'O Projeto Quixote não é só uma ong, mas sim um coração de mãe.'
'Tem aqui no Quixote, a nossa oportunidade: de estudar, de crescer, de ter um trabalho.'
Nunca me senti tão bem num lugar como aqui, vocês gostam da gente de verdade, se preocupam com a gente

HISTORY

In 1996, born out of both a concern with the incidence of drug-use among street children and a personal sense of indignation as citizens, a group of UNIFESP clinical practitioners undertook to create a project for the provision of assistance, education and research dedicated and oriented around children who are transitorily on the streets.
The project focus was gradually broadened, to include children, youth and families in high-risk situations. In 2000, the activities delivered at the "Mohinho" (Windmill), the project Headquarters at Vila Clementino, were extended to a second site, during which time the Agência Quixote Spray Arte, an education-for-work program through the medium of graffiti, was created. During this period, Quixote also initiated a program for income generation specifically targeting the families of the children and youth attended to by Quixote. In 2005, Projeto Quixote returned to its origins with the inauguration of the Moinho da Luz (Windmill of Luz) as well as our program aimed at approaching and dealing directly with street children in the district of "Cracolândia" (Crack Land), located in central São Paulo and famous for the proliferation of drugs and the prevalence of drug-related problems. As part of a continual exercise in dialogue and reflection, our activities within the realm of assistance, education and research are always being expanded and redesigned.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME

In the universal imagination, Don Quixote is known as a sort of ingenue, a dreamer...
Confronting windmills as though they were dragons.
In face of monstrous social injustice, which abandons and demoralizes many children and adolescents in Brazil, Projeto Quixote was also born out of a dream: the affirmation of life, of subjectivity and of the potential of these children and young people.