It was in 2012 that Mariana Madureira, director, and co-founder of Raízes, joined the Folha Network of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs after being a finalist in the Social Entrepreneur of the Future Award. Since then, the group has changed its name (now including businesses with more environmental appeal as well as social), grown, and now has hundreds of leaders.
Last June 22-24, 22 of these leaders, including Mariana, met for an immersion that took place at the Association for the Protection and Assistance of Convicts (APAC) in São João del Rei, Minas Gerais, a flagship model of a humanized prison. The host of the meeting was Valdeci Ferreira, winner of the 2017 Folha de S. Paulo Prize for his work as the head of the APACs.
And why this place?
APAC is a civil, non-profit organization dedicated to the recovery and social reintegration of convicted people. It also helps victims and protects society. It is an auxiliary entity of the Judiciary and the Executive, both in the execution and enforcement of sentences, and is supported by the Federal Constitution. Furthermore, it works with fundamental principles in prisons, such as human valorization.
The Apachean method is an alternative for humanizing penal execution and prison treatment. It has been recognized by the United Nations (UN), has spread throughout Brazil, and has already been exported to other countries, such as Germany, Argentina, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, Singapore, Costa Rica, and the United States, among others. It was, therefore, the perfect setting for the objective of this meeting of socio-environmental entrepreneurs: to keep this network close, as well as hold workshops on how to influence public policies and work collaboratively.
Leonardo Letelier, CEO at Sitawi and Executive Director at Endowments of Brazil took part in the meeting and wrote a data-packed and moving report on his LinkedIn page: “But why be ‘humanist’ with criminals and murderers? If the moral argument (they are human beings) doesn’t convince you, there are a number of practical arguments. (…) And by imprisoning inhumanely, we dehumanize people, who re-offend at a rate of 80% (according to the TJMG) and return to ‘hurting society’. This is what society ‘gains’ from our ‘punitivist’ inclination.” Worth a read.
How we were able to contribute
Here at Raízes, we also believe in this humanized methodology. And this wasn’t the first time that Raízes had the opportunity to visit an APAC unit and, more than that, contribute in some way. Last year, 2022, we held three Dona do Meu Fluxo workshops at the Belo Horizonte APAC, also in Minas Gerais. Around 150 menstrual cups were donated to women deprived of their liberty.
Thanks to the humanized work carried out there, they have basic sanitation conditions for proper hygiene: access to water for daily cleaning of the product (while it is being used), of the hands (with soap and/or 70º alcohol) and for boiling the “cup” between cycles.
We have other Dona do Meu Fluxo actions planned for the near future, and we hope to be able to contribute to the menstrual dignity of more and more women and people who menstruate. In addition, we want to be in constant harmony with the Folha Network of Socio-Environmental Entrepreneurs and so many others that we are already part of, and can still be part of.
