How it Started
“There must be something that we can do,” begins the story of BRAYCE. Richard Calder had a connection with Brazil since the early 1960s. He and Margot lived in Brazil before settling in Chester, Connecticut in 1977. They remained active in Rio de Janeiro even after making their home in the US.
Richard and Margot met Dr. Nanko van Buuren in the early 1990s. Dr. van Buuren was working with his Rio de Janeiro organization, IBISS (Brazilian Institute for Innovation in Public Health) and with ‘Soldados Nunca Mais’ (Soldiers Never More.) Van Buuren offered opportunities and hope to at-risk teens who had little future ahead except gangs, drug trafficking, and crime.
Richard and Margot toured the favelas with Dr. van Buuren and were impressed with his work. Richard, a director of Camp Hazen YMCA, recognized the synergy between IBISS and Camp Hazen’s youth leadership program. Van Buuren and the Calders decided to introduce a cultural exchange between the respective organizations. Richard and Margot’s vision began to take shape and BRAYCE was conceived in 2005!
New Beginnings
In 2015, we lost both Richard Calder and Nanko van Buuren and Margot Calder assumed the position of President at BRAYCE. Without Dr. van Buuren, the Brazilian Institute for Innovation in Public Health ceased to exist.
Fortunately, in 2016, Margot met Diana Nijboer, founder of EduMais, an after-school program in the Pavão (peacock,) Pavãozinho (little peacock,) and Cantagalo (singing rooster) communities of Brazil. EduMais programs teach underprivileged young people in favelas the essential skills needed in the modern world. The connection between Edumais and BRAYCE helps find young people with similar ideals and goals and a way to continue the intercultural exchange work.
Today
BRAYCE continues to bring underprivileged young leaders to Connecticut for life and leadership skills training. Our program runs strong despite the pause during COVID. In 2023, BRAYCE sponsored four students for the international exchange and intends to continue to build young leaders who make a significant difference in their respective communities.
