July 2005
In June I ventured to Rio to visit the project.
A few of the kids fought in the Rio states medaling in their divisions.
They did an awseom job and I am waiting on some pictures from Tata.
While I was there I walked around Rocinha again taking some pictures.
I ran into Anahi Baca while hiking through the narrow streets outside
of a daycare center for children in Rocinha. She was gracious enough
to take me into the facility and introduce me to the volunteers and
the children. We then walked to another NPO which teaches english to
some children. I also got to look at a building as a possible facility.
A new idea was introduced to me about purchasing a space for the academy
instead of renting. The RJJ Academy is now located in a nice facility
where other marital arts are taught too.
So after a meeting with Tata, some of the instructors and Anahi we threw
around some ideas for the future of Arte Vida Esporte and the Rocinha
Project. The idea is to maybe buy a building or space that was large
enough to hold the RJJ Academy, but also be big enough to create or
build a seperate area for a learning center. Everything is still in
the works, but hopefully progress can be made in this next year to reach
this goal.
Again, thank you all for your continued support.
March 2005
There is so much to update with photos and news!
Over the holidays Carol from Casca Grossa visited the Academy in Rocinha.
She threw the kids a Christmas party at McDonalds. The pics will be
up soon. The Academy is currently in the process of moving because a
new landlord took over the building where the Academy is currently located
and prices seem very unfair. The good news is that two locations have
been scouted out and the window covers along with everything else will
be able to move with the Academy (so nothing has been wasted or for
nothing). That is about all I can say until I get more news myself.
I hope to put the photos up very soon. Thank you all for your kindness
and patience and support. We love you all. Beijos!
July 2004
This is a photo from the kids from the Rocinha
Project progam in a tournament. Funds from the project were given to
enter the children in a tournament for their hard training.
More information will be posted soon.
April 2004
Today I just received an email from Tata with
photos of the Academy. I have added these photos to the January 2004
section on the Photo Page. These are photos of the new window coverings
that were added in January. Also there is a photo showing the repair
of the wall from the leaking sewage. The pipes have been fixed and the
water fountain is working again. Lastly, brooms and cleanign supplies
were purchased for the Academy too.
The Rocinha project will be in Michigan on the 18th. Yael Young with
the help of Jessica Ross will be hosting a table to sell merchandise
at the tournamnet. More information to follow. Thank you.
March 2004
This month Scotty from On The Mat (www.onthemat.com)
has graciously donated 50 DVD copies of Scar Tissue! All proceeds
for these 50 copies are donated directly to the project. They
are on sale for $30.00 plus $3.95 for shipping. If you
are not familiar with the DVD it includes the following:
Interviews with Darrell Gholar, Tulio Perrone, Mike Fowler, Tata
Duarte, Sharon Bonewicz (me!), Tony De Souza. Plus there are highlights
and video clips of amazing fights. The Barra Boys in No-gi action,
David Camrillo (Judo), Jeremy Horn vs. Caio Malta, Mike Fowler, Ryan
Gracie, Cachino, Gorginho, Igor Gracie and more!
Check out On The Mat for
more great videos. Some of the best out there with exclusive coverage.
You can also email them at scotty@onthemat.com
Also, For all you Canadian supporters let me know and
I can put you in Contact with Yael Young who has a slew of them
to sell for me up there. It will save you on shipping and the charge
is $35.00 Canadian. You can contact me
and I will put you in touch with Yael.
More news coming soon. The project will be in Michigan soon so check
back for more information! Thanks everyone!
February 2004
First I would like to say that this month I received donations from people who did some fundraising on their own. One is Island Entertainment / Island Martial Arts (On Ebay - click here to visit the store) and the other is from Adam Treanor, Michael Treanor in conjunction with Mehaul O'Leary. Also the project continues to recieve donations from fellow jiu-jitsu fighters/instructors/academies/etc.... I just want to say that it touches me every time I get a donation. Its like you nod and you know that people understand and the word is spreading. Its a great feeling and I hope everyone feels the same way.OK this months donations - First the person who sells the stuff on Ebay wished to remain annonymous. So he will be known as ebay man. Mr. Ebay man receives a percentage of the sales he makes on Ebay each month for Island Entertainment. This past mont (Jan-Feb 15, 2004) he decided to give his share of his earnings to the Rocinha Project. Ebay man donated $334.00 to the project through his sales. We promoted hisintentions on the jiu-jitsu forums to announce to everyone where the money will be donated to and from the amount donated I would say everyone came through strong. Thank you. Thank you Ebay Man and everyone who purchased the Island Entertainment DVD's.
Also a side note, Ebay man is doing the same thing this month to help out another great cause. If you get a chance and are looking to buy some great DVD's - visit the Ebay store for Island Martial Arts.
Next is something that has been in the works for some time now. I received an email back in the fall about this possible donation thing that would take place sometime in the future. I said cool - sent them out some of the Project's T-shirts and waited patiently. Adam Treanor (purple belt underRenato Magno at Street Sports) corresponded with me keeping me updated with the details of the fundraiser. Then a couple weeks ago I received a check from them. It was amazing.
Actually this fundraising project was done a few months back, but the guys kept trying to raise more money after the event. (Thank you). OK, the details. Joxer Dalys Irish Pub in Culver City, CA does this thing where a guest bartender works a night and invites all of his/her friends to the Pub. Then a part of the proceeds are donated to a charity of choice. Adam and his brother Michael Treanor picked the Rocinha Project. A couple weeks ago I received a check for $755.00. Thank you Adam, Thank you Michael and Thank you Mehaul O'Leary (owner of Joxer Dalys Irish Pub) for your donation, support and love. :)
January
2004
The
Rocinha Project went back to Rio de Janiero on January 15th. With the
help from the money raised by Anahi Baca, Yael Young and all the supporters
from around the world the Project made some very big leaps!
First, the Rocinha project collected $750.00 from Anahi Baca to help
purchase the window coverings. These covers will help deflect the rain.
Class wont have to be cancelled now and it helps preserve the price
of the mats. This will also allow the windows to still be open to the
fresh air.
Approximately 1,000R will cover the costs to replace the plumbing at
the academy for the bathrooms. The pipes are broken and sewage is leaking
through the wall. The wall will have to be torn down and the pipes replaced.
Then a wall will have to be built back up. A father to one of the children
who trains at Rocinha can do the job. This will be done soon and hopefully
as soon as possible.
Lastly, 2,000 Reais was given to Tata to help with the costs of a tournament's
entrance fee. This will give the children an opportunity to fight in
a tournament as a reward for all their hard training. I believe there
are two tournaments coming up soon. One in February and one in March.
This way they can maybe fight in two or the children that did not get
to compete in the first one can have an opportunity for the second.
All in all the trip was successful. The Academy will be a better place
for the children to train. I am not sure what the next steps are going
to be at this time. I am still collecting donations and selling items.
If you are interested in helping out please email me at meow@disrooted.com.
The next trip will most likely be in July again. Maybe by that time
more gis can be purchased.
Thank you everyone for all your help and support. A big thank you goes
out to Anahi Baca and Yael Young for all their help. They have really
helped the project grow and spread the word. Thank you for all your
help and your continued efforts.
Thank you.
In November of 2003 The Rocinha Project went to Ontario Canada. Thanks to the help of Yael Young the project raised about $400.00 at the Ontario Submission Wrestling Invitational. I believe another appearance will be made in the future sometime. I will post updates.
The Rocinha Project went out to the US Open in Santa Cruz California to help raise money. Thanks to the help of Claudio França, Caren Camblin (SantaCruzbjjgirl) and the rest of the crew in Santa Cruz and the US Open for making this happen.
After I dragged all my stuff out there and set up a table with the Claudio França booth the Rocinha Project raised $525.00 woot! Thank You to everone there who supported the Project and it was great meeting all the faces who I have been in contact with through internet and email. Thanks again for everything!
The Rocinha Project has made T-shirts and Patches which will be sold to help raise money for the project. See the store section of the site for more information on obtaining a T-shirt.
Also, Anahi Baca (aka grip fka the infamous grip) will be making a trip to Rio with money she has raised for the project herself. She has teamed up with Disrooted Productions and the Rocinha Project to volunteer her time and efforts to this worthy cause. Anahi has been raising money that she will be donating to the Rocinha Project to help make some much needed repairs to the school.
At the moment the school is looking to add some window fixtures to help deflect the rain. The school is open on 2 sides where just a roof lays over it. The rain has been deteriorating the mats. This simple project will help save the mats and money in the long run. When it rains class is usually cancelled and the mats get rotted and worn down. Bacteria and mold grows under the cover and the mats have to be replaced too often.
If you are interested in making a donation for Anahi's November/December trip please contact meow@disrooted.com or Anahi (anahi_anahi@yahoo.com) for more information. Donations can be made through Paypal on this site (be sure to note Anahi's Nov. donation in the notes field). Also, checks can be made out to Disrooted Productions. Please email me for an address and any questions.
Casca-Grossa has also teamed up with Disrooted Productions to help support the Rocinha Project. Carol was in Rio in September where she had a chance to visit the Rocinha Jiu-Jitsu Academy and witness the great things we are helping to accomplish. Being a Rio native she was very touched (from the beginning) by the project. Casca-Gross has also made up t-shirts of their own to help support the project. Also on October 11, 2003 they held a tournament in Georgia where part of the gate fee is being donated to help make repairs to the bathroom at the Rocinha Jiu-Jitsu Academy. The bathroom has many problems at the moment, but sanitation is number one. We would like to have a healthy environment for the children to train. If you are interested in more information please email me or visit the Casca-Grossa site to contact Carol.
Last but definitely not least Belder Productions (Bill Elder aka Belder) is also helping out the Rocinha Project through sales of his videos. Belder has been taping the local tournament scene for a while now and has finally put together a few compilations for sale. He is generously donating $2.00 from every tape he sells to the Rocinha Project. This boy is poor and in college and yet insists on helping out. The least I can do is link him up. Visit his site or contact him (through his site) about his tapes.
Once again, Thank you all for your support and help. Without you our efforts would be nothing! Email me at any time if you have questions or comments. Thank you.
August 2003
During my last trip to Brazil (July 2003) I set off to complete (what I call) step one of my efforts to help the children of Rocinha Jiu-Jitsu. During this trip I took with me a Total of $920.00 U.S. Dollars to Brazil in hopes to obtain a good amount of kimonos for the children at RJJ Academy. The money was used to purchase 60 kimonos varrying in sizes from M1 (the smallest size) to A3.
I made my purchase at War Kimonos with the help ofTata Duarte. My instructor also took down a few kimonos he purchased at a good price from M Kimonos. Also, a teammate from Lloyd Irvin took down a suitcase full of used adult size gis for the guys training at RJJ. The trip was successful.
The day we went up into Rocinha was an exciting day. We presented the kimonos to the RJJ Instructors (Montaha, Baby and Merecca) and were thanked from the bottoms of their hearts. I informed them that thekimonos came from the Jiu-Jitsu community in the United States. The money was not mine, but donations from fellow fighters who wantedto support the Project.
That very night two new students came to RJJ Academy for their first class. They were both given a new gi. We should all be excited and happy that these boys did not have to sit in their street clothes to participate in class. I know I was thrilled.
Lastly, all the children present in class that night took a moment to say "THANK YOU" by signing some of the postcards of the photographs I took of them. They are always excited when visitors come (I am told) and showed off their moves for my camera. I hope you enjoy the images I took of this last visit. I also had a chance to walk around in Rocinha and to the top where no gringo has gone before. You can view these images here. (make sure you click on the photo page - and they are under the misc. section). Enjoy!
One last thing - T-shirts will be available soon! Money has already started coming in again and hopefully the project can only grow. I learned on this last trip how big the Rocinha Project is. There is approximately 1,000 children participating in this program. It extends beyond Jiu-Jitsu so please check out the Arte Vida & Esporte Section of the site too!
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!