Social Entrepreneurship

Introduction

I chose Sister Lucília Teixeira, a missionary in Africa, to my portrait of entrepreneur. When I first took notice of her history of life and all what she achieved, I could immediately see initiative, persistence, (social) impact, dedication, hardworking, the ability of motivating everyone around and many other characteristics of a (social) entrepreneur. Personally, she’s one of the persons I admire most.

Who is she?

She was born in a poor family in Portugal that, on her own words, “served as an opportunity to try to make things better.” When she was only twelve years old, her father passed away. As it was impossible to maintain a household with three children, she began to work. With only twelve years, she moved to Spain working in a small business. Even so, she learnt the language quickly, and contacted with all sorts of people, “were years of learning, when I worked there from twelve to seventeen years old”.

Dreams

However, her dream was to help. To give to the poor people a better life, and to go on mission where poverty was more severe. For this reason, she was sent to Mozambique at the moment of independence (although it was especially dangerous time to go). She worked as a director of a “SOS Children” village (Tete). The village was not finished though and had a director attached to the more administrative, more than a few times she had to guide the workers, causing them to render more work to do, seeking the most appropriate means to accomplish the tasks.

Because not always had the necessary money for the children had what they needed, they began the manufacture of homemade bread, baking it in the stoves of family houses and selling them to those in need. Because the profit was visible, representatives made the bakery in the village. They received enough clothes that also were not for fit children, this was also sold at a nominal price, so that there was an entry for the expenses of the children and the ladies who bought those...