São Judas neighborhood center: Campeões do Futuro bears fruit in 2019

On July 19, 2019, Mestre Paulo Ribeiro posted a photo of a children’s class in white doboks (Taekwondo uniforms), gathered on the green mat, with the caption: “Projeto Campeões do Futuro at the São Judas neighborhood center, in BC, bearing fruit. Congratulations, instructor Bianca Kaproski” (Instagram). Projeto Campeões do Futuro (“Future Champions”) is his free social project, and the post was proof that the project, started at a school in April, was already running in more than one part of the city.

A neighborhood center

Unlike the João Goulart school center, where the mat was set up inside the school, the São Judas center appears in the photo as a neighborhood class: children in uniform, instructors in the background and the Mestre watching over them. The exact location of the classes in the neighborhood is not given in the post and has not been confirmed by this site.

That is the project’s logic: bring Taekwondo to where the children live, without depending on transportation or monthly fees.

The instructor leading the class

The Mestre made a point of congratulating instructor Bianca Kaproski, who was in charge of the class. It is a pattern that shows up in his posts: instructors leading the classes at the centers, while the Mestre oversees, supervises exams and organizes competitions. More information about her career was not found in an open source.

The project in 2019, month by month

The São Judas center is one chapter in an intense year for the project:

• April 10: classes begin at the João Goulart school (Instagram);
• April 29: meeting with coordinator Emanuelle and the Secretary of Social Inclusion, Cristina Barrichello;
• May 28: “project in full swing”;
• July 5: preparations for a belt exam and an integration tournament celebrating the city’s anniversary (Instagram);
• July 19: the São Judas center “bearing fruit”.

The story of the first center is in the article about Campeões do Futuro at the João Goulart school.

What “bearing fruit” means

For a martial arts social project, the fruit is children attending classes, learning to bow, to wait their turn and to control their strength. The first belt promotion, announced for July 2019, is the moment when a child understands that effort is recognized. The posts do not say how many students the center served, and this site does not publish children’s names.

How the project keeps going

Projects like this depend on partnerships with the city government, schools and companies. In Santa Catarina, companies can allocate part of their ICMS (state tax on goods and services) to approved sports projects, and individuals can donate to the FIA (Fundo da Infância e Adolescência, the Children and Adolescents Fund). Learn about the options on the Support page and get to know the project on the Campeões do Futuro page.

Want a center in your neighborhood or school?

To talk about opening a class, support the project or enroll a child, contact Mestre Paulo Ribeiro on Instagram @mestrepauloribeiro.