Heidfeld visits Casa do Menor

On Wednesday, 28 March, a dream came true for some 30 Brazilian girls who have so far not been on the bright side of life, as they welcomed a Formula One driver to their home.

Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld visited - together with Sauber team manager Beat Zehnder - the "Casa do Menor - Alegria e EsperanVa" at Embu das Artes, some thirty kilometres outside of Sao Paulo, and gave the girls an unforgettable day.

The Casa do Menor which is run by dominican nuns and supported by the German charity organziation "Aufgehende Sonne" has been the children's new home for three years now. Some of them are orphans, others come from empoverished, broken families and lived in the streets for some time prior to finding shelter. They are between three and sixteen years old. But the Casa do Menor is not just somewhere to live, it also offers to the girls the opportunity to extend their knowledge beyond school education and to promote their talents - by means of sports, music, handicraft and computer courses.

The girls took great pride in demonstrating their newly acquired judo skills to Nick Heidfeld and show him the results of their handicraft work such as crocheted, woven and other handmade articles. But Heidfeld not only acted as an onlooker, he was also involved in sporting activities: for instance on the volleyball field where he cut a good figure in one of the favourite sports of many Brazilian girls, or when playing table tennis where he proved to be a little superior to his ambitious but less experienced rivals.

After all this activity Heidfeld spent some time posing for photographs and signing the Sauber T-shirts and caps he had brought for the girls. The recipients of the goodies were very impressed and pleased with the amount of patience Heidfeld demonstrated. What they were also astonished about was the fact that "he is not much taller than most of us". There is no doubt for whom the girls will keep their fingers crossed on Sunday. "We want you to be on the podium - preferably together with our Rubinho" is what the said to Heidfeld, referring to fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.

Heidfeld promised to do his best just as he hoped they would do. "You have to make good use of the chances you are offered here," he said to the girls. "It is nice to see how much can be achieved by means of commitment, love and some financial support, in a country where many experience a very unfavourable start into life." Unvergesslicher Tag fur uber 30 brasilianische Madchen - durch Nick Heidfeld

-Sauber