A great new initiative called Connectualise, a Capoeira community development project, aims to organize strong connections with Capoeiristas interested in community development and positively influence local areas.
Project Aim:
This project aims to connect community development practitioners and Capoeira practitioners to share knowledge and skills and explore possibilities for collaboratively building stronger inter-relationships within the community.
Project Rationale:
This project recognises that practitioners of community development and of Capoeira share similar interests and each engage in activities that serve to build stronger communities. An unrealised and logical fit may therefore exist between:
* the art and culture of Capoeira; and * community development practitioners who seek a greater level of social participation and interpersonal connectedness for the individuals and families with whom they work.
Project Action:
The project will begin with expressions of interest from individuals in the community, followed by an invitation to participate in topic development. I will then run an initial workshop responding to the needs and questions as raised by participants.
Graduado Juba and students from Capoeira Maculelê Decatur in Atlanta, GA paid a visit to KidsPeace in Carrollton, GA which serves the behavioral and mental health needs of children, families and communities. Their mission was to give the kids a positive experience and promote the heath benefits of Capoeira. Juba describes the great story and talks about the effect on the kids.
When I opened the floor for questions, several of the girls insisted on knowing when we'd come back. One of them, walking back with a staff person admitted that when she first saw us moving, she didn't think much of it. Later she confessed to the staff person, "It's actually pretty cool. I guess you're not as lame as I thought." Was it a successful mission? I think so.
Above is a clip from UNICEF Television about the Al-Tanf Refugee Camp in Syria. The video features an interview with Tarek Alsaleh, founder of CapoeirArab, a Capoeira organization that worked with the children of the camp and taught them Capoeira. Patrizia Giffone, one of the camp's psycho-social consultant, is also interviewed and discusses the incredible positive effects learning Capoeira had on the children. Also, the leaping, no-handed, aerial Mealua de Compaso that the kid in the black shirt does at 2:22 is bananas! Enjoy!
Here's another great example of using Capoeira to communicate positive values to kids as well as being general a pillar of strength in the community. Projeto Das Criancas (Children's Project) in Pipa, Brazil is doing great work with kids and adults training Capoeira and dance.
Capoeira Brasil Tempe participated in a rally on April 25th to protest Arizona's Proposition SB1070 which "[makes] the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and [gives] the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally" - NY Times (Think Progress has excellent daily updates on developments with SB1070).
The above video, which was made by Capoeira Brasil Tempe's Fogo, discusses what's going on in Arizona, how the new law is effecting the interviewees, and how Capoeira and its origins relate to the issues being discussed. If you like the video, please click here and "vote it up" so the video can be featured on Current TV as part of their Viewer-Created Content. Voting requires login, which, if you don't have a current.com account, can be done with your Facebook account.
On April 25th 2010, a rally was held at the Arizona state capital in opposition to the recently enacted Immigration law, SB1070. Members of the local capoeira community attended to lend their voices and their "Axé" to the cause.
Here's a great short film about the Abolição Trust outreach work Contra Mestre Luis Negão and other contributors are doing in Brazil and South Africa. If you'd like to learn more about Abolição Trust, check out our previous post about them here!
Here's another great outreach initiative that uses Capoeira and Brazilian culture as a vehicle for education and positive influence in under-developed communities. It's called The Abolição Trust, created by Contra-Mestre Negão and his students, doing great work in Brazilian and South African communities.
The Abolição Trust uses the Brazilian art-form Capoeira to support young people in some of the poorest parts of the world. Through free classes, events and international exchanges, they can develop confidence, learn new skills in a safe environment and build hope for the future.
The Trust also supports a locally run Capoeira project in Hamburg, South Africa. Annual exchanges allow children from both projects to visit a new country and connect through their love for Capoeira.
Children in the projects face the threats of poverty, crime and HIV/AIDS. The Capoeira classes allow them to learn and develop in a supportive environment, build confidence and cooperative skills and link with further guidance from their communities [view some testimonials].
Project Aim:
When I opened the floor for questions, several of the girls insisted on knowing when we'd come back. One of them, walking back with a staff person admitted that when she first saw us moving, she didn't think much of it. Later she confessed to the staff person, "It's actually pretty cool. I guess you're not as lame as I thought." Was it a successful mission? I think so.
The Abolição Trust uses the Brazilian art-form Capoeira to support young people in some of the poorest parts of the world. Through free classes, events and 