The action “Rio.Moves.Us”
The action “Rio.Moves.Us” collects money for social projects in Rio de Janeiro by means of sporting activities.
A little sweat runs down the forehead of the participants. In spite of this, their faces are radiant – and this although they have just cycled a good 3.5 kilometres on the ergometer. The piece of sports equipment stands in front of the church on the New Market in Gelsenkirchen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. The athletes are pedalling for a good cause: Rio.Moves.Us. is the name of the action which, on the occasion of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, is campaigning on behalf of the people of the city’s slums. All in all, on this day in Gelsenkirchen about 80 sports enthusiasts will pedal in 2,256 euros for the needy of Rio.
For the children and young people of the favelas
Rio.Moves.Us. is an action alliance of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and Catholic aid organizations and associations in Germany and Brazil. The campaign, taking place simultaneously in both countries, is intended to generate an awareness that the bulk of Rio’s population lives in the favelas of the city. These people are not in the spotlight and can neither take part in the big sporting events nor profit from the financial investments of the Olympics. The action alliance focuses in particular on children and young people of the favelas and wants to enable them to become “winners”.
All participants are looking for sponsors in the private sector who promise a lump sum per athletically achieved kilometre. Anyone who sets him or herself in motion as part of the project and collects kilometres can support the action. Whether running, swimming, driving a wheelchair or cycling, bowling or canoeing, for each kilometre traversed by an individual participant or by a group, a pre-specified sum of money will be donated. The donations will go, among other ventures, to a circus project, to a street children bus and to day care centres and a children’s home in Rio – so that young people will have a safe start in the future and the chance for an education.
