Social Project sponsored by Gerdau, will benefit young people aged between 7 and 17 for 12 months.

 

Sport is one of the modifying agents in the lives of many young people, because through it, social inclusion becomes possible and is worked in a different way that guarantees great results. One of the best examples is the athletes who started in social projects and, today, reach podiums in sports, nationally and internationally..

 

Public policies aimed at sports for children and adolescents generate results that go beyond medals, they are achievements for a lifetime. The practice of sports is capable of molding and modifying character, in addition to providing a different and better future for many people. 

 

The NGO Ajudôu is based on the ideals of sport and has been promoting social sports projects in various modalities since 1995 in more than 30 cities in Brazil, with a view to transforming lives. The Caminho da Suavidade Project, carried out in Congonhas and Barão de Cocais, Minas Gerais, offers 300 places for judo classes for children and adolescents from 7 to 17 years old, during a period of 12 months.

 

 In Congonhas, the project will be carried out for the first time, but in Barão de Cocais the partnership has been signed since 2020. Due to the pandemic, it was paralyzed for 1 year and 7 months and will return with new classes in November.

 

“In a country with so much inequality and lack of opportunities for low-income people, children and adolescents are especially subject to social vulnerability, with different health risks, involvement with violence and crime, among others. In this context, social-sports projects emerge as a fantastic alternative”, says the Founder and Executive Director of Ajudôu, Júlio César Lana Jaques.

 

In addition to sports classes, the Caminho da Suavidade Project will bring a series of benefits to the municipalities, such as: strengthening the sense of community among students, increasing the social circle and learning about volunteering. Therefore, the development of social sports projects across the country are of paramount importance, because when young people have contact with the concepts and virtues of Ajudôu, they have the possibility to form their character and have a different future, contrary to what they would have if you were on the streets. 

 

Registrations open for the Path of Softness classes

 

The Caminho da Suavidade Project is sponsored by Gerdau, through the Minas Gerais State Sports Incentive Law and support from the municipalities of Congonhas and Barão de Cocais.  Registration is open for 300 children and adolescents (male and female), between 7 and 17 years old, to practice judo classes for 1 year. 

 

Registration and class locations

 

Classes will start in November and will be held twice a week, always in the students’ school shift, lasting 1 hour. Check out the locations in each city:

 

• Congonhas:

 

• Ginásio Poliesportivo José Pereira Assunção – Felix (Street Barão de Eschewege, Nº 320, Neighborhood Matriz, Congonhas – MG, 36416-006).
• Ginásio Poliesportivo Jurandir Matias dos Reis (Street Antônio Ribeiro Maia, Nº 51, Neighborhood Alvorada, Congonhas – MG, 36416-006).

 

• Barão de Cocais:

 

CRAS (Street Joaquim do Carmo Gonçalves, Nº 674, Ao lado da Capela São Miguel, Neighborhood São Miguel, Barão de Cocais – MG, 35970-000). 

 

Full uniforms for fighting

 

The student’s self-esteem is developed during all stages of the project. An example is the uniform kit that each one will receive, containing a brand new shirt, kimono and belt. The delivery of materials ensures that all students of the Caminho da Suavidade attend classes with equality, regardless of the financial conditions of the families.

 

Protocol for Resumption of Sports Activities at Ajudôu

 

To carry out the assistance, without putting children and teachers at risk, the Protocol for Resumption of Sports Activities at Ajudôu in the context of Covid-19.  

 

The Ajudôu manual aims to pass general health safety rules against Covid-19 according to the reality of each location, that is, sport classes will be adapted according to the Ajudôu guidelines, which can be revised. Below are some example guidelines: 

 

• Minimum distance required during classes (1 student every 2 m²);
• All students must start and finish activities in the same amount of time and leave in an orderly manner, without contact and agglomeration; 
• End of classes 10 minutes before to avoid crowding with the class of the next class; 

 

About Ajudôu

 

Ajudôu is a Non-Governmental Organization, recognized for its public utility at the municipal and state levels. It was founded in 1995, in Timóteo-MG, and has already served more than 30 thousand children and adolescents with free judo and other sports classes. Currently, Ajudôu is expanding its work to more than 40 cities in 4 different states.