With sports projects that combine inclusion, health, and talent, the Ramacrisna Institute offers opportunities for athletes of all levels.
The Ramacrisna Institute believes in sports as a powerful tool for social transformation. This is because the institution offers opportunities for athletes of all ages, combining education, culture, and physical activities to create healthier, more confident citizens who are prepared for the future.
But this work is not limited to encouraging grassroots sports. In addition to workshops for children and adolescents after school, the Institute also supports high-performance athletes and para-athletes, offering structure, technical support, and hospitality.
One of the pillars of this work is the Viva o Esporte (Long Live Sports) project, which has already changed the lives of many young people and continues to develop talent—in sports and in life.
Viva o Esporte was created to ensure access to sports for everyone. For this reason, the project serves children, adolescents, and adults free of charge with various sports. The proposal is to promote physical and emotional development, in addition to teaching values such as empathy, overcoming challenges, and teamwork, for example.
But the project goes further. Viva o Esporte also offers support and opportunities for athletes who are already competing. Fellipe Lorenzo, for example, is only 13 years old and is a star on the world stage of school taekwondo. He recently won the silver medal at Gymnasiade 2025 — the world’s largest under-15 school championship — held in Zlatibor, Serbia.
“It’s very exciting to represent Brazil and bring home this silver medal. Each fight was a unique experience, and I learned a lot from each one,” he said.
One of the project’s most recent achievements is that of the beach volleyball duo Emanuelly Pereira and Quemile Souza, who won a bronze medal in the Qidong stage of the Beach Pro Tour — Futures stage, which is part of the World Beach Volleyball Tour — in China.
“It was a very challenging tournament, with strong opponents. In addition, all the cultural differences and intense time zone changes made everything more difficult, but we overcame the adversities with each other’s support. We entered the court with determination and enthusiasm. We are happy and our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for bringing this medal to our city and our Brazil. This shows that we are on the right track and that we can dream even bigger,” said Emanuelly.
Another protagonist in this story is Raysa Mendonça. The young woman has Down syndrome and found in para-athletics a path to overcoming challenges and achieving fulfillment. She started in para-athletics seeking personal gain, but soon caught the attention of the technical team. She stood out so much that she was called up by the Brazilian Confederation of Sports for the Intellectually Disabled to compete in the 2023 Virtus Global Games in France — the world’s largest competition for athletes with intellectual disabilities. It was there that the athlete won her first medals in an international competition: gold in shot put and bronze in javelin. In 2024, Rayssa traveled to Turkey for the Down Syndrome Athletics World Championships – Trissome Games-Antalya, where she also won gold in javelin.
“The competition was a very good experience both for Raysa and for us, her parents, as it was difficult to see her go to the other side of the world without us accompanying her. But we are proud of her achievement. She is a real fighter,” says the para-athlete’s mother, Maria Aparecida, emotionally.
These are just a few of the many stories that prove how Ramacrisna offers opportunities to athletes who might otherwise never have access to sports.
Ramacrisna ensures that sports are increasingly accessible to everyone by offering free classes in various sports projects. Students also receive uniforms and all the support they need to become great athletes. In addition, activities take place in a safe environment with complete infrastructure, including courts, adapted spaces, and supervision by physical educators, social workers, and psychologists.
In other words, the workshops are adapted to different ages and interests, ensuring that every child or teenager has the chance to identify with a sport. Classes are offered in various sports, such as:
In addition to training, internal championships, presentations, and tournaments are also organized, for example, to encourage social interaction and sportsmanship. Finally, the institution also maintains constant dialogue with families, promoting actions to strengthen bonds, conversation circles, and social guidance. In addition to the Viva o Esporte (Long Live Sports) project, carried out in partnership with the Betim City Hall, the institution maintains other sports projects, expanding the range of options and ensuring access for more and more people.
Ramacrisna’s work shows that investing in sports is investing in lives. In other words, what is built there is much more than technique: it is self-esteem, discipline, and belonging.
If you believe in the transformative power of sports and want to help invest in opportunities for athletes, support Ramacrisna, whether through donations, partnerships, or publicity. Because together, we can ensure that more talented individuals have the chance to shine. See how you can help.
