The Dojo project students celebrated their level-up in belts and ended the year with a delicious BBQ.
At the beginning of 2018, thanks to a grant from the Australian Consulate, we were able to remodel and restart our jiu-jitsu project which had been on pause for a few months. The new kimonos and mats, as well as the resources to pay a jiu-jitsu teacher for the first semester, renewed our energy.
We advertised in local schools and received a very positive response. During the first semester, we had more than 50 children and teenagers go through the project, with a consistent average of 25 regular attenders.
The sport has improved the quality of life of these children and teenagers; some have become more disciplined, others have managed to lose weight, improved their physical fitness, or simply tried something new and rose to the challenge with enthusiasm.
Apart from the sport itself, we also took moments for reflection and conversation where we focused on themes relating to how to be a good citizen, aware of one’s rights and responsibilities.
Even our snack time had an educational message, with fruit and cereals always on the menu.
We also developed something we consider a particular strength of Dojo: family visits. Through the visits we were able to get to know the family dynamics a bit more, interacting and in some cases intervening, always respecting the independence and maturity of each individual and family.
Last Saturday, the 8th December, we ended our year with a BBQ offered by our partners, and the graduation of some students. We had very special time!
We have great expectations for 2019! We will have a bigger space for the mat, enabling us to work with even more students. We’ll continue with the students from 2018, who are no longer just students, but have become dear friends. We’ll go into schools to advertise again, meet other children and teenagers, and visit more families.
With humility we hope to contribute even more to an improvement in the quality of life of the young people served. Because, at the end of the day, we believe in relevant relationships that bring about transformation!
Caetano Pinilha is the coordinator of the Dojo project
