Refúgio Aboim Ascensão

Refúgio Aboim Ascensão is a Private Christian Institution of Social Solidarity (IPSS) founded in 1933 in Faro by Manuel Aboim Ascensão de Sande Lemos, in memory of his uncle and father-in-law Rodrigo Aboím Ascensão, who had founded the Associação Protectora da Primeira Infância in Lisbon in 1901. For over nine decades the institution has cared for babies and young children removed from unsafe homes, giving them a first, stable place to be looked after while the courts and social services decide their future. The refuge runs what it describes as one of the largest emergency reception homes for at-risk children in Portugal, with capacity for around 95 children from just a few days old. Staff provide round the clock care, health monitoring and a calm daily routine, aiming to give every child who passes through, however briefly, a sense of confidence and security before they move on to foster care, adoption or return to their family. Based at Rua Manuel Ascensão in Faro, the refuge is sustained by donations, permanent patronage schemes and volunteers, alongside its own fundraising activities. It publishes its official documents and legal framework on its website for anyone considering supporting its work.