Access to sport and solutions for 1400 youth and 180 regular visitors in Rio’s most dangerous favela that suffers from 20 years of rival drug trafficking wars; youth thrive in an environment of peace.
1\3 of Brazilians live in extreme poverty, for whom drug trafficking and crime seems to be the most financially and socially rewarding option. This has created an unofficial civil war between the state and its poor. Fight for Peace offers diversion from this option, accompanied by scholarships into schools, and access to the job market. The project is open to 7-25 years old of both sexes in Rio de Janeiro’s most dangerous favela community- Complexo de Mare.
Youth are given the resources to choose a more productive life over crime: sport classes and primary education are offered daily as are citizenship and English classes. Students go on to find employment and further their studies.
Fight for Peace is creating a community of peer leaders that will inspire youth from within the community to channel their energy toward more productive ends. Participants have gone on to professional sports, employment at the center, and university.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Excel file (projdoc.xls).
