence public policies and the mobilization of the civil society.
For the 9th consecutive year, Dara was ranked the best NGO in Latin America and the 21st in the world by the Swiss publication NGO Advisor. Throughout our history, our organization has been awarded and acknowledged for our work and has directly impacted the lives of more than 75 000 socially vulnerable people in Brazil and more than 500 000 indirectly in four continents.
Throughout our history, the impact of Dara has been made possible thanks to the work of more than 1600 volunteers, over 100 employees and a network of partnerships.
Dara Institute is headquartered in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro (RJ), and has offices in Brasília (DF), São Paulo (SP), and New York (USA).
Mission: Promoting health and human development by implementing and disseminating an integrated multidisciplinary approach to fight poverty
Vision: A healthy and sustainable world where everyone has the same opportunities and rights, enabling people to be the leading players in their own development
Values: Social Justice, Independence, Integrity, Empathy, Transparency
