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The ongoing transformation of Rio de Janeiro’s famous Santa Marta favela continued recently when 450 volunteers from the city took part in one of the biggest ever ‘Let’s Colour’ events to be staged by AkzoNobel’s Decorative Paints business.
Organised as part of Rio’s 450th anniversary celebrations, the volunteers made a huge contribution to a local project, which first began in 2010 and is a living example of AkzoNobel’s commitment to its Human Cities initiative.
So far, more than 300 buildings in Santa Marta have been redecorated with more than 20,000 litres of Coral – AkzoNobel’s paint brand in Brazil – helping to make the community more inspiring and vibrant for everyone who lives there.
"We’re thrilled that so many volunteers joined us to help revitalise this amazing community,” said Jaap Kuiper, Managing Director of AkzoNobel’s Decorative Paints business in Latin America. "It’s important that people feel proud of where they live and with ‘Let’s Colour’ we’re inspiring people to become more connected to their cities and communities.”
As well as adding colour to their homes, the weekend’s ‘Let’s Colour’ event also involved working with Santa Marta residents to help them choose the right colours and offered training in how to properly apply paint. In addition, the company teamed up with local NGO Eu quero o Santa Marta Limpo to clean up the streets.
"Our global Human Cities initiative and the work we’re doing in communities throughout Brazil are testament to how we’re striving to make cities around the world more liveable,” added Ruud Joosten, Member of the Executive Committee responsible for Decorative Paints. "It was great to see everyone get involved with such enthusiasm in Santa Marta, which is a perfect example of how lives can be transformed through colour.”
Due to be completed before the start of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, the Santa Marta ‘Let’s Colour’ project will eventually involve painting more than 600 buildings with products from AkzoNobel’s Coral range.
