Ideas with voice, presence and form.

Video report connected to Pedro Paupério’s work at Jornal Novo Regional. This entry complements the articles and interviews presented in the journalism archive.

Refood Ermesinde was founded in 2015 and currently supports around 30 families, having expanded its support to several institutions in the municipality of Valongo. Nina Maia is the Ermesinde coordinator of the institution founded by Hunter Halder, and we spoke to her to learn more about Refood’s current situation.

The project supports hundreds of people and has been successful thanks to the availability of around 100 volunteers, as well as its partners, restaurants and other companies.

Nina Maia told our newspaper that “Refood’s motto is to use food to feed people, and it is an eco-humanitarian project, 100% volunteer-based, made for and by citizens at a micro-local level, with the goal of ending prepared food waste and hunger in the community, strengthening local community ties.”

Since it was founded in Lisbon in 2011 by Hunter Halder, founder and mentor of the Refood project, it has seen exponential growth, with many branches opening across the country.

Refood Ermesinde began only with bread and cakes collected from local bakeries and pastry shops, operating only on Saturdays. After its 2018 inauguration, it also began operating on Wednesdays, which led to exponential growth.

With the pandemic situation, the task became more difficult. Refood Ermesinde had the support of Externato Maria Droste, in Ermesinde, which was essential during the first state of emergency.

In November, Refood established a partnership with Continente at Maia Shopping, consisting of donations of food close to its expiry date but still in perfect condition for consumption. It currently supports 30 families and around a dozen institutions.

“There was not a single case of virus infection among residents in this institution,” said Albino Poças, Ombudsman of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Valongo.

Lar Nossa Senhora da Conceição, one of the services of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Valongo, overcame the difficulties of the pandemic, becoming a success case by having no COVID-19 cases among its residents.

According to Albino Poças, early preventive measures such as closing the nursery, the day centre and visits to residents were the key to stopping the spread of the virus.

An alternative was quickly created so visits could resume and people could have a normal visit without physical contact, through visual contact via acrylic panels and conversation through audio equipment.

Even with almost 100% of residents vaccinated, strictness remained. The same precautions continued ahead of the future reopening of the nursery, kindergarten and day centre.

Speaking to Jornal Novo Regional, the ombudsman of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Valongo credited the strict measures implemented for the fact that none of the home’s 69 residents had been infected with COVID-19, at least up to that point.

In this interview, the topic is the success in the fight against COVID-19, in a case that received praise from several entities and institutions.

Valongo City Council is completing the installation of the Contemplation Circuit equipment in the mountains that belong to the municipality of Valongo.

Councillor Paulo Esteves Ferreira explained to JNR that the mountain is not only for those who practise sport, but also for those who want to contemplate nature.

The circuit’s main points are the Monte Alto Swing, the Santa Justa Swing, the Viewpoint Throne, the Quinta Rei Swing, the Vale da Tranquilidade Throne and the Pias Throne.

Across roughly 32 kilometres of circuit, the equipment was placed so visitors could rest and enjoy the landscape.

With elevations between 350 and 400 metres above sea level, visitors can enjoy views over Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Maia and Matosinhos. On days with good visibility, it is possible to see Serra do Marão.

A year earlier, COVID-19 caught the country off guard and, by extension, several institutions such as fire brigades. That was the case with the Ermesinde and Valongo firefighters.

Bruno Fonseca, commander of the Valongo Volunteer Firefighters, said they had to adapt to reality at a time when acquiring equipment was difficult and prices were high.

Emanuel Santos, commander of the Ermesinde Volunteer Firefighters, explained that since March 2020 several changes had been implemented, with mirror teams and some firefighters staying at home as a precaution.

The fire brigades paused recruit schools, implemented videoconference training and reinforced decontamination procedures.

The Ermesinde firefighters also received an ambulance with equipment capable of removing microorganisms, SARS-CoV-2 and volatile organic compounds, donated by the company Uniónica.

The reopening of the Day Centre of the Associação de Socorros Mútuos e Fúnebre de Valongo brought a reduction in places, since safety conditions now have to be created for users and staff.

There were once 40 users at the Day Centre and there are now 11, although the number may rise to 15 while the rules remain unchanged.

Neuza Pimenta, technical director of the Day Centre, says adaptation to the pandemic caused every procedure to change.

Measures such as disinfection, temperature checks and social distancing were implemented, despite there having been no infection cases in the service.

While the centre was closed and users were at home, support continued at home, with shopping, meals and activities.

Fitness Factory arrived in Valongo, in the Intermarché space, on 13 May, in a space of more than 1,200 m², full of colour, light and good energy.

The opening was a success, exceeding the membership expectations of brothers Ricardo and Diogo Baltarejo, owners of the new gym.

The brothers explained that it was the fulfilment of a dream shared by them and their mother. COVID-19 was one of the many obstacles they had to overcome to open the space.

The goal of the new gym is to create a routine that helps clients reach new goals through a training manager, group classes, nutritional guidance and personal training.

Pedro Simão, CEO of Fitness Factory, explained to JNR that the arrival of this gym was a natural step in the brand’s expansion.

In a statement sent to the JNR newsroom, the PS Valongo municipal structure criticised the PSD’s position on the Sobrado landfill.

The PS statement says PSD Valongo lacks the humility to apologise to the population for bringing the landfill, secretly, to Sobrado in 2007.

According to the socialists, it was the PSD, when it governed Valongo City Council, that authorised the urban planning licence for the construction of the landfill.

The PS argued that the PSD’s attitude was only related to the municipal elections and also addressed the issue of merging the parishes of Campo and Sobrado.

“The Sobrado landfill must close,” Miguel Santos stated at the public presentation of his candidacy for Mayor of Valongo.

The Unidos por Todos candidate, supported by Mais, Movimento de Cidadania Independente, made it clear that the PSD is against the landfill.

Miguel Santos criticised the inertia of the current mayor and argued that in 2017 he could have closed the landfill simply by invalidating the urban planning licence.

The candidate also promised stronger environmental inspection and criticised the choice to invest in the new City Council building.

The Porto Territorial Command, through the Lordelo Territorial Post, stopped an illegal party with 28 people in a house in Rebordosa, municipality of Paredes.

Following a noise complaint, GNR officers were alerted that an illegal party was taking place inside a house.

After going to the location, officers confirmed that the party was still taking place and ordered the event to end.

Twenty-eight people were identified and administrative offence reports were filed for failure to comply with the general duty to stay at home.

Three men and two women were arrested by the Porto PSP for computer fraud amounting to around 500,000 euros through MB WAY.

The arrests took place after six house searches in the areas of Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, Maia and Penafiel.

During the searches, 9,000 euros, nine mobile phones, a computer, a tablet, narcotics and several items of clothing were seized.

The suspects were under investigation for more than 85 criminal acts since mid-2019.

Their names are Daniela Silva, from Valongo, and António Pedro, from Ermesinde, and they will show chef Ljubomir Stanisic what they can do in the kitchen on SIC’s Hell’s Kitchen.

Daniela is 28, a financial manager and entrepreneur, but she has a huge love for cooking. She created her own company, which provides catering services for events.

António is 26, from Ermesinde, a chef, and lived in Norway for the previous seven years. He worked in a restaurant with three Michelin stars.

Under chef Ljubomir Stanisic, 16 kitchen professionals would be put through several technical and creative challenges.

The DGS released the epidemiological bulletin on the incidence of COVID-19 infections per 100,000 inhabitants between 27 January and 9 February.

In the region, all municipalities recorded decreases, with Valongo standing out as the least infected municipality.

Valongo had 402 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, far fewer than the 895 recorded eight days earlier.

Nationally, on the day another State of Emergency came into force, 90 more deaths and 1,303 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the previous 24 hours.

Caetanos is a family company that has represented CIN paints and varnishes commercially since 1994. It began with António Caetano, father of Carla and Luís Miguel Caetano, selling paints from home.

Over time, and encouraged by CIN, the first shop opened, with Carla Caetano responsible for its operation. Later, Luís Miguel Caetano joined, and the two siblings have steered this Alfena-based business.

More shops were opened in Ermesinde, Águas Santas and Maia, as well as a warehouse, with Caetanos Tintas aiming to stay increasingly close to customers.

The company’s business philosophy is to treat all customers the same way, advising them on the best products and quantities for each project.

Regarding the pandemic, Caetanos Tintas did not feel much impact, because people used lockdown to paint a wall or a room.