The Estrela Nova Community Movement was founded in 1984, when a small group of residents decided to come together to discuss a solution to address the neglect of the neighborhood and local poverty.

The urban landscape was entirely unsatisfactory: streets and alleys filled with potholes, overgrown vegetation and garbage taking over the area, rats and open sewage, lack of services for children, adolescents, the elderly, and families in general. From conversations and discussions emerged the organization of collective efforts on weekends and holidays, with men and women working on cleaning, canalizing ditches for sewage, and so on.

At the same time, other teams in different parts of the city created other projects, which today form Estrela Nova and serve 900 people monthly.