With the feet on the ground and the look to the sky
Over the years, private companies have become more socially aware of the world and the context in which they operate. It is no longer just a matter of seeking maximum profitability as an end, regardless of the means (as proposed by Nicolas Machiavelli), but of participating with the community to achieve a more just, inclusive and equitable society. The challenges are multiple and complex, in a society that rewards merit but is unable to offer equal conditions to achieve it and at the same time attacks the environment in a purely utilitarian way, with serious environmental consequences.
However, the complexity of the social field is not the task of one person or institution; on the contrary, it represents an opportunity for meeting and collective action to transform reality. Paulo Fraire, a Brazilian educator, put it this way: "No one is saved alone, no one saves anyone. We all save ourselves in community". In other words, genuine change comes from collective action and not from isolated efforts. By recognizing the other, working together on the basis of concrete objectives, we move forward step by step towards a better world.
It is precisely this journey that we want to share, as Grupo Gova was linking, uniting paths, finding wonderful people in different community projects that today are a reality.
PEDES IN TERRA, AD SIDERA VISUS
One of the many cultural legacies of the ancient Romans in modern societies are the Latin phrases that summarize great ideas and meanings. “Pedes in terra ad sidera visus”, which means, “Feet on the ground and the look to the sky”, is one of them and represents faithfully our values.
Since our birth in 2013 as Grupo GOVA, in addition to having the clear purpose of creating urban developments with a return on investment and assured capital gain, we have made a commitment to our community in the search for a fairer and more inclusive society.
In this journey, we were led to work with disability in general and Down syndrome in particular. We understand that disability is only one step away from us, and that it represents a difficult challenge to overcome if one does not have the correct information and the material means to advance to a dignified future.
The concept of disability has undergone an extraordinary evolution throughout our history. For a large part of the 20th century, disability was perceived from an overly paternalistic welfare approach that reinforced dependency and attitudes of social and employment discrimination. In 2001, the World Health Organization (WHO) established a definition of disability that implies a before and after, and from where we establish our interpretations and horizons of meaning.
Disability is a human condition that generally encompasses a person's impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions:
- Deficiencies are problems that affect a body structure or function.
- Activity limitations are difficulties in executing actions or tasks.
- Participation restrictions are difficulties in relating to and participating in life situations
This definition recognizes the social context as a determining factor in a person's disability. And it is precisely in that common context that Gova decides to participate, it is the ground from which we start, projecting with hope and dignity towards the sky in the search of a new horizon.
