Ceva saves Brazilian project that transforms children’s lives using horses
In 2019, a Brazilian equine therapy project was saved from closure thanks to support from Ceva.
For more than a decade, the Associação de Equoterapia de Campinas (AEC), located in the Sao Paulo region of Brazil, has been using rescue horses to transform young lives. AEC works with children and young people who live with a range of disabilities and neurological conditions. The horse-back therapy provided by the project delivers a host of benefits: boosting their strength and confidence, overcoming loneliness and social exclusion, and helping them become more self-reliant. Youngsters are referred to the project by local medical authorities and therapists.
Ceva began its partnership with AEC in 2016. In the past AEC received state funding but when this support dried up, the organisers were faced with closure. So, in 2019 Ceva stepped up its support, including paying the lease on AEC’s site, to enable the project to continue its important work.
Before he attended the project, Wesley had no balance and kept falling down. After he came here, he developed good postural balance, his irritability reduced and he became very calm. So, I believe equitherapy is very important in the lives of these children because from the moment they begin it, everything changes.
“We often set children with disabilities apart and don’t emphasise the best they have to offer. Our horseback riding helps them to develop self-esteem, self-knowledge and enables them to work to their potential.”
Talking about Ceva’s involvement with the scheme, he said: “I feel quite touched. Ceva has helped us to overcome some challenging years and we have been able to survive because of them.”
AEC’s joint founder, Luiz de Paula Góes,