A Brazilian venture capital firm that funds health industry projects in Angola, Midras Partners for Business also backs charitable programs in the southwest African nation. Midras-supported projects in Angola include Projeto Sorriso, Projeto Uhayele, and Projeto GAPA. Although these programs date back less than a decade, the founders of Grupo Midras have financed and managed health-care activities in Angola for more than 30 years.
Midras has donated to Projeto Sorriso, an oral health project focused on the central Angolan province of Huambo, about 280 miles southeast of the capital, Luanda. Primarily serving children between 5 and 12, Projeto Sorriso teaches and promotes oral hygiene. The organization distributes care kits that contain a toothbrush, paste, and an informational flyer, and conducts cavity surveys and lectures. With donations from companies like Midras, the organization not only teaches children about healthy care of their mouths, but promotes pre-natal dental care. In other words, Projeto Sorriso encourages expectant mothers to seek dental evaluations -- a crucial goal in a region beset by a local superstition that pregnant women should not undergo dental treatment.
Another beneficiary of charitable funding from Grupo Midras, Projeto Uhayele, studies general health conditions and care in rural areas and makes recommendations. Projeto Uhayele has targeted communities that appear especially vulnerable to malaria, malnutrition, poor maternal health, and high