AP PHOTOS: Surfing takes Brazilian kids out of Rio slum
AP PHOTOS: Surfing takes Brazilian kids out of Rio slum
By FELIPE DANA, Associated Press | July 2, 2015 | Updated: July 3, 2015 10:54am
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Photo By Felipe Dana/AP
Cristiano Gomes 'Xuxu' leaves Rocinha slum on his way to Sao Conrado beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
Thursday, May 21, 2015. Before he learned how to surf at the school, his “life was pretty bad,” he says.
He would juggle for spare change from motorists at the busy highway intersection at the base of the
Rocinha shantytown.
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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It's dawn and barefoot boys are hustling down the inclined alleys of Rio de Janeiro slums, surfboards under their arms. They're heading to nearby Sao Conrado and Arpoador beaches, where they catch waves and momentarily leave their impoverished lives behind.
The youngest boys use pink, yellow and neon green bodyboards of foam, while the teens strap leashes from their short, sturdier surfboards to their ankles before gleefully paddling out to the waves.
Not long ago, many of these kids were begging on the streets or engaged in crime, but two surf schools serving youth from Rio's largest slum, Rocinha, have helped change that.
Marcio da Silva founded the Rocinha Surf Association a few years back and hundreds of kids have gone through his school, which he funds through donations and by doing some repair work on surf boards.
"We rescue the youth from inside the community, taking them to the beach to teach them the sport while at the same time socializing them," he says. "When they join the surf school we give them full support, providing boards, clothes, everything, totally free of charge."
More:
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/AP-PHOTOS-Surfing-takes-Brazilian-kids-out-of-6364474.php
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