NFT project aims social change and development in communities and favelas in Brazil with no access to cryptocurrency knowledge

“For me, cryptocurrencies are a way to democratize financial access for many people. It was an inclusive way of doing it.”

And that’s how, in 2021, Victor Caribé, along with his friends Jeff Beltrao and Henrique Aragon, funded Play4Change. Moved by the social situation in Brazil, the developers set a goal: to help Brazilian communities change their lives by encouraging education in cryptocurrencies. In his first mission, Victor, at the request of his sister – one of the initial investors – brought together ten women, between 30 and 60 years old, for a pilot test.

Before joining the project, the group of ten used to sell bottles of water at the traffic lights, during the hot and rainy days in Bahia. It was thanks to P4C (short for Play4Change) that these women learned how to deal with NFTs (“non-fungible token”). Through popular Blockchain games such as Axie Infinity, the co-founder managed to achieve his goal: all participants left the streets and started working from home, increasing not only their quality of life, but also their monthly income.

After the success of the first group, P4C had a gradual growth. Through partnerships with several projects, such as Plataforma Impact and Nossa Terra Firme, the group developed more ambitious plans, such as creating their own games on the Polygon network and launching NFTs pieces on OpenSea. However, it was through the partnership with Educar+ that the objective of expanding education to children and adolescents, residents of communities in Rio de Janeiro, was achieved.

Despite the difficulties and, especially, the current situation of Ethereum – one of the best-known cryptocurrencies since the growth of Bitcoin -, Victor explains that Play4Change has always been concerned with stability. Therefore, the co-founder hopes that P4C investors or sponsors already have knowledge about market volatility and its risks, even before supporting the cause.

Opening doors to the future

“I always had this commitment to my territory, which was to bring what was new, what was happening, because we are always the last ones to know, right?”. Founded in 2017, the Educar+ project provides opportunities for the social and human development of children and adolescents in Complexo do Chapadão, in Anchieta.

The NGO currently has five members, including the President and CEO Ana Caroline. Carol, as she is affectionately called by her community and by Play4Change, has always wanted to broaden the world view of several children and adolescents. To achieve this, she fought to conquer every space within the NGO, including the famous computer room, sponsored by the Polygon network – through the partnership with P4C.

Despite the difficulties, the social project, in partnership with P4C, continues to encourage education and access to information for children and adolescents in the favela. It’s children like Murilo, writing his fourth book on Realidades da Favela, that Carol finds herself inspired to bring all the support and content possible to Educar+. Despite being a child, the young writer ends his book with a great message: “It is possible that we live beyond violence”.

The collection of NFTs, developed by children who were already participating in the NGO, was the first project of the partnership with P4C shared with the public. Carol says that her most remarkable moment in this trajectory was when Cadu, 13y, looked at her and said “now I know that I can”. Meanwhile, other children asked innocent questions, such as “Could this help my parents?”.

Despite the success of the Ethereum Rio event, part of the art has not yet been sold. Achieving this goal could be essential for the future of the social project, since the idea is that a percentage of the profits obtained from sales will go back to these young people and another part will be directed to reinvest in Educar+.

A newcomer to the world of cryptocurrencies, Ana Caroline reflects her gratitude to Play4Change’s support, as when she had her first contact with Victor, she still didn’t understand the opportunities that cryptocurrencies and blockchain could provide. This partnership, which is now almost over a year, has brought many benefits not only to Carol, but also to the community.

It’s worth mentioning that, despite being into cryptocurrencies, the focus of the duo is not just economic development. Access to education, infrastructure and new ways of learning are its primary goals, so all of these children and adolescents can grow up understanding that there is a world of opportunities for them. Victor Caribé even points out that, in the long term, as the NGO participants learn more about BlockChain work tools, their profiles and skills will be saved in a Play4Change database, so they could get a job or internship in the area in the future.

How can you make a difference

If you want to help the Educar+ project, you will find the children’s NFTs pieces, mentioned above, in this link. As said, the money raised will be partially distributed to those responsible, in addition to helping the development of the NGO.

To make donations or become a volunteer, you can contact Carol through the How to Help page.

As for Play4Change, the project is currently selling an NFT collection on OpenSea. The avatar chosen by the team, “Yara”, has 8 different types of classification. The “member” model can be found for 36 reais (at the price of 09/29/2022), guaranteeing early access to the platform of the project under construction, NFTs games and a set of educational classes focused on Blockchain. If you are interested in purchasing any of the published artwork, keep in mind that OpenSea transactions are carried out through Ethereum (ETH).

For those who invest in any piece, the access to the first exclusive drop of Play4Change tokens will be guaranteed. Still without a launch date, the new cryptocurrency, called P4C, should be available soon. The delay is due to the team’s planning to define a value, which takes into account all the proposals, objectives and efforts put into its creation.

To access the Play4Change collection, you can click here. If you want to understand more about the benefits, go to the official website.