Marco Roberto Bertoli was born in Sarnico (BG) on July 30, 1974, but the family lives and works in Palazzolo sull’Oglio, where Roberto attends the “G.Galilei” scientific high school. He then enrolls in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Milan, but drops out after a few years.

Inspired by his vocation and his knowledge of Father Luigi Rebuffini, who has been working in Brazil for forty years, he leaves for the great South American state. He has just turned 21. He visits different locations in the vast territory, where difficulties and hardships are most felt, and becomes aware of how necessary it is to intervene in a work of reception, especially towards children who have known abandonment and violence since childhood.

At first, he welcomes the “meninos de rua”, street children, in a disused prison structure offered by the local administrations, but soon the place is no longer suitable to accommodate the increasing number of children and the renewal of the building’s concession itself is uncertain. So, thanks to his determination and tenacity and thanks to the help coming mainly from Italy, he acquires a large area.

The Missionary rolls up his sleeves and begins to realize his dream: to build a small village in just fifteen months, also using prefabricated structures, but demonstrating the skills of a great designer and builder.