Our Story - Baluarte

2012-2014

Missionary trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo

In 2012 Marcos Freire (then 17 years old) and Jonnes Queiroz (then 19 years old), left Brazil for what would be the biggest adventure of their lives: A 2-year missionary trip to the DCR. During this time, heartbroken to see the level of poverty, they worked selling snacks at the door of an elite school in the Capital, where Marcos sang in the Congolese dialect (Lingala) to attract attention. As a result, they were able to raise money to buy food for families in need in the villages. This experience shaped their destiny as they became passionate about ending poverty and creating better opportunities for children and families in need.

2014

Back to Brazil, now mature, with a defined vision: BALUARTE.

The name Baluarte, which before was just a verse of one of Marcos Freire's songs, became something deeper: a combination of their mission and vision - to build places of refuge, help, protection, and security in Africa and to provide opportunities for the African people.

2017

Returning to Africa, visiting Luanda in Angola and Kinshasa in the Congo

Three years later, Marcos Freire was invited to go back to Africa as an artist to sing in a Concert. After the concert, alongside Jonnes Queiroz, they go back to Congo, with the intent to open a BALUARTE school. While in Congo, they saw themselves in the middle of witch conflicts in Kinshasa and were held locked in a house for seven days. Once able to leave the country, heartbroken, they return to Brazil with the idea to then return to open BALUARTE Luanda - a school focusing on raising kids on a new mentality through education and faith.

2018

The first BALUARTE school opens in Luanda!

In the Capollo II neighborhood, a very poor neighborhood with no water, electricity, schools, and accessible health care; where children wander around on the streets, and are sexually assaulted by their own families, the first Baluarte school was born with 40 children. In the beginning, we offered literacy, school tutoring and daily meals. Within a year, we had 80 kids enrolled in grades K-6th and in after school programs including music, theater, circus, dance, and Christian discipleship.

2019

A trip to the U.S. to learn English!

As the singer's career takes off, Marcos Freire decides to take some time to learn English in the US and travels to Boston with Jonnes Queiroz for a 3-month intensive English program. There they meet Michelle Fernandes, the Founder and CEO of Approach International Student Center - the school they decided to attend. As Michelle learns about the Baluarte project, she falls in love with it and decides to fund its growth through monthly donations.

2020

The growth of Baluarte Luanda

The Luanda school has grown to almost 300 students, and it is recognized by the Angolan government, with a team of more than 40 employees formally hired. Baluarte rents a house to shelter 10 children, 5 of them orphans who were found living alone, barely supported by their older sister (12 years old) who suffered sexual abuse for years, and found ways to bring home food. Marcos and Jonnes return to Brazil to care for Mama Lane, diagnosed with cancer.

2021

COVID-19 lockdown and the start of BALUARTE Nordeste

As the world stopped with the pandemic, Marcos Freire and Jonnes Queiroz are in lockdown in Campina Grande, Brasil - their homeland. There they decide to open BALUARTE Nordeste in a rented house to host after school programs, parent education and to aid over 150 families with basic food baskets on a weekly basis, and providing support to children and families in vulnerable situations from diverse communities suffering from drought and food shortage. Baluarte Nordeste has dozens of missionaries/ volunteers from all over Brazil enacting our prevention work.

2022

The start of BALUARTE USA

Marcos Freire and Jonnes Queiroz, return to the US in a very special mission: to invite Michelle Fernandes to co-found Baluarte in the U.S. with the goal of becoming a global institution and the dream of opening a school in Congo. In Luanda, we have now 450+ kids in school.

2023

Winning the "Tony Robbins Business Mastery" Competition

Baluarte wins the "Tony Robbins Business Mastery Competition", under the leadership of Michelle Fernandes portraying Baluarte to the world. In less than 48 hours, the team raises over $100k and is offered the construction and water plant to build the Congo school. Marcos Freire and Jonnes Queiroz head on to Congo, buy the land for our new school and rescue 65 children, Victims of the Congo war. It is the start of the Baluarte orphanage in Goma, Congo.