ABC history

ABC's founder, Jimena Page, was born to Argentinian parents in San Francisco in the early 1970s, spending her childhood between California and Buenos Aires.

At the age of 11, after seeing children no older than herself begging in the streets, she decided that one day she would do something to help them. As a teenager, Jimena undertook community work in Ecuador with Amigos de Las Americas and subsequently travelled around South America extensively, volunteering at several orphanages.

It was in Lençóis, Bahia that she, together with other young women, founded Grãos de Luz ('Seeds of Light'), which would become the starting point for ABC.

Whilst working at Grãos de Luz, Jimena met Jimmy Page, who was promoting the album 'No Quarter: Unledded' in South America. They spoke about the problems facing the children of Brazil, and discussed doing a project 'some day'.

However, when Jimmy went to Rio de Janeiro, he witnessed unrest in the favelas, and the authorities' reaction to this. From his hotel room, he could see military tanks rolling into the communities.

Within 48 hours, he had determined that he had to do something to help the situation; this led to the establishment of Casa Jimmy, a shelter for abandoned street children.

Over the following year, Jimena accompanied Jimmy on his tour, continuing to promote Grãos de Luz along the way. When they returned to settle in the UK, Jimena set up the ABC Trust, with Jimmy as the founding patron.

Initially, the charity was run from Jimena’s home, with a supporting Board of Trustees. We now have an office in London, and support a number of projects across Brazil, including Rio and São Paulo, as well as in the north-eastern cities of Recife and Salvador.

In 2000, the ABC Trust was registered as a charity in the US, and in 2003, Grãos de Luz was named a UNICEF Brasil project of the year. It has since also been honoured by the Brazilian Ministry for Culture.

full-time staff

Andrew Webb, Chief Executive

andrew@abctrust.org.uk

Maira Inae, Projects Coordinator
maira.inae@abctrust.org.uk

Lydia Stevens, Fundraising & Marketing Coordinator
lydia.stevens@abctrust.org.uk

Ana Leticia, Projects Assistant
ana.matos@abctrust.org.uk

Katy Bailes, Fundraising & Marketing Assistant
katy.bailes@abctrust.org.uk

USA Affiliate: JR Warner Jr

volunteers

We are lucky to have many volunteers helping us across a wide range of activities. Our current volunteers are Anna Cury and Juliano Fiori.

trustees

legal advice & accounts

Our offices, legal advice and accounting are kindly provided pro bono:
Accounting: Joan Hudson & Co
Legal services: Bird & Bird and DLA
Offices: Peter Hall