Kinder+Sport brings a Post-Olympic Project to Rio favelas

Encouraging children to embrace sports and live an active life is the main pillar of the Kinder+Sport programme and the Olympic Games have provided an opportunity for the Joy of moving project in Brazil and specifically in Rio de Janeiro.

Sports are a powerful drive for change and social inclusion. And the choice of supporting a post-Games project comes from the determination to fight social distress and leave a positive legacy for the future through the training of local instructors and the supply of sports equipment.

In collaboration with the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) and the international organization ActionAid, engaged in Brazil for a number of years, Kinder+Sport will first develop its activities in the Cidade de Deus Favela. Here, 52% of the population is under 16. It is a recruitment ground for criminal organisations. Those who are born and raised here carry a stigma that makes an ordinary life extremely difficult. Thanks to CONI and Kinder+Sport there will now be a dedicated space for the students of the Alphonsus Guimarens school. The 80 children and their families will finally have access to a fully equipped sporting facility.

With the special contribution of ambassadors Jury Chechi, Andrea Lucchetta, Fiona May, Carlton Myers, Massimiliano Rosolino, Antonio Rossi, Elisa Santoni and Alessandra Sensini, children from the favelas have discovered the joy of movement and the interchange and team spirit that comes from practising sport.

In the words of Alfonso Ciampi, Director of Institutional Relations in Ferrero Brazil, "we have had the joy of seeing Brazil winning its first Olympic Gold medal with an athlete from Cidade de Deus, Rafaella Silva, who has inspired and stimulated the children of the community and showed us that we are on the right track".