Santiago de Marco comes from Argentina. Early on in his life, he came into touch with the work of Monte Azul and Ute Craemer, moved to Brazil and became acquainted with the plight of this country’s poor and the effect it had on the children.

There he met his future partner, Sandra Gamarano, and after four years of working there together, they began to plan for their ideal of founding a home for children at risk.

However, before setting our on such a venture with neither the required financial means nor the knowledge to run such a centre, they set off to train and work in such institutions outside of Brazil. Their journey brought them to Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, where they began to work for a 6-month period at a home for disabled children.