Tropical Quebrando Barreiras seeks to improve the quality of life of children and adolescents through sport
Among the activities offered is the soccer school, focused on children from 6 to 17 years old
Tropical Quebrando Barreiras is a project idealized and created in 1986 by José Batista da Silva, a Physical Education teacher. Operating in the neighborhood of Engenho Pequeno, in Nova Iguaçu, in the Baixada Fluminense, in the Morro do Engenho and Vila Operária communities, the project aims to train citizens and improve the quality of life of children, adolescents and the elderly in these localities.
The reason for creating the project was José’s poor childhood. At the time, there were even projects in his locality, but they were not for needy children – they were paid and, as the family could not afford them, he could never participate in the select groups that benefited. That’s when the motivation to create an inclusive social initiative came to him as an adult.
Objectives of Tropical Quebrando Barreiras
The activities are: localized and functional gymnastics, which offer better physical conditioning for those who practice, with exercises that stimulate different parts of the body; supervised walks and soccer school. Classes take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at different times. In the case of soccer, they take place during the school day.
The target audience is children and adolescents aged 6 to 17, and the criterion for their participation is to be regularly enrolled in school. For the elderly, it is necessary that they are in good health.
The teacher says he feels fulfilled and very happy when he sees the interaction between the children, because they arrive risky, rebellious, thinking they can do anything, due to living in the community, but then they adapt and gradually understand what the project is and the reasons why it exists. He also notices the impact that his action is having through the mothers of these children, especially when they talk about the positive changes in behavior and how much their grades improve at school. Professor Batista feels the same happiness when the older women tell him that, because of the exercises, they are doing things more easily, with more independence and feeling younger and more capable.
The teacher’s biggest challenges are: to encourage as many children as possible to stay in school, as he believes that only through education an individual can exercise his citizenship; and to make the sedentary people of these two territories aware that physical exercises are not only to improve aesthetics, but also to have physical conditioning and, with that, achieve a better state of health and a quality longevity.
The work of Tropical Quebrando Barreiras
Although the project has existed for a long time, Batista has not yet been able to get the CNPJ* and needs help to do so. The regularization of the project would make it possible to open many doors such as participation in public and private calls, with the aim of obtaining funding to maintain activities with less suffering and more dignity. The project is run only by its founder, wife and daughter.
“It’s a humble, simple job, but we are managing to develop boys who can go to soccer clubs. We have kids who have played for Flamengo, Portuguesa da Ilha and others, but not all of them make it to professional soccer. The work with the teenagers is more about sitting down and talking, giving them direction, because although becoming a professional is the desire of each one, the main goal of the project is to get them off the street so that they don’t commit crimes, get arrested or even killed. This project represents a part of me, today I can’t see my life without it”, concludes the founder.
Teacher Batista has the dream of expanding the activities and attending more to the social and psychological part. For that, he needs your support. If you are from the area of Psychology, Sport, Social Assistance or any other area that helps in the development of people, be a volunteer or help financially!
For both cases, please contact +55 (21) 9 6409-4984, or write to prof.batista40@gmail.com.
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* CNPJ stands for “Cadastro Nacional da Pessoa Jurídica” in Portuguese, which translates to “National Registry of Legal Entities” in English. It is a unique identification number assigned to Brazilian companies and legal entities for tax and administrative purposes.
